Summer 2024
Happy summer to you and your loved ones! I hope you are all well and growing with the Lord! I wanted to write a note to all the prayer warriors to firstly, thank you, for your prayers and support of the ministry and life God has called me to! I have felt your prayers and love throughout the most recent steps of my journey.
I also wanted to give you a personal update on my health and recovery at this point. As you might has seen in an email from Freedom in Christ Ministries, USA, I have been on medical sabbatical since June of this year. Here is an overall summary of what has happened:
It has been an eventful year. In July 2023, I had a heart ablation to address some Afib (Afib stands for atrial fibrillation (AF), which is a type of arrhythmia, or abnormal heartbeat) occurrences. After this procedure, my recovery became complicated with a surgery site infection which led to rehospitalization, which led to exposure to pneumonia, which resulted in a recovery time over 8 weeks long. This was hard on my body and proved to cause additional longer-term complications in my overall health.
We then moved from Melissa, Texas to Rustburg, Virginia. We rented a small townhome while we looked for a home to purchase. This was a beautiful adventure which we felt called by the Lord to go on and were looking forward to what He had in store. Once in Virginia, in November, I found it hard to mentally focus, communicate clearly, and physically recover from each GenFree event. This worsened over time and then I began having problems breathing and experienced deep chest pain; eventually leading me to the hospital in April. After many tests and cardiologists’ assessments, they diagnosed me with pericarditis – a swollen heart. Recovery would take 3-6 months, but healing was possible!
We since found and closed on our forever home (until God says otherwise) on 12 acres of wooded bliss in Evington, Virginia (I call it my “pocket of peace”). The Lord blessed us with a home that was truly a gift hand picked for us. We moved in a few weeks after I returned home from the hospital.
Heart health and recovery has involved cardiac physical therapy, a lot of rest and slowing of pace, continued diet adjustments and many trials of prescriptions for various heart issues. The leadership of Freedom in Christ Ministries has been so supportive of me and taking time for my body and soul to recover. I am so blessed to work and serve with these amazing children of God & hope to return full-time to ministry in the Fall.
Please continue to pray for Tammy Williams, the GenFree Associate Director, as she carries more of her share of ministry while I am on this medical sabbatical. Also pray for all the young people who are seeking freedom from hurt, spiritual apathy, deception, and bondage.
Lastly, please pray for the leadership and growing ministry of Freedom in Christ Ministries USA as we rebuild and reorganize for exponential growth in 2024 and beyond!
Gratefully Free,
Mellisa Pressley
