Modern Day Apostle
by Nancy Allen
Quail Springs Baptist Church
14613 N. May Avenue, Oklahoma CityOne day Dr. Francel called me a MODERN DAY APOSTLE. That was extremely generous and kind of him to say that. I try very hard to be one with my web site. It is my way of sharing the good news of Jesus Christ and Dr. Paul Francel, his agent in the world for healing and sharing God’s love and message. It also mirrors who I am. It is a window into my soul.
Dr. Paul C. Francel
This is the way it all came about. Dr. Francel told Arnold and me he was giving the Baccalaureate address on May 23, 2004 for Piedmont Oklahoma High School Seniors in Oklahoma City at the beautiful Quail Springs Baptist Church, and he invited us to attend. We went, and he was so happy that we were there. When we visited before the talk he said our picture was going to be "up there" on the 2 giant screens at the front of the auditorium. We thought, hm-m-m-m, I wonder what that is about. The church was huge with about 1000-1100 seats, which all appeared to be full.
When he got about half way through his interesting, educational slide show presentation and discussion, we were wondering how on earth he was going to include us in his talk. We thought maybe he was going to talk about some of his success stories. Then he said he was going to tell about three Modern Day Apostles. He told about Mr. Philip Fairclough and his book Living with Brain Injury which he wrote after his head injury and dedicated to Dr. Francel his doctor, another lady who started an organization to help people after her baby died, and about us and my Brainwavz web site. He discussed Arnold and his life-threatening tumor, his complex surgery, and his incredible, quick recovery. He described my web site. His point was, when something bad happens, you can turn it around and make something good come out of it to help others. Then he asked us to stand up and everyone applauded. It was surprising and wonderful.
I told my supervisor about it later and she said, “Yes, you are a Modern Day Apostle. Some people might think of doing something like that but how many have followed through and done it?” I told her I just did what God wanted me to do. I obeyed and as a result I have been richly blessed a thousand fold. I hope and pray others have been blessed too.
Arnold and Nancy AllenI would like to mention two other Modern Day Apostles. They are Dr. and Mrs. Paul Francel. He is a wonderful Christian witness sharing God's word with patients and their families, and until recently they both taught 5th and 6th grade Sunday School for 8 years. His wife is a church choir director. They are a model, modern day Christian family. I greatly admire them and their service to God. I pray God will bless them abundantly.
Another Modern Day Apostle is the Francel's oldest son who graduated from high school in May of 2005. He recently served as a volunteer at a Lutheran mission in Tanzania, Africa from October 2005 to January 2006 and worked as a volunteer from March to June 2006 at two orphanages in La Paz, Bolivia in South America. He delayed starting college for a year so he could serve the Lord and the poor in those areas of the world. Good job to him! I pray the Lord will richly bless his studies in college and his life in the future.
