Jonathan Cooper Update

Wow! What a blessed Easter this has been for our family. Not only do we celebrate our Risen Lord and the new life that we have in Christ, but this Easter we celebrate the new life that God has given Jonathan. Today we experienced another one of God's awesome miracles. Jonathan left the hospital, for the first time in almost 3 months, for 4 hours. Since we learned last Wednesday that we were going to get to take him out, Jonathan has talked about going to church. We brought up his suit, bought him a new time, tried everything on a couple of times and he asked every day since last Wednesday, "Do I get to go to church tomorrow?" Despite the rain and cold winds, Jonathan made his way to church with his family. It was such a blessing just to ride in the car together as a family to church. When we got there, Jonathan was able to walk with his walker across the stage and stand before our church family who has so faithfully prayed for us, loved us and supported us as though Jonathan were their own child. He spoke with a clear voice, "Thank you for praying for me. I know God is healing me. Again, thank you for praying for me. I will see you in a few weeks." While Jonathan stands as a living testimony of the power of prayer and the power of God who hears and answers prayers, Lakeland Baptist Church has stood as a testimony to many people of what being part of a church family is all about. We are humbled by their love and support and we are thankful for our church family. After that, we stayed for most of the Easter service and then took Jonathan to lunch - Easter lunch at McDonalds! After lunch, we went back to Dad's office at the church and then walked around to visit Jonathan's Sunday School classroom and some of the other familiar places he knows at church. Four hours goes by very quickly, and it was tough to fight the sadness that tried to crowd in on the trip back to the hospital. But we spent the rest of the day together as a family and Jonathan enjoyed an afternoon of game boy games, movies, card games, snacks, dinner and walks with his sisters and Dad and Mom. The Easter Bunny visited Jonathan at his hospital room and at his house, and before the day was over, he had 3 Easter baskets and a ton of stuff. This truly is an Easter Sunday that we will never forget.
Please continue to pray for Jonathan and our family. We need your faithful prayers now more than ever. Pray that Jonathan will improve every day as he continues to work toward the goal of going home. Pray that he will be able to focus during his PT and OT and that he will be able to do all that he is asked to do. He is getting stronger every day and we see evidences of that in his walking and using his arms. We desperately want to go home. Pray that we will be patient and let God's perfect will be done. Pray that we will encourage Jonathan that he can do all things through Christ who strengthens him. Pray for a positive attitude and good spirits. Continue to pray believing for complete healing of his brain, vision and diabetes. We are grateful for your love and prayers. Praise to our Risen Saviour and Lord!