At the age of twenty, Nate was drunk, driving 60 mph, crashed into a wall, and broke his neck... and survived this near-fatal accident.... At age 23 he beat stage 3 cancer.... He went on to get a job, earning $4000/week and experiencing the world's idea of success in all its glamour--and emptiness... Nate had been raised in a Christian home, yet he chose to party now and deal with God later--but, as the tragedy in Connecticut reminds us, none of us knows when we will die.
Nate heard a message that God used to get his attention: Let go of the heaviness of life; let God lead while you sit in the passenger seat. In this message, Nate heard love, joy, forgiveness, grace.... and welcomed Jesus as his Savior and Lord.
But being a Christian doesn't mean life is perfect or even easy. On December 9, 2011 Nate went to the doctor with a cough he couldn't shake and an aching back. On December 19--when he was 25 years old--he learned that he had stage 4 cancer: his lungs were filled with metastasized tumors. If he chose no treatment, he would live between six months and a year. If he chose treatment, he had a 3 to 4 percent chance of beating the disease. What would you do if you had one year to live?....
Nate chose treatment. Even more importantly, he chose prayer: "Lord, the lashes on Your back are for healing! Let's battle up! Let's fight this!" God opened doors, and Nate began a three-month clinical trial--combined with lots of prayer and his diving into the Word of God.
On April 10 Nate was cancer free. Quoting Daniel, Nate said, "But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good" (Genesis 50:20).
As everyone bowed heads and prayed, Nate invited students to raise their hands if they need relief and healing, whatever the pain they're feeling. Several students did exactly that.
faithWONministry.com is Nate's website. Take a look at the clothing line he has that helps him not only give more glory to God for this wonderful work of healing but also to support cancer research: "Fighting cancer with faith... one thread at a time."
Thank you for your faithful support of FCA! It's exciting to see God provide for the ministry through you, to see Him send great speakers, and to celebrate the ways He touches the hearts of the students who attend. Despite the crunch of last-week-before-vacation demands on students, we had about a hundred attend today.
And, thanks to the generosity of the following families, these students enjoyed pizza, water, cookies as well as Nate's powerful story: Prock, Mellor, Haney, Hood, Gibbs, Torrey, Escalante, Coyle, Link, Moore, Klopfer, Gaultiere.
Merry Christmas! And may you find real joy in the fact that the Lord is come!
Jared Hall, Kris Gibbs, Lisa Guest
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