By Lori Klaus
Contributing Writer
If you grew up going to Sunday School, you have undoubtedly heard many Bible stories of God acting in miraculous ways: the parting of the Red Sea or the hand of God writing the Ten Commandments for Moses. We read of Jesus healing the lame and the blind and raising Lazarus from the dead. Are those just ancient stories to us … miracles that have no place in our own ‘ordinary’ lives? Are they examples of God’s limitless power that somehow seems removed and unreachable to us? As Lisa Lucente is fond of saying, “God takes ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances to work modern-day miracles”.
Lisa may seem like an ‘ordinary’ person. She is the busy mother of five kids ranging in age from seven to fifteen and works from home part-time doing billing for doctors at the Alberta Children’s Hospital. Like any other mom, she is constantly running kids from one activity to another and has a long list of housework and other miscellaneous jobs to do any given day.
Her husband Greg Lucente is also an ‘ordinary’ guy. He works in the parcel delivery business and like other devoted fathers, after working long hours he still makes time to coach his kids’ basketball teams. He loves sports, works hard for his family and leads a life group for Grade 6 boys. He is the guy you would rub shoulders with in the foyer on any given Sunday … the type of guy who goes out into the world each week to make a living, comes home to his family and seeks to daily serve the Lord through life’s inevitable challenges.
Could an average family like this be witness to a modern-day miracle? The answer unfolded in the lives of the Lucente family only months ago and in a way that would forever change them and strengthen their faith.
In June of 2008, Lisa’s father, Papa Joe was taken to the hospital and given devastating news that he had a brain tumor and did not have long to live. He underwent radiation treatments, which improved his condition for a time, but in December the tumor had returned. The family was told he had two to three months to live. That diagnosis and its harsh reality is a difficult thing for any family to come to terms with, but the heartache and inner turmoil is infinitely worse when that loved one is not a believer.
Lisa’s father (Papa Joe) was, in her daughter Gianna’s words, “an independent, stubborn, and wonderful man.” His personality endeared him to all his grandchildren, who will forever have memories of him taking them to amusement parks, having movie marathons at home or heading to the theatre. All the Lucente kids agree he was ‘the most amazing Grandpa ever,’ a man full of life and energy who played racquetball for three hours a day, had a distinctive laugh you could pick out in any crowd and loved his family with all his heart.
Sadly, that heart was not full of the presence of Jesus. Early on in his life, when he was only a teenager, he was fooling around outside a local church, dressed in clothing that labeled him as a troublemaker. The priest of that church came outside and told him to never darken the doors of the church again. Proud and stubborn as he was, he never did.
Although Lisa, Greg and all their children diligently prayed for his salvation, there was no spiritual change in his life. His young grandson Gabriel tearfully expressed his fear that Papa Joe would not be in Heaven one day. During radiation treatments, his thirteen year-old granddaughter Francesca wrote two letters about his need for Christ and how to invite Him into his heart.
“When the Lord says that He will keep you”, she wrote in one letter “He means it. But getting your brain cancer was not accidental. Who knows why God wanted it to happen, but it is all part of His plan. God just doesn’t let things happen. He’s in control. Remember that. When it says He watches you, it means that He doesn’t start watching you when you come to know Christ because He’s been watching all your life. But until you come to know Christ you may not realize He’s there. But please try to find Him.”
There was no response from Papa Joe at that time, but Francesca’s letters and other seeds planted throughout the years, along with hundreds of prayers that were lifted up for his salvation, were about to culminate in a most miraculous way.
When Papa Joe was given the news that he only had months to live, he decided to go through his address book to contact family and friends and say a final goodbye. He had a speech memorized and when a friend would pick up the phone, he would immediately start reading it to make the call less difficult. One of the friends Papa Joe contacted was a man named Rick. Rick was someone that he deeply respected and when Rick answered the phone that day, Papa Joe began sobbing in distress and proceeded to pour out his heart to him. In those moments of vulnerability, he realized his need for a Saviour. After sharing that he could come to the Lord no matter where he had been or what he had done, Rick led him into a relationship with Christ over the phone that day.
After that conversation, Papa Joe told the Lucente family of his decision to follow Christ on their last visit with him. The family was overcome with thankfulness and relief. They cried tears of rejoicing at this news they had waited so long to hear. When Papa Joe passed away, his family was comforted with the peace that could only come from knowing Papa Joe was in Heaven with Jesus.
But there is a surprise – a BIG surprise. After Papa Joe’s funeral, on March 30, 2009, Lisa borrowed his address book to look through the contacts and call any friends who may not have heard of his death. She wanted to call Rick, in particular, to thank him for leading Papa Joe to the Lord. It was then that a startling discovery was made. Lisa realized that an incorrect number for Rick was listed in Papa Joe’s address book! A sinking, sickening feeling came over Lisa as the reality of that discovery hit her. If her father had not dialed Rick’s correct phone number, then who had he called? In the confused state her father had been in, they could not be sure. Had Papa Joe even prayed for salvation? Was he really in Heaven? Lisa was in a state of utter shock and panic and asked her husband to pray for her. She trembled and sobbed in her kitchen as she built up the resolve to do what she had to do … call the incorrect number in her father’s address book.
