Jeff is back and well! Thank you for your prayers.

Some of you may remember my colleague Jeff, a much beloved professor of English and advisor to the student newspaper, who was literally at death's door this past winter. He was quite severely ill and I asked for prayers and posted updates on several occasions. (See links below.)

Jeff is back at work this fall semester. He will, in fact, be giving the Opening Convocation Address. (Unusual -- the speaker is usually from outside the college, or has been the three years I've been here.) When faculty and staff heard about this at our opening meeting yesterday, we all stood and gave Jeff a long ovation. It was his first time back among us. A very moving moment.

Jeff is deeply grateful for your prayers. He is convinced that they made a huge difference. Thank you all so much. (We also had two faculty on sabbatical who said they lit candles all over Siena, Italy; a lot of other people, formally religious or not, were praying for Jeff.) Besides those who read this blog, I want to thank especially Shannon's guys, the men in the prison where Shannon is a chaplain. She wrote in the comments section of this blog, when I first asked for prayers, that they would be praying. Shannon, please tell the guys that many people are grateful, including Jeff, and remind them that we pray for them too. (You do pray for people in prison, all y'all?) I told Jeff yesterday that they had prayed for him, along with other people on the Pacific coast and people on on both sides of the Atlantic coast and places in between.

Thanks be to Godde.

Requests for and updates on Jeff, since last February: Here and here and here and here and here.