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---. Heaven Is for Real : A Little Boy’s Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back. Nashville, Tennessee, W Publishing Group, 2014.

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We get talked about how difficult 2002 was for them since Todd had to go through many surgeries and difficulties such as health problems like cancer a illness a back injury, and shattered leg.

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Todd and Sonja had a end of season coed softball tournament in 2002 in which all went wrong after the event. They had been near the end of the game and in trying to get the win Todd's leg broke.

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On the October of 2002 Todd had woken up with a dulling pain and knew it was kidney stones and he had a rough month due to him cutting the tip of his finger on the tailgate and even said that that and his broken leg didn't hurt as much as the kidney stones.

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On November of 2002 Todd had felt discomfort on the left side of his chest and developed a weir knot he thought it may have been the crutch since he would lean on it when he would write but the doctor said that wasn't normal and he was then diagnosed with breast cancer but on December it was proven that it was just normal tissue but they didn't understand how.

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On December of 2002 Todd had been stressed and confused on why he was going through all this and was talking to God about it but he then realized that this was just a bit of a obstacle he had to go through. When he went to visit the doctor they told him that he didn't have cancer and finally after many bad news and feeling low he had a little miracle from God.

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On February 2003 Todd had finally got some independence by being able to walk and his health being good after all the incidents which was great for him since he had a meeting at Greeley, Colorado on the first week of March.

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In March of 2003 Todd was away for his meeting and celebrating that he was finally better but Colton had been feeling sick Sonja decided that it would be better if she let Norma who was like his favorite aunt to take care of him. Then Norma called Sonja to tell her that he had gotten worse and when Norma's husband saw her he believed that he needed to go to the Emergency room. Sonja then told Todd the news which made his celebration into a bittersweet one. Sonja took Colton to the doctor and they said it was a stomach flu.

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Todd and his family went to the butterfly pavilion on March 2003 a few days after Colton got better. Colton wanted a sticker but he had to hold Rosie so he then took a chance and finally got the courage to do so and when he did it Todd was full of joy seeing Colton holding Rosie. Todd then realized that it was the first time he was finally relaxed and noticed that he had been having his guard up for a long time waiting for something bad to happen again but he thought that since he was thinking that way it would be as if he was in a boxing match where the fighters get vicious blows because they're ready for them and the knockout punch is the one you don't see coming.

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On March of 2003 Colton after going to the butterfly pavilion and it was dark had started to feel sick constantly throwing up. since he and Cassie both were feeling sick he thought it was the stomach flu again but Colton started to get worse and Cassie was better so he thought maybe it was appendicitis since they had a family history about it when Phil had told him that he should take him to the doctor cause he looked really bad he semi-considered it but didn't find it necessary. When they were on there way back home Sonja knew something was wrong since Colton peed in the car and didn't protest to put on pull ups. When they took him to the doctor they found out it wasn't a stomach flu but it also wasn't appendicitis. The doctors don't know what it is but they confirmed it wasn't any of the two.

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On March 3 of 2003 Todd and Sonja had taken Colton to the hospital and they were trying their best to make him feel comfortable and when Todd saw Colton two afternoons later he looked at him and saw the shadow of death and all he could think was that he didn't want him to leave and wanted him to still live even though as a pastor he used to think of the people he would pray for and say to take away their pain and that they can die in peace but he didn't want to give up on Colton. "I was seeing the shadow of death again and I was seeing it on my son. My not-quite-four-year-old son. The sight hit me like a bullet" (27).

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March 2003, Colton had been getting worse and Todd felt that they weren't doing anything so on Wednesday they decided to check Colton out of the hospital and they went to North Platte to see if there is anything they can do. While they were driving there Todd was thinking about the story in the Bible about the King David and thought that he won't give up yet on his son. Then when they got to the hospital they found out that the doctor was at his lunch break which made Todd enraged. "Her routine manner told me she did not feel our urgency, and inside me, a rocket of anger went off. On the outside, though, I kept my cool. I could've screamed and hollered, but it wouldn't have done any good. Also i'm a pastor" (31).

