Testimony Ralph Rodriguez

THE 11th HOUR
(The story of Richard Wayne Starnes)

It was September 4th, 2006 and our family would celebrate my wife Donna's 37th birthday at our home in Allen, Texas. The attending usual suspects would include our three children, my father and his wife, and of course my father-in-law Richard "Dick" Starnes. It was a typical Sunday afternoon at our house but little did we know that life as we knew it would be turned upside down soon enough.

Dick Starnes was a 61-year-old father of two and grandfather of six children. He was a professional car salesman of 40 years and one of the most rebellious human beings on the planet for the whole 61 years. His enthusiasm for going against the grain would be matched only by his rejection of religion and as he would call them," religious fanatics."

As we celebrated Donna s birthday we would soon begin to take notice that Dick had lost a considerable amount of weight. Donna would take particular notice and had shown great concern for the health of her father privately.

Several days passed with growing concern. Dick was not one who would openly discuss medical issues and he was also one that would avoid going to the doctor at any cost. Donna would finally press her father to reveal to her that he had been very sick at night for months. It was time for Donna to assert herself as she insisted that her father go to the emergency room. He arrived at the hospital and was quickly admitted. It soon became obvious that Dick would need exploratory surgery to uncover what was causing his growing sickness.

It was Saturday September 9th at approximately 11 am when I received the call from Donna. She was much shaken and I could barely understand what she was telling me. "My father has pancreatic cancer and he is not going to live very long!" My heart sunk to the floor because I could feel the sorrow of my wife and I knew that she would have to be the one to tell him the tragic news. The other variable that I had not considered was that the spiritual time clock was ticking and his soul was at stake. Donna did not forget and would continue to pray fervently for his salvation.

Dick would be released from the hospital on September 26th to go spend his last days at home as he was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer and was given one week to ten days to live. During this time my wife would give of herself in the most unselfish way possible. She would stay and care for him day and night. There was no hospice, just her and her father and what would turn out to be the most rewarding time of her life and mine.

During these days, I would come and stay with Dick for six to eight hours while Donna would sleep to catch up from being awake all night with her father. Dick would not fall asleep because of his fear of dying. As I reflect on scriptures I couldn t help but to think that as an unsaved soul he was in utter turmoil thinking that he would die with no hope of salvation and no hope of eternal life. Of course! Why would you want to fall asleep and die if you thought that there would be nothing after death? With this in mind I would purposely share the good news of salvation and eternal life with Dick. I would share the gospel periodically and Dick would say, "When you die, you are just like a dog, you just die!" I remember distinctly feeling that Dick was so hard hearted and thinking that he would never accept Jesus Christ. That is when I quit pressing him and chose to just love him unconditionally just like his daughter. Instead of trying to convince him of anything, I would just tell him that I loved him and I would show my love by being there for him.

We shared many discussions in his last days and I would look forward to our newly found friendship and our sure to be interesting discussions.

My wife would continue to pray scriptures over him and I would pray at home with the kids and we would pray diligently for his salvation. I remember my wife calling me one day and telling me that she prayed all night. She told GOD that she would continue caring for her father in the same manner for 5 months if it took that long to see his salvation.

It was a Saturday October 7, 2006 and I was working about 20 minutes from Dick's home. I really felt the Holy Spirit impress on me that I should leave that second. Without even locking up, I headed towards Dick's House.

I entered the home and walked into the family room where Dick was lying and I saw Donna. She was quietly sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. Dick had lost a good portion of his hearing and could not see very well either. Time was winding down and I knew it because of the calmness that Donna showed while she was sharing the gospel. I would sit quietly and listen for the next 45 minutes. At one point Dick looked over at me and said, "Ralph, for the last 5 or 6 days I have been hearing voices and they have been telling me that if I accept Jesus Christ as my personal savior, I am an idiot." I told Dick, "I know." Donna then told Dick in the sweetest most caring voice I had ever heard, "you don t have to hear those voices anymore dad. If you accept Jesus as your personal savior the voices will go away." Finally Dick said, "I am ready." Dick was so weak and was losing so much so fast that he asked Donna to make it simple for him to remember. Donna asked her father to repeat these words, "I accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior." Her father repeated those words to my utter amazement. Donna and I began to weep tears of joy.

A few moments later Dick asked Donna to get a piece of paper and a pen and he said, "In your best hand writing, please write these words for me on the paper. I accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior." After she wrote the words, he asked her to put the paper in his wallet.

There were only two other times I could hear him talk after that moment. One time his religious fanatical Christian boss came over and he asked him to sit down. He asked Donna if she would get his wallet and hand it to his boss. Dick asked his boss to pull the piece of paper out of his wallet and read it aloud. His boss read the paper and was astonished. He looked at his boss and whispered, "And it was my idea." His boss looked at him and said"it sure was."

The last time I could hear him talk I heard him ask Donna for the wallet. She knew that he wanted the paper and gave it to him. She also put his glasses on his head for him. As he gazed at the paper that was in his left hand you could see his right hand moving in a writing motion as if to say that he wanted to write the words himself.

As I reflect back on this month I see what an awesome GOD we serve. I remember Jesus while hanging on the cross with a life long criminal in the gospel of Luke 23:42-43:
42 Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." 43 Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."

I can only tell you never to give up even until the very end because GOD will show up. I made the mistake of thinking that it was over. Fortunately I serve a most powerful and loving GOD who even let me come and see that it was not over yet.

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