[1] JACKSON, Tenn.(BP)–Southern Baptist missionaries Wade and Nancy Watts can attest God is still in the miracle business.
Two years ago, the Watts family was involved in a head-on collision in Peru which left Watts and his son, Marcus, comatose with severe head injuries. Watts was not expected to live.
Watts was hospitalized in a Memphis, Tenn., hospital for more than a year. At first he could only communicate by blinking his eyes, but by last May he was beginning to speak. His condition progressed to the point he could return to his Memphis home about eight months ago. He undergoes therapy five days a week on an outpatient basis.
Marcus, meanwhile, has almost fully recovered from the accident. Now in the fifth grade, he, along with his brother, Josh, a fourth-grader, played basketball on the church team this year.
Nancy Watts reported in a recent newsletter that her husband’s speech continues to improve and he has use of his right arm. He remains in a wheelchair but his goal is to walk again.
The Wattses led three conferences on their mission work in Peru at Tennessee Baptists’ 44th annual Royal Ambassador Congress April 9-11 at Union University in Jackson. Approximately 806 people, including both their sons, attended the RA Congress, sponsored by the Missions Awareness and Involvement Group of the Tennessee convention executive board ministries.
Watts also prayed during the Friday evening worship service.
It was only the second public appearance Watts has made since the accident. He spoke at an RA event in Chattanooga, Tenn., earlier this year.
Though his speech was slurred, he was able to communicate with the many well-wishers who visited with him before and after his conferences, and it was evident he still has a sense of humor, one of his trademarks, according to people who know him well. “God has really done a miracle,” Nancy Watts said. Long-range goals for the Watts family include returning to serve in Peru. “Our call has not changed,” she emphasized.