Family Matters
God facilitates a family reunion through FPCB
by Marti Spencer, FPCB Member
It is humbling to realize that you have been chosen to be one small piece of a puzzle that God is putting together to help the family of a soldier. Sgt. Michael Buyas was injured December 22, 2004 near Mosul, Iraq, when a bomb detonated underneath the armored personnel carrier he commanded. He lost about three fourths of his left leg in the explosion and doctors at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C. amputated his right foot and ankle. His wife, Carrie, was by his side at Walter Reed from December 23 until May 22 when he was able to take a month’s leave to visit his family in McNeil Canyon (close to Chelan, WA). Michael and Carrie have three sons (ages 4, 7, and 9) who were cared for by Carrie’s mother and father.
My husband, John, travels frequently for his job. He was scheduled to attend a black tie awards dinner in Washington D.C. in February and asked me to go with him. We were preparing to move to Manson, WA (near Chelan); therefore, he read Chelan’s local news where he found article about Sgt. Michael Buyas. We asked if we could make a point of visiting while on our trip and Michael agreed. During our visit we learned that Michael and Carrie wanted to see their boys more than anything else and felt confident that Michael could handle a family reunion in March.
The following Sunday as I listened to Scott’s sermon I kept thinking, "Talk to Scott about getting help for the Buyas family reunion." Scott suggested I contact Rich Leatherberry who allowed an announcement in the Sunday bulletin and Danna VanHorn who let the story to be told at a Deacon meeting. At the time, I was only focusing on getting enough frequent flier miles to get three boys and two of Carrie’s sisters round trip tickets.
The Deacons were very supportive. One Deacon called to educate me on how the military works and what is available to people in the service. Another Deacon called a friend of theirs who worked in the offices of the Secretary of Defense in Washington D.C. She wanted to be certain that this wounded soldier would have the contacts necessary to utilize military benefits available to him and his family.
You know, I really did expect to find help for the Buyas family within our church; however, this call far exceeded my expectations. This was an answer to prayer. You can’t get much higher than the Secretary of Defense when asking for help for a wounded soldier. Two days after the Deacon meeting the trip for five was booked using donated frequent flier miles. The Buyas Family Reunion would begin on March 17 and last 10 days.
It was too late to retract a request for frequent flier miles in the Sunday bulletin. That turned out to be a God-send. Several people donated money and one man offered to pay for hotel and transportation so that the kids would have as much quality time with their father as possible. It turned out that Michael is the only person in his family that had ever traveled at all. Securing arrangements for transportation was much more challenging than locating rooms for ten days. Nobody in the family has a major credit card which prohibited renting a car. Of course, once I found out that there was not an adult that was comfortable driving from Chelan to SeaTac … I was thanking the Lord that we had been unsuccessful in renting a vehicle.
John and I visited with Carrie’s sisters the night before they left for D.C. Members of the congregation provided close to $500 for the family to spend as needed. I wish each of you could meet the Buyas family. They are so very grateful for the outpouring of love which came from this church.
I had to laugh when Michael told me that he is Catholic and was concerned that there were some sort of bad feelings between Presbyterians and Catholics. I assured him that the Lord is interested in "individuals" regardless of the denomination and it was the Lord that led me to tell the congregation about the Buyas Family Reunion.
Sgt. Michael Buyas received the Purple Heart on March 25. I do not believe that it was any accident that this ceremony was scheduled during the time of the Buyas family reunion. It was one more piece in God’s puzzle.