March 14, 2005
Dear friends and family,
With deep sorrow and grief in our hearts, I write this letter
not only on my behalf but also on behalf of the Gulley family.
Last night, while on an outreach at a park in Juarez Mexico,
Jeffrey Gulley was helping to lead worship, playing the drums,
when he fainted and fell. Almost immediately his heart stopped.
A fireman was on the scene who immediately started CPR to
resuscitate him. Jonathan, Stephen, and I were part of an
outreach in the same park so we were with Jeffrey within a
minute, praying and trying to help resuscitate him. An ambulance
was there within 5-10 minutes and we were able to transport
him to a nearby hospital. As the emergency room personnel
began to work with him, we spent the next 20 minutes praying
with all our hearts. The medical personnel did everything
they could to save his life. After 20 minutes, they came out
and said that they were not able to revive him but they would
continue trying, all the while we continued praying and calling
out to God. After 10 minutes more, they came out and said
there was nothing else they could do. They put Jeffrey in
a holding room and for the next two hours we prayed for God
to miraculously raise him up.
As we were asking God to speak to us, He spoke John 11:25
– Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection
and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies
and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die.
Do you believe this?" We committed Jeffrey into
the hands of the Lord. Jeffrey went to heaven the way many
of us would like to go – worshipping Jesus. He was walking
closer than he ever had. Our hearts are broken for the Gulley
family with the depth of their loss: Ed and Laurie, Carl and
Blair, James Mark and Maria, Jonathan and Amy, and Stephen,
as well as their close friends and other family members.
As Jonathan said, the victory has been won because Jeffrey
stands forever in the presence of the Lord. We are the ones
left behind to stand close together and grieve in these days.
At times like this, when we once again realize the frailty
of this life, it makes one want to love more today and give
our hearts away to rely solely on Jesus, now and forever.
We love each of you and will communicate details as we have
them. The Gulleys have expressed that the way you can honor
them and to honor Jeffrey is to draw closer to Jesus, knowing
we will receive mercy and help in our time of need.
Jonathan Gulley wanted to share what he received from the
Lord at this time. “Jeffrey gave his life to the Lord
in August of 2004. As I was thinking about all the years we
had spent praying and contending for Jeffrey, I felt God ask
me this question in a very kind and Fatherly way ‘Wasn’t
it worth it?’ As a family, we grieve because of our
loss but we feel victory because Jeff stands in the presence
of God, he worshipped his way into Heaven.”
In His Strength & Love,
Jimmy
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