11:17 AM
i found out natalie, a sophomore girl who's in my care group, was in a really bad car accident this morning on her way to school. (just down the road from my office) she's unconscious and is having a CT scan at Elkhart General, though she may need to be airlifted to Ft. Wayne! i just felt sick this morning when my boss told me about it. that girl is so full of life. she's been one of the highlights in having a new care group this year. please pray for her. i can't imagine what her family is going through. the whole church and school is being affected by this. her mother is, understandably, quite upset, and she also has a sister (9th grade) who she's very close with. please pray, guys!!
2:57 PM
hey everyone ... to keep you updated, things aren't looking good at all. they were able to stabilize nat around 12:30, and her parents went in to see her for the first time since bringing her to the ER. they have decided to keep her there in the ICU. she has been completely nonresponsive (only a little brain activity), and her whole body has been very rigid up until now. just a little while ago, however, she was responding to a pin prick on her foot, and one side of her body is starting to relax some. but she hasn't made any attempts to breathe on her own. the respirator is doing it all. it seems as if she'll be in the hospital for awhile.
apparently what happened is that her car started to veer off the road (the county says the road is actually not up to regulation as far as width, and there is a rough patch that has been there for years. it's threatened to throw me off the road many times), and when she tried to bring it back on the road, she overcompensated. witnesses say she shot directly into a tree in someone's yard. her airbags did not deploy. she was literally thirty seconds from school.
we have care groups tonight, so we'll be praying and talking with the girls. pray for us (me and my co-leader, janet) as we interact with them. natty is very loved among her peers. she plays sports and is very involved at school and church. she has shown a strong desire to grow spiritually this year, and we've tried to help her with that by challenging her during our group meeting times. she's been fairly vulnerable with us, as a group. my heart goes out to her family. thanks for praying.
11:55 PM
so i went to visit the ICU around 5:15 tonight. there were a lot of ppl (you) there! i talked w/mrs. jontz some, but didn't see mr. jontz at all. he's taking it pretty hard. natty actually responded to some physical stimuli and started breathing slightly over the respirator. still no way to tell whether she'll be okay, if she pulls out of it now.
youth group was hard. we prayed, sang and wrote notes together then broke into care groups. we talked, tried to encourage each other and prayed some more.
i got a call around 11 saying natty had started throwing up. her fever was going up and down. they were able to stabilize her, thankfully. i hope that's all the excitement for today. tomorrow, maybe her family will feel cabable of tackling more. but now, i'm sure they must be about at their end ...
Thursday, May 12, 2005
9:27 AM
i guess things are looking worse this morning. after they stabilized natty last night, her brain activity started to decline. it's basically just waiting now. her vitals are just inconsistent. please pray for her family! pray for the miracles of life, healing and salvation for everyone involved. there are a lot of unsaved family members that natty's parents are especially concerned about. yes, things look bad, but that's usually when we see God most clearly. He is the one sustaining us all.
PRAY FOR HER:
11:34 AM
they've taken natalie off life support. if God takes her home, pray that the healing can begin now for her family, with the support of us all. they may not ever feel fully healed, but being surrounded by love, in its many manifestations, can help sustain them.
12:09 PM
just got word from the school that natalie passed away. just monday she was asking her friends what it was going to take for a spiritual revival. i'm sure, if given the choice, she would do it all again just for that to happen.
Friday, May 13, 2005
9:21 AM
here's what they had to say this morning in the local paper.
God has natty with him right now, and both are rejoicing. not in that fake, everything's roses kind of rejoicing, but the heartfelt rejoicing that only comes when you've got a glimpse of the bigger picture ... the truth that we, as fallible, finite human beings can never fathom. she is his for eternity.
natty's life and death are already changing people's lives. let us be part of that change, the turnaround that we've needed for so long. make it worth her sacrifice. love God and love each other!!
love ya always, natty.
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
1:27 AM
viewing yesterday, funeral today. emotions run the gamut from devastated to numb. again, i can't imagine, with as exhausted as i've been at the end of each day since wednesday, what the jontzes are going through.
at the funeral, i started crying as soon as dr. mattner walked up on the stage. i knew it was just going to get worse. natty's old pastor talked and shared some great stories. ali read her poem ... it was perfect. jen did a great job, singing what was actually the wrong song ... but what are ya gonna do when she's already gotten the tape and rehearsed it? :) (they had read the song title wrong in her journal; it was "who i am" -- some country song) at least i had a little laugh as she started singing. none for the rest of the song, i'll tell you that.
it was really hard when joanne, their older sister, broke down. she went to jeannie and just sobbed. from what i've heard, she's either not a believer, or not living like she is one. i guess all three of the older siblings are the same in that respect. when you have the hope of eternity, there are a lot of words you can say in comfort at a time like this. but what do you say to someone who may see this as truly the end of all things? i cannot imagine going through life without a grasp of providence, things greater than myself, and the hope that imparts.
brittany said to me at the viewing, "didn't you take a picture of them (the jontzes) last sunday?" i had completely forgotten. it was mother's day, and i was taking complimentary photos for mothers of newborns through sixth graders. the jontzes were greeting in the south foyer, where i was taking the pics. natty was joking about getting one taken, sitting on her mom's lap. then she shied away (or tried to) when i told her it was her turn. i kept telling her, "yes, get in there ... get ali, let's go. it's mother's day." i'm assuming that would probably be the last photo they had taken. jeannie said thank you for taking the photo. she said she has it on their mantle.
i always find writing this stuff out to be helpful. i don't mean for it to be depressing! i am truly rejoicing that natty does NOT have to deal with any of this herself. it's a beautiful thought, her in the presence of the God she loved so much.
she said she'd do whatever it took ...
some fun pics to remember natty!
practicing our cabin skit at snow camp.
in full gear. :)
what memories ...
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