Thank you all for your patience as we figure out how we can best celebrate my father’s life. We will have a family only burial this week. But we are planning a large Celebration of life that will be open to anyone and everyone… please plan on joining us! That will take place on:

August 19th

at Rio Vista Community Church, 880 S Federal Hwy, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316

From 2-5pm with food and fellowship to follow. 

Thank you for your continued prayers for our family. I have so many praises I’d like to share with you. Let’s take a moment to thank our good heavenly father for his gifts to us.

• We all made it to Florida from Georgia safely. Praise him!
• My oldest brother is with us now through the end of the week thanks to a visa extension. Uncle David is here!! (pictures below) Praise him!
• My mothers new (to us) van is awesome and just what she had been praying for. Praise him!
• All the burial and arrangements have been paid for. Praise him!
• Rio Vista Church has graciously allowed us to use their facilities for the celebration of life (and many other churches offered theirs as well). Praise him!
• The Gofundme.com/helpbillperry as well as other gifts have continued to come in and it will help carry the family through this season of transitions and unexpected costs. Praise him!
• We are so thankful that my father’s brother and sister will make it to the burial as well my grandmom (Bill’s mother). They have all been very gracious and helpful through this whole process. Praise him!
• Friends and neighbors have/are bringing us food. We are so thankful. Praise Him!

Words cannot express our thanks for the universal body of believers that are holding us up in prayer, paying for all our expenses and loving us through this hard and tragic season. THANK YOU!

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” James 1:2-4

It’s been my deepest honor to be the one to get to update everyone on my father’s home going process. It’s been a very long week. It feels almost like a lifetime. We all have laughed, cried, praised, and prayed. A lot! We have been lifted up from so many. We have seen God’s goodness, mercy and grace first hand in every moment. I hope to soon share more on all God is doing and how he has been stretching me in my faith and lovingly shaking me to my core.

But for now I will be focusing on the next steps of dad’s homegoing. We will be back in Florida soon. It is the families wish there be no visitors just yet. We want to plan a memorial service that fits what my dad would like. That being said it won’t be for a little while. As soon as we have those details though I will post them here.

I do have something that you can do now. If you have a story of how my dad impacted your life would you please email them to me? I plan on putting something together just for my mom and immediate family. The days and nights to come will be hard. But stories of my dad make us smile and remember all the good times. My email is ten4Brock@gmail.com if you have a picture that would be great. Just attached the word document and in the subject of the email write “Bill’s impact.”

The http://www.GoFundMe.com/helpbillperry is covering the medical bills, getting my father home and the final arrangements. We are so blessed and humbled by God providing so generously through his people.

Please continue to praise our great Savior! He is still good! He is providing! He saved my father from death so now he can enjoy life externally! Praise him!

I leave you with my father’s life passage. It’s Psalms 112

Praise the LORD. ^[2] Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who finds great delight in his commands.2His children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.3Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever.4Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man. ^[3]5Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice.6Surely he will never be shaken; a righteous man will be remembered forever.7He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.8His heart is secure, he will have no fear; in the end he will look in triumph on his foes.9He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor, his righteousness endures forever; his horn ^[4]will be lifted high in honor.10The wicked man will see and be vexed, he will gnash his teeth and waste away; the longings of the wicked will come to nothing.

As the dawn light streamed in through the open door of his room this morning, Dad passed from this life into the next with family by his side.

My brother David shares more here.

Thank you all for your prayers and love.

My father is still with us in body. We pray he passes into the presence of the almighty soon. It has been a very long week. But God has continued to show us his miraculous power and provision. He is a good good Father. Today we’ve been able to celebrate my brother birthday. And have communion at the chapel in the hospice center. We have so many sweet pictures from today. God our rock.

Now it’s praise time!

*Our salvation through Christ our Lord. Our family is so special and unified because we all have a personal relationships with a Christ. My parents have modeled it but we have to each take that step ourselves. I’m thankful for this unity through blood and the spirit. I urge you, if you don’t know Christ please reach out to us. I would personally take the time to share how Christ is our assurance. Praise Him!

*Time with family. We hate the circumstances. But we so appreciate the time together. We can laugh, pray, cry, and get out frustration and be held up by each other. Praise Him!

*A church we don’t even know had provided a wonderful dinner for us. We are so blessed by the greater body of Christ. Praise him!

*We were able to have a family service at the hospice center and break bread. It was very special. Praise Him!

*The hospice center is amazing. Praise Him!

*My father’s legacy is reaching the nation’s still. His work for the Lord has not been in vain. We are so blessed to have that example. Praise Him!

*People continue to send money to help the family and we are so thankful. Praise Him!

We continue to ask for your prayers. For strength, for God’s sovereign timing. For my brother’s visa to come at the right time. And for God to get the most glory. Pray for hearts to soften and for people to go to their knees and come to Christ. We love you all. We are so thankful for each and everyone holding us up. We’ve been doing a lot of singing and reading. I encourage you to do the same. Let us fill our minds with truth. Please take a moment an ponder these words. Pictures to follow.

^“18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. ¹⁹ For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope ²¹ that^[h] the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

²² We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. ²³ Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groaninwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴ For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

²⁶ In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for usthrough wordless groans. ²⁷ And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who^[i] have been called according to his purpose. ²⁹ For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.³⁰ And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

³¹ What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?³² He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? ³³ Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶ As it is written:

³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,^[k] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:18-39

My dad has been transferred into hospice. He is fading. We appreciate your prayers as he makes this transitions into eternity. We are grieving and rejoicing. I challenge you, if you don’t know Christ as your personal Savior, today is the day of salvation! We can rejoice because we know where he is going.