The phone number connected her to a man named Rob. Lisa, worried about her father’s eternal destiny, tearfully explained who she was and why she was calling. Against all human odds, the words Lisa heard next would be among the most precious and beautiful that she had ever heard. Rob graciously said, “Oh Lisa…..don’t you think your father didn’t make it!” He proceeded to share the whole story with her. As it happened, Rob was sitting in a Sunday morning church service in Victoria, British Columbia when Papa Joe called. He normally shuts off his phone during the service and under normal circumstances he would not have even answered the call. Somehow, Rob felt compelled to answer his phone, so he stepped outside the church service and into the foyer. On the other end of the line, Papa Joe had tearfully launched into the story of what was happening in his life. Rob felt led by God to tell him the Biblical story of the thief on the cross and expressed to him that it was never too late to come to the Lord. Rob asked if he would like to pray for Jesus to come into his life and praise God, he did! Rob explained that Papa Joe had sounded so distraught over the phone that he had not wanted to interrupt him and say that he had the wrong number. Instead, he shared the message of Christ with him, which led to them saying the sinner’s prayer together at the end of the conversation.
The magnitude of what took place began to sink in for Lisa. So many things had to line up. It could only be God’s hand that orchestrated the events leading to her father’s salvation. Lisa’s daughter Gianna writes “So many things could have gone wrong. The number could have been a dead number, the cell phone could have been off, Rob could have ignored it or he could have said “Sorry, wrong number”. But none of those things happened. Everything lined up perfectly. Coincidence? I think not.”
This divine intervention has forever impacted the Lucente family and the ripples of what took place continue. They found out that the cell phone Rob had at his Church that day actually had belonged to his step-daughter. Rob attended Papa Joe’s memorial service, found lifelong friends in the Lucente family and also approached Rick to share with him what had taken place. Rick, as it turned out, was not a believer. Had Papa Joe dialed the correct number that day, he would not have had the conversation that saved his life spiritually. As for Rick, a seed was undoubtedly planted in his life that day as he became aware of the incredible way God is at work in our lives behind the scenes.
The church Rob attends in Victoria is called Glad Tidings Pentecostal, which is the very same church that Lisa visited with a friend in her childhood years when God was pursuing her young heart. After the telephone conversation between Rob and Papa Joe that day, he told the Pastor of Glad Tidings, who then shared the story with the entire congregation. Although the Lucente’s had no way of knowing at the time, the whole church body at Glad Tidings was praying for Papa Joe in his last days. Lisa has had the opportunity to share this story with friends in other churches and countless people have been encouraged in their faith.
For the Lucente’s, each family member has been affected in their walk with the Lord.
For fifteen year old Gianna, she has the story of a lifetime to write about in her journals. She titled one of her entries ‘When Wrong Is Right,’ which details how many ‘wrong’ things lined up under God’s direction to make things right in Papa Joe’s life.
For thirteen year old Francesca, it has shaped her understanding of how God’s ways are always best.
For twelve year old Gabriel and his younger brothers Dario and Luca, their fears are now laid to rest and they have confidence in the knowledge that they will see their Papa Joe again someday. His life on earth was not the end of his journey.
For Lisa and Greg, what happened in Papa Joe’s life is a testament to the way God is always working. In her early childhood, her parents divorced at the age of three and her mother married and divorced three more times, meaning many moves and changes in schools and friends for young Lisa. But God was still active. He placed many Christian friends in her life along the way that brought her to church and were used of God to bring Lisa to Himself. Throughout the many years that Lisa prayed for her Dad, though there were times of discouragement when it felt like change would never come, God was active behind the scenes in orchestrating the best way to bring Papa Joe to Himself – a way that Papa Joe could respond to and that would bring glory to His name.
Jeremiah 29:11 is a favourite Bible verse in the Lucente home. It reads, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” [NIV].
Indeed God did have a future planned for Papa Joe – a future with Him in Heaven.
Gianna writes, “Three things can be learned from this story. One: God is a God of miracles. Two: nothing is too big or too small for God to care about. Three: God does know what our lives are like today and the hardships we face. How do we know for sure? Because He didn’t use a burning bush or write on the wall to save my Grandpa. He used a cell phone.”
Perhaps the most precious conclusion to this story lies in the final words Papa Joe had for his grandchildren on the last trip the family made to see him before he died. Nine year old Dario winked at him and said “See you in Heaven…” With a peace stronger than his pain or fear and with a faith that led him safely from this life to the next, Papa Joe softly replied “See you in Heaven … I like that. Yes, I will.”