Here you can see an image of my daughter taken roughly 5 months ago, just after she was diagnosed with brain cancer. While she is currently doing quite well after two brain surgeries and four courses of chemotherapy, additional treatments still lie ahead. Her story radiates with the fullness of God's ability and desire to heal, comfort and give strength to the weak. It's also a story which is inseparable from that of Christ Aid. Who am I? My name is Will Marple, and I have called Christ Aid my home for over four years and its founder Jeff Chamberlain my friend and pastor for over six.

My wife, Kerri, and I are graduates of Christ Aid. We are now honored with the opportunity to serve Jesus on staff, I as the worship pastor and Kerri in administration. Christ Aid is the place Jesus chose to send our family to learn how to walk in His footsteps. Thus, I speak from deep personal experience and conviction when I say that He has and continues to use Christ Aid in my family's life and the lives of so many others.

So, it is this Christmas season that we here at Christ Aid find ourselves confronted with a monumental opportunity and challenge greater in magnitude than any we have previously faced. However, before I get to that I would like to take some time to share with you the story of my daughter's ongoing healing and restoration.

Danielle Marple is 2 1/2 years old. About 5 months ago she was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. Her treatment process began with a brain surgery to remove as much of the tumor as possible. After recovering from the surgery, her oncologists followed with four courses of chemotherapy. The treatment protocol the doctors have selected calls for six courses; however a second surgery became necessary before the final two could be completed.

Danielle recovered extremely well from the second brain surgery, which was an immense success. The surgeons were able to perform what they term a "gross resection." This means that 100% of all visible tumorous tissue was removed, leaving behind only microscopic tumor cells. As you can imagine, Kerri and I were overjoyed at the news. Yet, even as I am writing this letter, Danielle and Kerri sit in a room at Arnold Palmer Hospital as Danielle receives her 5th dose of chemotherapy. While grateful for the wonderful results her treatment has yielded so far, we also realize that her recovery is a miracle in progress and therefore make no premature assumptions about what the future may hold.

I wish I had more space with which to share all of the details of Danielle's story. All I can say is that she repeatedly exceeds her doctor's expectations in her body's reaction to treatment and recovery from surgeries. However, in my humble opinion, Danielle's story is not just about God's miraculous healing in her own life, but also about spiritual growth, and the relationships that have developed because of this experience. When this journey began almost 5 months ago, I'm sure you can imagine the emotions that began to sweep over us; fear and uncertainty threatened our family as the severity of Danielle's diagnosis began to sink in. It was (and is) our faith in Jesus, and our large base of support (much of which is here at Christ Aid) that prevented those feelings and that situation from completely consuming us. Quite to the contrary, we are doing well and looking forward to completing Danielle's treatment, walking in the footsteps of Jesus no matter where they may lead.

I previously spoke of an opportunity. This Christmas season brings with it a great abundance of opportunities for all of us. The very God given purpose, in fact, for me writing this letter results from one such opportunity. An opportunity for me to give back a very small piece of the love that Jesus has poured out to me. The challenge before us is this. We must raise $50,000 on our own before Friday, December 28th, 2007. If we succeed, we will be awarded an additional $50,000 in a matching grant. First let me say thank you. If it were not for our many faithful friends in our community who know us and believe in this work and support us financially, Christ Aid would not exist. God continues to use many of you in our lives daily with your gifts of time, talent and financial support. As you know, for some time now our financial support has fallen short of what we need to meet our operating budget. As a result, we are now merely accomplishing a small portion of the vision and purpose that God has imparted to us.

Well friends, I am here today to tell you that I believe it's time for this situation to end. We have the trained staff, the vision and the heart to do much more. We need your help. With your tax deductible contributions, Christ Aid can accomplish the following:

• Pay off the balance of the mortgage
• Eliminate debt and bring all bills current
• Complete repairs and refurnishing of all facilities
• Repair or replace mission critical vehicles

Every penny of your tax deductible donation during this brief time period doubles. One dollar becomes two dollars, one thousand becomes two thousand, all the way up to the $50,000 goal. That means-you guessed it-that if together we reach our goal the final total will exceed $100,000.

Kerri and I and our family would like to say "Thank You" to those who have faithfully and generously donated your resources over the past 20+ years to Christ Aid. We now invite you and would be honored if you would join us in meeting this new challenge by making your tax deductible donation today.

Please feel free to contact us for any assistance you may need. We are available to speak to you personally, your group or your church. Or phone numbers are (321) 383-3168 and (321) 403-4072. For audit documentation requests, please contact our finance department at (321) 383-3168 ext. 311.

Wishing you this Christmas season's best,

William Marple
Worship Pastor
Christ Aid Inc.

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