We have so many praises! Let us take time to thank our merciful heavily father.

*Many people have continued to give and help ease the weight of expenses. Every family member has been given something personally to help as well as the go fund me. Praise him!

*The facility staff we’re working with is amazing. We all were together today… Grandbabies too. They even have a play room geared towards kids. Praise Him!

*The social worker was a dear believer. We took a photo of the shirt she was wearing. Photo attached. Praise Him!

*Everywhere we go we’ve heard worship songs on the TV, hospital lobby, radio and random ringtones. Praise him!

*My dad’s sister made it up today and we’ve had a blessed time with her and her family. Praise him!

*The family that hadn’t been able to make it have called and skyped and encouraged us from afar. Praise Him!

We have a few requests as well.

*Continued provision for all the needs ahead.

*For a peaceful homegoing for my father. He is so ready to be with Jesus.

*For safety as we come and go. And for physical, spiritual and emotional energy to journey on.

*Pray my brother’s visa comes in God’s sovereign timing.

Words cannot express our thanks! You all have been such a blessing. We will need your continued prayer and support. But at this time we ask for your patience and space as we have time with just family. To God be the glory, great things he has done. 

This is by far the hardest post so far. My father is deteriorating. Please pray for us. We have prayed for miracles and still do. We have witnessed many. The fact my father is with us still is one. But we also pray for God’s will. My father was all about giving God the glory and in all things, good and bad, we ask for him to get the most glory.

We have many praises to share.

*We have meals covered by a local church and have been given lots of gift cards which is easing the financial burdens of this situation. Praise him!

*The GoFundMe continues to grow! We are so humbled. Many other have given in other ways. God is so good. Praise Him!

*We’ve been able to chat, pray and laugh together. This situation is beyond difficult. But we have been able to have good communication.

*The hospital staff has continued to be so helpful and answer all our questions and take time to explain things clearly.

Please pray for…

*Wisdom, peace and strength

*Some little kiddos aren’t feeling the best. Pray for God to grant us strength and keep us healthy.

*Pray for safety on the roads as friends and family are traveling.

*My brother David is the only sibling not able to be here. He is awaiting a visa renewal before he can visit. Please pray that comes through asap. God’s timing is perfect.

*Pray for my dad and for God’s will to be done and be so clear.

We have passed the 72 hour window. We have no major change. Some little things that go up and down. But the swelling, and lack of response is the same. We are trusting, waiting and thankful for the time we have to hold his hands. The staff at the hospital have been AMAZING. They are listening to us, answering questions, communicating with each other, they encourage us and yet they are honest. We couldn’t be in a better place. They are doing everything they can yet not doing too much to make things potentially worse. We are so thankful. We are now transitioning into a long term care plan. Nothing has been decided, we’re waiting and praying but sooner rather than later things will change. We aren’t even sure of what all that entails. We need wisdom.

We have again been beyond blessed and God is at work. Please read these praises and take a moment to thank our great Savior!

*A car has been picked out and will be arriving here soon. Praise Him!

*Thanks to all your generosity the $5000 deductable my parents have with their insurance is now getting deposited into their account so they are ready for that. Praise Him!

*The new hotel staff is amazing, they allowed us to us a conference room for free so we could throw a party for a granddaughters birthday today!(photo attached) If you’re in Albany, GA stay at the park inn by Radisson. They are so great! Praise him!

*We have been blessed by two churches locally with offer of help and longer term housing! One option will get checked out tomorrow. Praise him!

*All of our employers have been more than gracious with time off. Many people have donated to the individual families to help ease the burden and costs we are dealing with. Praise him!

*Many family and friends have come and are coming. They are such a source of encouragement and help. God is good. Praise him!

We still have many needs for prayer. Here are some.

*Wisdom for dicisions that are coming. Our family is a well oiled machine. The oil is the faith mom and dad instilled in us. We all want to be in total agreement on everything. Pray for good communication and the right decisions to be made. Our family is unique and incredible. We are blessed.

*Continued financial support. Most are out of work for a while and my mom will not be working for the foreseeable future. God can and will provide.

*Pray for a miracle. God can and will if that is the best. But we are looking at the bigger picture. We ask for our dad to be healed and come back to us. But we have given him to God and realize he might choose to ultimately heal our Father and we are at peace.

Again we thank you all so much! If you want to send a card to mom please send it to 3130 SW 21st fort Lauderdale FL, 33312. Family will be handling the mail.

http://www.gofundme.com/helpbillperry

I will be sharing a poem a little later my sister wrote. Be on the lookout for that. ❤ to God be the glory.

For those of you who didn’t know my father, Bill Perry was in a very serious car crash Sunday in the early afternoon. He had just spent two weeks teaching twice a day at camp. He visited friends and my sister and was heading home. He hydroplaned and hit a tree. The car is totaled. He is in critical condition.

All my family state side are with him now in Albany, GA. He has broken bones but the main concern is his brain. The prognosis is bad. And he is in a coma. The next 48 hours are very critical. We are now just waiting and trusting. We pray for a miracle, but in all things may God get the glory.

Tonight recap is brief. We are tired but thankfully to be together. Please feel free to share this page. It is now dedicated to my father until further notice.

Let us praise God for:

*A family who witness the crash and came to his side and prayed him through till the ambulance came. Others also stopped and assisted (including a volunteer firefighter!)

*All who were traveling to dad through the night made safely.

*Friends that have made it to visit.

*A very helpful hospital staff.

Let us pray for:

*Decreased swelling on the brain.

*Increased function and alertness

*A vehicle to replace the one that was totaled.

*Wisdom and clarity.

We cannot express our gratitude enough. We have been flooded with love and prayers. We love you all.