“When I won my first state title, I was like, ‘Wow, like, I did it.’ I'm feeling like on top of the world. And that's why I kind of knew, like, ‘Man, I can be pretty good at this,’” says David.

Iowa State wrestler David Carr is a two-time and defending national champion. A dominating performer who won 96% of his collegiate matches. 

Will Dawson: How many matches did you lose in high school?

Carr: Seven

Dawson: You know, every one of them?

Carr: Yeah. So I was 247-7 and every match, I remember the matches I won, but the matches I lost were the ones that I circled.

His discipline was both inherent and coached up by his father, Olympic medalist, Nate Carr, who in 1988 appeared on The 700 Club.

[Excerpt from show in 1988] Pat Robertson: “It’s a pleasure to welcome right now to the 700 Club, Nate Carr.”

“Having a dad like Nate Carr, you know, multiple national champion, he's in multiple Hall of Fames, he wrestled in the Olympics, like it was kind of tough because they just expect you to know what to do. They expect you to be really good,” says David.

Besides teaching David how to be a great wrestler, Nate passed on his faith.

[Excerpt from show in 1988] Nate Carr: “All the things that we win down here on earth, all medals and trophies they’re going to pass away.  But one thing that you can be sure of, if you’re in Jesus Christ, he’s going to give you eternal life.”

“My dad is so humble, I didn't even know how good he was really,” says David. “He didn't really talk about winning that much. And, he was a pastor for a really long time, after coaching. And so, like, most of our conversations were more about faith, character, integrity. And then as he started to get back into wrestling and coaching wrestling, that's when I kind of was like, ‘Oh, now I'm trying this wrestling thing.’

“I wasn't very good at first. And, I knew that he could help me, though as I started to grow and I found that he was very knowledgeable with the wrestling, the faith, the lifestyle it took to be a champion.”

David excelled on the mat, however after arriving at Iowa State, he found his love for God growing cold.

“I'm just kind of doing my thing and just kind of living for the world, living my own life, even though, you know, I'm saved, I'm a Christian. I had like, really found a way to have, that change in my heart that that softness in my heart,” says David. I wouldn't do anything too crazy. But I definitely wasn't living a life that was honoring to God, I would say. And then finally living, trying to live for just my own pleasure in my own life.”

The realization was a catalyst for change.

David says, “I came to a breaking point. I wasn't happy with wrestling. I wasn't happy with where I was in life and I just got on my knees and said, ‘Man, like I tried to do it my way. I tried to do the double life, go to church and then do whatever I want. Really, it's not working out. I feel broken, I feel empty, and there's this void that I have inside me. Then no matter how many championships I win, how many people tell me how great I am, I can't get that in there. I can't, it's not going to change me. There's something that can't be filled.’  And then I just got on my knees and it's like, ‘I just want to live for you. I don't care if I want to go on a wrestling match again.’”

And the change was immediate.

“I was hungry for the Word, I was praying, I was in community,” says David. “Before I didn't have community of people challenging me and hold me accountable. After that moment, I found that community and changed my life. And the point I was like, ‘Man, I want to be so bold with my faith. I want to be so, like, strong with my faith. It’s because of Jesus Christ. It’s because he's changed my life.’”

On March 23^rd of this year, David won his second national championship at Iowa State.

“God just really blessed me to win. I don't know, it's crazy because I was like, ‘I don't even care about wrestling and I just want to get close to my faith.’ But as I did that, He just blessed me so much in the wrestling part. because I was more free. I was like, you know, ‘I'm just going to focus on my faith.’ I was like, ‘Man, I've already won with Christ,’” says David.

After graduating this past May, David’s goal is to wrestle in the 2028 Olympics.  Beyond achieving Olympic gold, his hope is that others will experience the relationship with God that has fueled him.

“It's in God's hands,” he says. “I put my faith in Him. If I'm world champ or Olympic champ, that'd be awesome, but if I'm not, you know, not much will change in my character how I view life and how much I love other people.  I just want everyone to have a relationship with Christ so that when they come to the end of their life and they get to hear, ‘Well done, faithful servant,’ and get to see the riches of heaven. That's the amazing part. That's something that I hope that everyone gets a chance to, to see.”

“You have fear and you have faith --- I had to get ahold of my fear, and put it to my faith.”

On October 30, 2018, one phone call completely upended the lives of the Pellicotte Family. “It said University Medical Center, I knew without a doubt, she was in trouble. I just kept slamming my hands on the steering wheel, just trying to get to her”, Sheri Pellicotte describes.

Sheri’s first call was to her husband Dennis. Their 20-year-old daughter, Jaclyn and her boyfriend were pulling out at a busy intersection, when a large truck slammed into the passenger side of their Jeep where Jaclyn was sitting. Rescue personnel rushed Jaclyn to University Medical Center in El Paso, Texas where her parents arrived shortly after. Although her boyfriend walked out with minor injuries, Jaclyn suffered numerous injuries, and fractures, and a traumatic brain injury. She wasn’t expected to live much longer. 

“To process somebody telling your daughter's not gonna survive…it just doesn't set in because you're like, this can't happen to us. I just saw Jaclyn, three hours ago at home, how can we already be here in a hospital with her fighting for her life?” asks Dennis Pellicotte.

