Prayer Request

We got a few emails about this... and my heart is breaking. XO sent us this email regarding our pastor of our church in Hilo and his wife. This is the church that one of dh's crew members attended too, and they all helped immensely when he passed away in March. He died in an accident by a waterfall as well, so this is particularly hard.

We just wanted to ask you for prayer for Mark and Sarah Rife. (Mark is the lead pastor of Elevate, our church in Hilo). They were hiking Sunday at Onomea falls outside of Hilo. They were taking pics at the top of the falls (Mark was taking pics of Sarah) when she slipped and went over the falls. It's a drop of over 60 feet and she went tumbling down mainly over rocks. Mark was about 50 ft away from her on the other side. He called 911 as he ran over to help her and then put his phone and stuff down on a rock and dove in after her. Miraculously, it wasn't fatal. But Sarah and Mark both were air lifted to Hilo Emergency. Because of the extent of her injuries, Sarah had to be air lifted with Mark by her side to Queens Hospital on Oahu.

Right now Sarah is filled with strength, courage and even humor, cracking jokes, but her condition is still pretty serious. Mark thought he may have broken some ribs but miraculously he has just bruises and is physically fine. Sarah's skull was open in the back. They found a blood clot (hematoma) and because of that chose to medevac her to Oahu. Once on Oahu, they found out she also has a fracture in her forehead and another fracture from the front fracture, over her skull, to the back of her skull. There was internal bleeding in the front between her skull and her brain but that seems to be contained and stopped. (They're still keeping a close eye on it.) But the new concern is of the fracture at the base of her head. It is near a vital artery that leads into her brain. Because of the fall, the doctors are concerned about possible blood clots that could cause a stroke. They can't give her medicine to thin out the blood clots because of the bleeding in the front of her forehead. For now, all they can do is wait out the night and then tomorrow, they will take another catscan to see how that back area is doing. Mark is asking for prayer- for healing, for strength, for His presence, for His peace, for His glory.

Update from a few days ago:
Just got a call from Mark. There's new serious concerns on the horizon right now. Sarah recently began feeling/hearing a "swooshing" sound in her head, and doctors are concerned that an artery may be too close to a vein (or something like that). Anyway, I guess somehow this could lead to further clotting (i.e. stroke), so they are trying to do some procedures to take an internal look to see how serious it is. Also, her blood levels recently began to drop again.

Your prayers/intercession is sooo valuable right now! Thank you for standing with Sarah and Mark!

Psalm 18:6 - "In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears."

Psalm 18 is a wonderful prayer guide. I am especially moved by God's anger (vs.7) towards enemies of His anointed. Let's battle against the powers of darkness, while also pleading the Lord's unfailing kindness towards His anointed (Sarah).