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On Wednesday of March 2003 Todd was struggling to make Colton drink the fluid for the CT scan and they finally had gotten Colton to drink it. Then while they were waiting Sonja was crying knowing something was wrong with Colton and scared of losing him since they were always together. It was then revealed that Sonja before she had Colton she had a miscarriage and were scared when she was pregnant of Colton in case he wouldn't make it either. "We were eager to try again, but we worried about whether we would be able to have another child, multiplying our misery. A few months later, Sonja became pregnant again. Her early prenatal checkups revealed a healthy, growing baby. Still, we hung on a bit loosely, a little afraid to fall in love with this new child as we had the one we lost. But forty weeks later on May 19,1999, Colton Todd Burpo arrived" (35-36).

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On March 13 2003 after finally having the surgery being successful of the broken appendix and being able to finally leave once everything was good and so as they were signing out and walking to leave they got stopped. Turns out that Colton had a radical spike on white blood cells. They then had to do a second surgery to make sure it goes back to normal. Then Todd and Sonja were worried about Colton since he was very skinny and was barely 40 pounds. Since they put Colton in ICU Todd and Sonja finally got to rest but the next day Colton's bowels weren't working and the doctor said that as long as he can pass the gas that would be good enough. By the fourth day Colton was constipated and that's when the doctor said he couldn't do anything for Colton anymore. This then made the whole community to get people to spread the word and pray for Colton and pass the gas. The next morning Colton had finally gotten better and they had to stay another day in a half but Colton was finally better. "And right about then was when a group of people in our church decided it was time for some serious prayer. Church friends began making phone calls, and before long, around eighty people had driven over to Crossroads Wesleyan for a prayer service. Some were in congregation and some from other churches, but they had all come together to pray for our son" (50).

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A week after March 13 2003 Sonja and Todd had been receiving the hospital bills and it was getting worse since their mailbox was getting full of bills and they couldn't afford it due to them not having jobs that can cover it all. Then on the 10th of April they were talking about the bills and were wondering if they can afford to pay for them and if they should still write the tithe check and Todd said yes. Colton then told them that God had used Dr. O'Holleran to fix him and that they need to pay him for doing that. They were confused on why Colton said that when he used to not like him. Then when they were going to ask the bank for a loan they didn't need to since his Grandma and many people from the community were sending them checks and cards with money. Their mailbox was getting full of gifts and that's when they knew that they could pay the first bills that needed to be payed. "The checks added up to the thousands of dollars, and we were astonished when we found that, combined with what my grandmother sent, the total was what we needed to meet that first wave of bills, almost to the dollar" (55).

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On the fourth of July 2003 the whole Burpo family had gone to go visit their new nephew and on the way there Todd wanted to tease Colton by saying if he wanted him to go back to the hospital. Colton then responded and told them how his body went up and he spoke with the angels and did many things in heaven. Then he told them that he saw them when they were in the hospital and he was in surgery. In May Todd had been in the basement with Colton and that's when Colton was talking about his stories in heaven. That's when Todd decided to ask Colton questions about it and then told him how Jesus looked like and then Todd remembered that in the bible it said similar things that Colton was saying. "And the way we knew he wasn't making it up was that he was able to tell us what we were doing in another part of the hospital: 'You were in a little room by yourself praying, and Mommy was in a different room and she was praying and talking on the phone.' Not even Sonja had seen me in that little room, having my meltdown with God" (61).

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In October 2003 Colton was playing with his sister and he came up to Sonja and Todd and told them that he had two sisters but he only had one. Sonja then was freaking out because they never told him that Sonja had a miscarriage and so she asked him what he was talking about. He then told her that when he was in heaven he met a little girl who told him that it was his sister and Sonja and Todd were intrigued after hearing this and asked what her name was. Colton then told them that she didn't have a name and also that she is waiting for them to get to heaven which then caused relief for both Sonja and Todd that their unborn baby was good. Also Sonja was happy that she looked like her and also Todd and Sonja now joke around about who will go to heaven first. " 'Our baby is okay,' She whispered. 'Our baby is okay.' From that moment on, the wound from one of the most painful episodes in our lives, losing the baby was a terrible blow. But Sonja had told me that to her, the miscarriage not only seared her heart with grief, but it also felt like a personal failure" (96-97).

