Personal touch encourages member

Samaritan Ministries member David Laigle received more than 170 Shares after a life-changing brain surgery in April, but two hand-drawn pictures and many prayers encouraged him most.

“I write notes to other people and pay my monthly Shares, but I’ve now received over 176 checks from different members with notes,” he said. “A lot of people will send me scripture and quotes and very nice greetings and store-bought cards and handwritten cards and notes, but there was one lady that sat down and had her two children, both under 5 years old, draw me pictures and write me notes, and I mean, it just floored me. It was the sweetest thing.”

David, who lives in central Texas, has experienced a myriad of health problems over the past two decades.

“I’m extremely physical and (like to be) outdoors,” he said. “I’ve had several health problems over the past 20 years. Everything from kidney stones to colon polyps to sleep apnea and changing voice and all these things.”

David’s most recent problems started two years ago. Surgery for stage 4 malignant melanoma led to other problems. Then a follow-up dermatology examination revealed swelling that was traced to a tumor behind the bridge of his nose.

He had surgery to remove the non-cancerous tumor in April and, within 42 hours, he walked out of the hospital without the tumor and free of many other issues he previously had.

“Of the 35 different maladies I’ve suffered in the past 20 years—kidney stones, colon polyps, swelling joints, sleep apnea, voice change, losing my ability to whistle and sing—they all disappeared overnight,” he said. “They were all connected to this.

“Some people get overwrought when you’re facing such a daunting operation and all that, and I really felt at peace even going in,” David said. “I just thought, I’m a man of faith and I can’t lose. I either wake up dead and I win, or I wake up a new man and I win. ... But knowing that thousands of people were praying for me, especially my family, it helped.

“That was just the most uplifting thing I’ve ever experienced,” he said. “It just blew me away.”