Saturday, December 6, 2008

In Loving Memory

Hello everyone,

As some of you may or may not know, a girl at my school committed suicide this past week.
As you can imagine, everyone is having a pretty rough time. Please pray for this family.

Also, I have some exciting news. The Lord actually gave me a song for this girl on the way to school. I ended up showing it to my teacher and he was completely amazed that I had written it without even knowing her. He and the band teacher were both moved to tears when they read it. Now they want me to transpose it for the orchestra and band and then they want me to sing it as part of our Christmas concert in memory of Lauren. I still can't believe it! It's all about having comfort in Jesus Christ in the midst of terrible pain and grief . The Gospel is going to be preached from the stage in front of everyone attending this concert! I am so excited!



I have included her obituary from the paper. If anyone of you is available, we would greatly appreciate you help and support. We are going to be giving out bibles at her funeral and hopefully will have many opportunities to share the gospel. Thank you all for keeping this family in your prayers!



Well, I'd better go now. Izzy had her first b-ball game today, so I'm going to go make pancakes for lunch. We're gonna have some hungry munchkins!

Love you all! Have a great afternoon.

Hannah





Lauren Traci Vergara CHESAPEAKE - Lauren Traci Vergara, a brilliant young woman, of the 1400 block of Monarch Reach, passed away at the youthful age of 16, Dec. 2, 2008. She was born in Agana, Guam and lived in Chesapeake for the past five years. She was the daughter of Noel and Gwen Velarde Vergara. Lauren previously attended Crestwood Elementary and Intermediate schools and currently attended Great Bridge High School where she was in the 11th grade. She was a performing member of the Great Bridge Marching Wildcats, the National Honor Society as well as many different academic clubs. Her smile filled every classroom with light because every teacher as well as many students loved her. She is survived by her parents of Chesapeake; her paternal grandparents,Alfredo and Julieta Vergara and maternal grandmother, Eufracia Velardeall of the Philippines; her older brother, Paolo; and her younger sister, Liezl; and many aunts and uncles. She was a beautiful daughter,a loving sister and a caring friend. The Rev. Father Romeo Jazmin will officiate at the funeral Mass Monday, Dec. 8, at 2 p.m. in Prince of Peace Catholic Church. Burial will be in the Philippines. A Christian wake will be held at 6 p.m. Sunday in the Chesapeake chapel of H.D.Oliver Funeral Apts.; the family will remain in the funeral home to receive friends until 9 p.m. Lauren was and always will be forever remembered in the hearts of those blessed with the memory of her presence and her friendship. Memorial contributions may be sent in Lauren's name to the Great Bridge High School Marching Wildcats Band Parents Association, 301 W. Hanbury Road, Chesapeake, VA 23322. Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.hdoliver.com.

3 comments:

Jen said...

Hanners!! Just thought I'd leave a quick little howdy-do before I'm off to work. Your post was beautiful and I will be praying fervently for Lauren's family.

I'm reminded, at this moment, of the Third Day song "Cry Out to Jesus"

"There is hope for the hopeless, rest for the weary, strength for the broken heart. There is love and forgiveness, mercy and healing, He'll meet you wherever you are. Cry out to Jesus."

I pray they are able to take comfort in the fact that our Savior is always there and the fact that there is hope and healing during these trying times.

Love and miss you.

Jen

Hannah Leilani said...

Jen! Hooray! I am so glad you found my blog! I can't believe I forgot to send you an invite. If you want, I will send it to you. Your email is thesomedaychef@yahoo.com right?
Love ya girly and can't wait to hang out soon!
~Han

Kate Van said...

Hannah, I'm glad you've started this blog because I think/pray for you often and am frequently wondering how things are going. This is an amazing testimony to God's hand leading you to this place- I can hardly believe the story about the song!! Love you and your family and will continue to pray!