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Near Christmas of 2003 Todd was reading Colton a bedtime story which was "The wise king and the baby" by the end of the story Colton and Todd had their friendly argument and Todd won. Then Todd decided to ask Colton some questions and asked him what God's throne looked like and Colton gave him a description about it. Then Todd asked him where Jesus sat and Colton told him it was on his right then Todd wondered where Colton sat and he said that he sat next to the God the Holy spirit and that's when he met Pop. Then Todd asked what God the Holy spirit looked like and Colton said he was blue but it was pretty hard to describe. Finally Todd made a joke to trick Colton and asked what he would do when it got dark and he said that it never gets dark and that Jesus and God are the light of heaven. "The joke was on me. Not only had Colton not fallen for the 'when it gets dark in heaven' trick, but he could tell me why it didn't get dark: 'The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is it's lamp" (104).

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During the next few months in late 2003 and early 2004 Colton would only talk about how Jesus loves children which would get Todd and Sonja irritated since Colton would only talk about that. Todd then realized that he struggles to find a teacher to teach Sunday school and he remembers what Colton said and tries to remind the adults about it as well. Then Colton started to really like rainbows and so in spring of 2004 a magnificent rainbow appeared and Sonja was pregnant with their 4th child and they called Colton so that he could see it and Colton didn't seem surprised and told them that he asked Jesus about it and just said cool. "Colton squinted, peering up at colors pouring across the sky. 'Cool,' he said with a nonchalant smile. "I prayed for that yesterday.' Then he turned on his heel and went back to play" (109).

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In spring of 2004 Colton had finally marked a year since he had his hospital stay and turned out that good Friday fell in April and Todd then asked his kids if they knew why it was called good Friday and Cassie replied since Colton didn't know why that was and said that it was when Jesus died. Then Todd asked if they knew why Jesus died and Colton knew the answer to this question and said that it was so that we could see God and Todd asked how he knew and Colton said because Jesus had told him the story. Then Todd told Colton that he should preach on Sunday. Sonja and Todd have had been struggling with Colton especially when they're crossing the streets since Colton tends to just bolt through not looking for the cars which really made Sonja and Todd worried that a car wouldn't see him and Todd decided to tell him to look at the dead rabbit and told him that could be him and that he could die if he kept doing this. Colton then told him that those were good news because then he can go to heaven again and Todd told him that this time he has to go up first because parents die first then their children. " 'That's what can happen if you run out and a car doesn't see you! You could not only get hurt; you could die!' Colton looked up at me and grinned over his cone. 'Oh good!' he said. 'That means I get to go back to heaven" (113).

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On October 4, 2004 Colby Lawrence Burpo was born and he looked just like Colton but all his children were different Cassie was the sensitive one, Colton the serious one, and Colby the clown. One day Sonja had Colton read to Colby a Bible story and after that it was prayer time and she had Colton pray and tried to influence to pray for his father for his preach. Colton then said that he had seen power being shot down on Todd and Sonja tried asking what he meant by that and he said that Jesus would shoot down power when his dad reads Bible stories to people and Sonja was shocked she didn't know how to reply. Todd then asked him the next morning about it and Colton told him that it was the Holy Spirit and he shoots power down for him. This made Todd realize that before every sermon he does a little prayer and he realized that he had been praying without knowing what he was praying about and still God helped him by shooting down power. " 'It's the Holy Spirit,' Colton said simply. 'I watched him. He showed me.' 'The Holy Spirit?' 'Yeah, he shoots down power for you when you're talking in the church" (126).