Houston's service

Arrangements have been made for the service to celebrate Houston and give thanks for his life. It will be:
Sat. Dec. 6, 2008
2:00 P.M.
Location:
The River Christian Fellowship
6400 Woodson
Raytown, Mo.
64133 816-356-7400

We are getting bits and pieces of info as you can imagine with the blur of activity that they are walking through. For those who might not have close contact with them we will upate again in a few days. With the deep, wrenching sorrows there are things that will be healing salve to Jim, Dakota and others in the days, weeks and years to come. For this we thank the Lord for His great grace and lovingkindness. Keep surrounding and supporting them with your prayers and intercession. It is never taken lightly or for granted.

Houston's passing

Houston passed away at about 5:20 a.m. He knew he was going so Jim and Dakota were able to spend the last short time together sharing their love, goodbye's and tears. His transition was peaceful for which we thank the Lord but those who are left have brokenhearts that only the Lord will be able to bring healing to and we know He is well able. Much could be said of Houston and the 16 short years he was here. The one thing that sums up the character and stature of this young man was with the imminent facing him he continued to be concerned for how his dad and brother would do and that they would be ok. There are 50 and 60 year old people who have not grown into such stature. So continue to pray for Jim, Dakota, Michelle(a good friend and treasure) and the rest of family and friends. That peace amidst the grief would continue to cover them. Details will be posted about arrangements as soon as they are available.

update

Sorry for the long time in between blogs. We will try not to let that happen again. First thing is the fund raiser at The Eclipse went really well. If I can access some pictures I will try to post them. With the gate and auction I believe they raised between 5 or 6,000 dollars. One band(I think it was Loose Change) raised 500 dollars at a couple of different local venues they play at. People were very supportive and the music was excellent. Houston was able to come out for a little while and see a lot of his supporters. I know it really encouraged him and the family.
They had Thanksgiving at Jim's house with family and friends.(Around 30) Jim's brother, Paul's work provided food for the feast. On Saturday, after Thanksgiving, Houston's school, Raytown South, was in the finals of Missouri State football championship in St. Louis. It was televised so Houston was able to watch it. All of the team had round decals on their helmets with the initials H L. Around the initials were the words " Anything is possible". This kind of support and encouragement is a blessing to behold and words don't express what it does for their spirits as well as the continued prayer and intercession going up for Houston and family.
Houston had been able to eat a little the past couple of weeks, something he could not before. However in the past couple of days it is becoming difficult for him to swallow. Also he has lost most of the vision out of his left eye. That side of his face is also loosing feeling. Bittersweet. Such amazing support but such a difficult path. I read something Rick Warren, author of "The Purpose Driven Life", had written. He said life is like a train running on two tracks parallel to one another. One is sorrow. The other is joy. While we have great joy for the things that have been done for Houston which I believe has been an answer to prayer, we also have much sorrow as we see Houston's suffering as well as Jim and Dakota's. Yet our strong confidence is in Him who has every one of Houston's hairs numbered. Matt.10:29-31. So pray for Houston and family as you are led by His Spirit and we will keep you posted.

Update

There was a benefit concert for Houston over the weekend which we have some pictures of and a website to view all that were taken. Needless to say it was a blessing to the family as has been the overwhelming support they continue to see coming their way. There is also another benefit concert coming up the Sunday before Thanksgiving:
Nov. 23: 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Location: The Eclipse - 6512 Raytown Rd. Raytown, Mo. 64163
Bands: Trampled Under Foot
Big House W/Mo Paul
Loose Change
Johnny 1 and the Receders

If you can come and support it will be a great encouragement to Houston and family. He received a couple of transfusions which boosted his energy level a bit but the past few days he has been feeling weak with a couple of complications. One being he might have picked up a bug. On Tue. Nov. 11 Houston celebrated his 16th birthday with a large group of friends and family and was even able to eat a little pizza. There is always room for pizza!
With all the amazing, wonderful things going on the backdrop is his weakening state. With the encouragement that comes there is also the intense pressure and tension occuring simultaneously that unless you have experienced it it is hard to explain. We need to cover Houston, Jim, Dakota, Michelle and others who are uo close to the battle withmuch prayer and intercession. I don't know much but I do know the enemy is out to kill, steal and destroy. If you have not been in a battle like this that notion may seem silly but it is as real as the battle afflicting Houston's body. But " on the contrary we have divine power to demolish strongholds" 2Cor. 10:4. So to those of you this makes sense to please pray. If you don't understand anything of what was just written, please pray. Everyone pray.
Thanks for keeping up with Houston and family. I have received some pictures which I will try to publish with this post. If I fail it is because I am a computer illiterate. Here is the website to view all the pictures that were taken. http://www.pixofevents.com/. Thanks again for your love and support.

Update

Update

Sorry about the lag in time between postings. We were trying to get some pictures of Houston in the Mustang. Also, Michelle's daughter (or daughter in law) was able to get Houston to the KC Chiefs stadium to meet the players. They were incredibly gracious to Houston and the family. They gave him a signed football and tickets to the Tampa Bay game.(Almost won it!) One of the linemen took one of Houston's bracelets and told him he would be wearing it in the game. It lets you know there are some good guys in pro sports not just the knuckleheads who usually get the attention. I am sure they come away from there encounter with Houston realizing how blessed they are. So as soon as we can get some pictures we will post them. Houston went to the hospital Wed. and back today for some blood transfusions. He was feeling very weak and they think this will help.
For those of you in the KC area the Sunday before Thanksgiving there will be a benefit concert for Houston and family. Don't know all the details yet but will post them as soon as possible. Continue to pray and battle for Houston and family for peace, strength, wisdom, and whatever needs come their way. As Winston Churchill said" Don't give up. Don't ever give up."

Mustang Houston

Houston is continuing to rest well at home with a few outings to best Best Buy for some games for his Wii. Best Buy was very accomodating and had a wheel chair waiting for him as he arrived. There has been a steady throng of friends coming to see him which boosts his spirits. There have been the normal glitches you have when dealing with medical things but more challenging when you are at home. His morphine pump quit in the middle of the night a couple of nights ago and they did not realize it for a few hours. He started having some physical problems but they got on top of it. There are some fund raising things going on. The t-shirts I mentioned and there is also a concert some bands are getting together. These are friends of Jim from the days Jim played drums in different bands. Let me mention a special friend of their family. Her name is Michelle and she is more family then friend. Fred calls her a saint. She has moved in with them to assist with Houston's needs. She also has a job! When you think of this family and pray remember Michelle.
Now to the title of the blog. Houston over the summer was working to save money to buy a car. A neighbor across the street had a 1988 Mustang convertible that he had stored in Jim's driveway for a year. He was trying to restore it. He had installed a new top and stereo in it. He approached Jim about buying it for Houston. He sold it to him for 200.00$! They continue to experience great kindness from friends and strangers. The favor and blessing of the Lord. Houston drove it around the block yesterday with friends witnessing the event. I will try to get a picture of this happening and post it.
With all these wonderful things the sober backdrop is that his condition is terminal. While we look straight in the face of these facts we also look beyond them to Him who conquered death and answers in awesome deeds in righteousness. So continue to pray and battle(and post encouragements) for the Leatons and Michelle. Will continue to keep you posted.