For the past few days, I have been praying for someone I have never met who belongs to a family I known for about 8 years. The "Arnolds" were a famous family when I came to Teen Mania as an intern and Michelle has one of the best blogs I have ever read. A few days ago, Chad (who used to work at TM) and his brother went into surgery because Chad was in need of a kidney translat and his brother decided to him him 60% of his kidney. Ryan was healthy and the surgery was successful for Chad's condition. Ryan had a tougher time after the surgery which is more common for the giver of an organ transplant. A few nights after the surgery, Ryan "blue coded" in the night and the next day they confirmed there was no brain activity. He went to be with Jesus yesterday.
John 15:13 says "Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends". I have cried several times when I was thinking about this situation and praying for this family. Ryan showed the greatest example of love I have ever heard of besides Christ himself. The family wants Ryan's story to be told and for him to be remembered for the life he lived. He loved the Lord and left behind his wife and three small children. Please continue to pray for the family and Ryan's family. May his children grow up knowing that their father was a true hero and did something only a few imagine.
