Four months after Pastor Greg Henneman of Clarkston Community Church handed out $5,000 to his congregation, members are hard at work on their ‘Kingdom Assignment? to help others.
Amanda Robotnik and her husband Jonathan received one of the $100 bills, and Amanda’s brother Will Skelly and his girlfriend Desiray Brooks also received $100.
‘I give a lot of props to our church because, a lot of churches, you always hear they want so much money from you,? said Brooks. ‘They want you to donate all your money to something that you’ll never see so they can build this church in another country, but he (Pastor Greg) gave us money. It was just so cool, so awesome, the whole idea. I love it.?
The four decided to combine the money and find ways to multiply their funds. They were debating on what and who to use the money for.
‘We talked with Pastor Greg, the five of us stood together, we held hands, and we prayed,? said Amanda. ‘It was like a light clicked and that was what we had to do.?
Desiray and Amanda thought of their fellow co-worker and friend Heather Akers, whose husband, Stephen, is currently laid off work and whose baby, David, has had many major medical complications since birth.
David was born on Dec. 11, 2007, and was diagnosed with ‘Teratology of Fallot,? a congenital heart defect.
In David’s case, two holes in his heart and aorta meant blood and oxygen was sent in the wrong direction. One of his ventricles was also too small to allow for adequate blood flow. He was also born with a horseshoe kidney and is missing the middle finger on his right hand.
Seven days after being born, David and his mother, Heather, left the hospital. But within a week after being home, he was rushed back to the hospital for an emergency heart surgery.
He had visited the cardiologist three times due to pulse and oxygen levels dropping below normal. On his third visit, David’s levels decreased to the mid 70’s and he was experiencing blue spells.
At one month of age, David endured a four-hour heart surgery. The first night, his blood pressure kept rising while pulse and oxygen levels dropped. Doctors had to re-open his chest and do a second procedure.
He had several setbacks including a plural effusion, fluid build up in the chest tube, and a collapsed lung.
David was sent home 23 days after surgery and has been growing ever since. He has follow up appointments with cardiologists every other month to make sure all is well..
‘For a child to have that kind of strength and that kind of peace at a month and to come out, to see him now, I can’t even believe that he went through that because he’s such a strong little boy and just amazing in himself,? Amanda said. ‘Life’s little miracle is right there at your hands.?
Even with everything Heather and David have been through, Desiray says Heather is still the same person who goes to work each day with a smile on her face.
‘She has so many friends, family, people at her church that are behind her, but at the end of the day, she has to do it herself and I don’t know if I could have the strength to do that,? said Desiray.
Amanda and Desiray have been raising money through a can drive at their work, as well as going to local businesses asking for donations.
‘So far we have 3,000 cans,? said Amanda. ‘We’ve actually gone to Kohls, Old Navy, the Christian Store, Glitz Hair Salon, Carters, Oskosh.?
‘It’s a community project and I think that’s awesome,? said Desiray.
Amanda and Desiray said they want to make helping the Akers family a ‘continuous project.?
‘It would be great to buy her a house one day, to have a college fund for David would be awesome. It’s just getting there is the hardest part,? said Amanda.
‘As soon as we get final donations and who’s going to participate and what not, we want to have a get together with her, just to celebrate the life of David and how amazing the parent are.?
Henneman said he is proud of all the members of his congregation who are actively participating in their kingdom assignments.
‘It’s just been incredible how faithful people have been in meeting so many needs in the community and how it’s still going on,? he said. ‘We feel that this is one of the key things we can do as a church, is just impact our community with many good deeds.?
For more information on David and Heather’s story visit www.caringbridge.org/visit/davidakers.