Loss

A friend has met Jesus. Charlie Wang suffered a heart attack in early June followed by heart surgery and a second one in the hospital. He met God on Sunday morning. The connection between the Wangs and the Daspits goes back to before Doug's birth. Doug's mom Eileen and Charlie's would-be wife Pam were college roommates at UNO. They were in each other's weddings, raised their children side-by-side, and continued to support each other through the loss of both of their homes in Katrina. The biggest impact Pam and Charlie had on the Daspits was that Pam introduced Eileen to a personal relationship with God through a women's Bible study at Berean, the church where we serve. Eileen's decision to follow Christ with her life at that vulnerable moment of being a single parent of three young children was just the first event in a series that eventually led Doug and I to marry.

The earth lost a valuable man on Sunday, but we know that his battle with failing health is over as he is enjoying the presence of Jesus. It's just us -- feeling the loss of his presence among us.

If you think of it, please pray for his family left behind as they are who will feel his loss most -- his wife Pam, his daughter Maeci, and his son Jonathan. The family home was lost in Katrina and they had raised it 10 feet to begin rebuilding. Charlie's engineering business impacted NOLA far and wide and was being rebuilt since the loss of Katrina as well. Maeci is a teacher, while Jonathan is in his last requirements at the LSU Dental School. Pam is several classes shy of obtaining her master's in family counseling from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Much to handle with the loss of a husband and father, let alone a support and friend. I know they'd appreciate your prayers in the days to come.