Prayer & Support for the Zeller Family

Dear Park Church Family,

As brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, we are called to bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2) and to follow the example of our Lord and Savior in the sacrificial love and care for those around us (Ephesians 5:1-2). We have an opportunity to do just that with Peter and Jessi Zeller and their young son, Declan. Jessi has recently been diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma. At the same time, she also learned that she is pregnant. While we can celebrate and rejoice with the Zellers about the new life being formed, it is also true that a pregnancy can often complicate the treatment for lymphoma. The good news is that their doctor believes she may be able to go well into her second trimester before Jessi’s treatment is necessary. Still, the challenges they have before them are monumental, and their need is great.

Our first action, of course, is to pray fervently for miraculous healing. God is certainly able to do so, and we can pray confidently that He will hear us. How this fits into His plan is beyond us, though, and if He chooses to allow the Zellers to go through this trial, then we can pray for many other things: wisdom for the doctors treating Jessi; that the disease would not progress throughout the full term of Jessi’s pregnancy and that there would be no harm to the baby; for physical, emotional, and spiritual strength; for God to draw the Zellers close to Him and give them the comfort that only He can, and that throughout everything in this ordeal His name would be glorified.

There will be the obvious need for meals, for housecleaning, childcare for Declan, etc. Last, but not least, is the financial strain the next year will place on the family’s financial resources. Please see their GoFundMe page for the opportunity to provide some assistance in that way.

Finally, what is so very important in lending our support and efforts to help is a graceful and thoughtful sensitivity to their need for some privacy and the space to maintain some semblance of normalcy in their individual and family lives. It would be easy for us to overwhelm them with our generosity and care. We want to love them the best way we can, and part of that means respecting, and making room for, the emotional roller-coaster they will be riding.

If you would be willing to help out in one of the ways listed above or have any questions, please contact neil@parkchurch.org, who will coordinate volunteer efforts. And please be patient; the logistics of all the various needs will be complex. Some will require attention in the not-too-distant future, but many needs will come at a later time. This will be a long and sustained effort, and we will all be trying to figure out how to do it best. By the grace of God, we will be able to love and care well for the Zellers in every respect.

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Ephesians 3:20-21).

Your fellow servant in Christ,

Brent Summers
On behalf of the Elders of Park Church