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the Star in temple Texas
By Vanessa Westmoreland
A gold star that is. Not a rockstar, but a Gold Star Marine Mother. This story is one of unconditional love by a mom who would do everything she could for her only son and child. Sadly, six years ago she lost him to the war in Afghani- stan. She is keeping his memory alive by giving Bibles away in his memory. A gold star first made its appearance in World War I and describes a family member who has lost someone during their service in the military. It was placed over a flag’s blue star during a service of someone who was killed in combat. The gold star is meant to showcase the family’s pride of their
Most of the Bibles went to a local charity known as Churches Touching Lives for Christ, which is continuing to distribute them. She is a faithful woman who has always looked for ways to share her faith with others over the years. Life hasn’t always been easy for her being a single divorced mother, but instead of feeling pity for herself she finds ways to thank God through it and witness to others. After she handed out her first mission of Bibles, she couldn’t stop giving them. Just like Hannah in the Bible, she had a hard time getting pregnant. For seven years she prayed for a son, so she did the math and that
loved one, instead of their personal loss. Mary Wyscarver is the proud mother from Temple, TX, who lost her son, Marine Staff Sergeant Joseph Fankhaus- er. She had 7 boxes ready to send to Joe when she received the news that he had died. She sent packages every chance she could to him and his Platoon. Many times it was the necessities that the men needed like socks, mouse traps and bedsheets and she would always stuff the packages with hard candies so that Joe could give it away to the children in Afghanistan. She did the math and Joe was alive for 30+ years which comes out to 11,197 days. Having had an aneurysm three months before Joe died, she prayed to God that she would live long enough to give that many Bibles away in Joe’s memory. As of Memorial Day 2017, she completed that number giving New Testaments and whole Bibles.
was 2,555 days of praying. She is now personally hand-giving away more Bibles and was up to 106 in May 2018. Mary says: “It’s sad to think that Joe may touch more people in death than he did in life, but it’s gratifying to know the the Word of God lives forever! I turned 68 in September, so I hope I can finish this project in the years to come.” Mary always carries the Bibles on her. This way when she is at the grocery store and starts talking to someone, she can be prepared to give one away. If you would like to help Mary complete her mission and receive one of these Bibles, you can call Churches Touching Lives for Christ in Temple, Texas, 254-778-6885. B
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