CREDITS

Alongside her parents Dennis and Sheri, Jaclyn launched the Jaclynstrong Foundation which provides assistance with food, lodging, and parking for other TBI patients. More information can be found here:  JaclynStrong Foundation 

After their teenage daughter recovered from a serious illness, Sary (SAW - we) and her husband faced financial ruin as they tried to pay the bills.  “We spent everything we had trying to save her,” she told CBN. “We sold our house and land. We even went to Thailand for medical treatment.” 

Then thanks to YOU, Operation Blessing provided help! 

“They jumped in and helped us to start a business selling groceries. They built a grocery shop and taught me how to manage the income from the business,” said the thankful mom. 

Sary said the business is booming. “I make between 5 to 10 dollars a day in profits! I was able to save and now I started a second stand in another village.” 

She said she’s grateful to God for helping her daughter to recover and to the people who helped her through Operation Blessing.   “I'm so thankful for God's blessings and the donors who helped us. Without them, we'd be lost. May God bless everyone who helped!”

What a beautiful example of how CBN partners share the love of Jesus around the world with people in need! If you’re not yet a partner, we invite you to join us today. Help bring God’s love through initiatives like clean water wells, medical missions, feeding programs, and so much more—all in the name of Jesus! Join us today and become a part of what God’s doing through CBN partners. 

“I sat in my car, and I was flipping through them, and I was like, this is not mine. This isn't mine.” 

The cat scan results had come as a shock to Dawn Sherrill - 17 spots on her right lung. It had been 20 years since she smoked her last cigarette.  

“It's not mine! It's, it's, I was in denial.” 

A month later in March of 2021, Dawn and her husband Jason met with her pulmonologist to hear the results of a biopsy. It was cancer, specifically, non-small cell adenocarcinoma. 

Dawn said, “And I looked at him and I was still in denial. I said, well, what stage is this cancer? And this is when it hit me. He said, you have stage four lung cancer, and it's metastasized all over your body.”

We asked Jason about that moment.

“I can’t talk about that,” said Jason.

Dawn was told there were two treatment options. The best was chemo with immunotherapy known as Keytruda.  The combination could give her up to five years. However, Keytruda therapy required a specific protein to be present in Dawn’s body to work. Without that protein, chemo was the only course of action that, at best, would give her little more than a year to live.

“And the first thing that came to my mind is, how am I going to tell my four children this?” said Dawn. “How? And I can't die. I have 10 grand babies. I want them to know me and have the relationship with me that I had with my grandma. I saw Jesus in her.”

“But I still knew who God was. And I still knew from all of my years of serving Him, 
He's never failed me once.” 

Jason said, “I trust God in good, bad, or indifferent, you know? I mean, I’ve seen things, I’ve seen way too many things to question who's in charge and you know, to ask Him why. Cause I'm not smart enough to understand the answer.” 

While she started chemotherapy immediately, it would take three weeks to find out if Dawn had the protein necessary for immunotherapy.

She said, “That was the longest three weeks of my entire life, not knowing.”

One day, her church showed up at the family’s home to pray.

“They all laid hands on me and my pastor, Art, he anointed me with oil. And the elders came around me and everybody was in a circle around. After they were done praying, they broke out in song. and they sing praise music over me. And it was like that heaviness, like it lifted,” said Dawn. 

It turned out she did have the necessary protein, and doctors were able to add the immunotherapy treatment to the chemo. Even then there were no guarantees.
“But even then, the success rate with the Keytruda they give me five years to live. That was it, one and a half to five years.” 

At this point, oncologist, Dr. Mary Malecek, took over Dawn’s care. 

Dr. Malecek said, “I don't have a crystal ball. I’m not sure how we're going to do we'll know more, you know, with our first set of scans, we'll know more as we see how your body's tolerating this.” 

Dawn began the treatments that would come around every three weeks, the side effects were devastating. Dawn, her family and friends continued to pray for healing.

"I had very few days that I doubted Him,” said Dawn. “Through the sickest of times. And God just has a really good group of doctors around me, and prayer warriors around me, and my husband, and my husband, and my husband, I can’t say enough.” 

One night, she woke up out of a deep sleep.

She said, “It was the weirdest feeling. I felt this warmth not just in my body. It was, I could feel something running through my veins. And I can’t explain it, I’ve never heard of it before. God told me that night He said, I was healing you.”

Then, after several treatments Doctor Malecek scheduled a follow up scan - the cancer had shrunk 25%.

“You know, whenever we see the tumor start to shrink, that's always a great sign,” said Dr. Malecek.

Treatments and prayers continued, and a second scan showed the cancer was continuing to shrink. By the third scan in October 2021, it was clear Dawn was cancer free. 
Dr. Malecek said, “So it's always wonderful when we see it, when we see someone who responds really well and really early like she did. And the big thing is that she's maintained that.” 

“If it wasn't for the drug and God's intervention and wisdom and knowledge, I wouldn't be sitting here today. I owe everything to Him,” said Dawn. 

Although Dawn eventually stopped chemo, she continued immunotherapy for another nine months. Today, she’s still cancer free and enjoys each day with Jason and their now 12 grandchildren.

Jason said, “He always wins. It's always His way. No matter what, no matter what anybody else says, doctors can say what they're going to say, He's going to do what he's going to do. I trust His word on it. He didn’t say Jason your wife is going to make it, she’s not going to make it, He just said trust me and I did, and here we are.”

“What an amazing God we serve. What an amazing God we serve,” said Dawn. 

“That's why this story is important to let people know there is a God who still heals. He's still a miracle working God because the Bible says that He never changes.”