By Patric Hedlund, TME

“Would you like to pray with me for Gil?” Pastor Rick Rivette of the Pine Mountain Club Community Christian Church asked this week.

He asked that of this reporter and he asked that of his congregation on Sunday, Nov. 14; the junior high Bible class on Monday; the high school Bible class on Wednesday; church fellowship prayer group, where 40 people came to pray; and he asked that of the men’s and women’s Bible study groups this week. His prayer is for Gilbert “Gil” Valenzuela, Commander of VFW Post 9791, retired U.S. Army medic, Community Emergency Response (CERT) Academy trainer, and for Gil’s family.

The prayer is both simple and eloquent: “Dear Lord, …who knows every cell in Gil’s body, we pray that you will heal him, and raise him up and bring him back to us….” Gil Valenzuela is in Henry Mayo Memorial Hospital in an induced coma, Rivette told his congregation. He is on a ventilator, struggling to regain the ability to breathe on his own, fighting hard against covid-19. He is in critical condition.

Almost in shock, the VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) is calling on…(please see below to view full stories and photographs)

Photo captions:

Gilbert Valenzuela, Commander of VFW Post 9791, is battling for his life against covid-19.

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This is part of the November 19, 2021 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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