Written by Lisa & Rick Bursey, Back2Back Linares Directors
The brave boy stood as he watched others in his church rise, too. The pastor had just invited anyone in need of healing prayer to stand. Miguel*, only ten years old, immediately thought of his mom. Her knee hurt so badly she needed surgery. With a smile, he whispered amen as the pastor finished praying.
Miguel and his siblings had lived in a Back2Back partnering children’s home for the last five years. Their mom, a single mother, had voluntarily placed them there when she could no longer provide for them on her own.
Throughout those years, Back2Back staff worked diligently with her toward family reunification. “She has always made time to see them,” shared Rick and Lisa Bursey, Back2Back Linares Co-Directors. “Every summer, she welcomed them home over school break. We told her that if she ever needed help, we would come and get the children. She stayed involved, even when she couldn’t see them every day.”
Together, staff and family prepared for the day the children would return home for good. But then her knee pain worsened, and doctors told her she needed surgery. The reunion was delayed. Her children understood, and they prayed all the more.
As Miguel stood in church, asking for prayer for his mom, he trusted Someone bigger than himself to make a way. On their next visit, he eagerly asked her how she was feeling, mentioning he had prayed for her at church.
“When was this?” she asked with wonder in her eyes.
“It was last Sunday,” he replied. Tears welled as she shared: “Miguel, I was at home that morning, resting my knee, when I felt a warmth spread through my body, a hand on my knee, and all I could do was cry.”
Miguel smiled and hugged his mom as they, along with the Burseys, rejoiced. She looked at her children and said softly, “It feels better.”
Without this moment, the family may still be waiting, facing another long delay. Instead, a mother experienced healing, a boy’s faith was strengthened, and a family moved one step closer to reunification.
This is the power of children watching the safe adults in their lives pray – learning to hand over what they cannot control to the One who is over it all.
Please join us in praying for this family—that healing would continue, their reunion would be complete, and they would always remember they have a good Father in control.
