Elijah Nabua was a lively teenager who loved to make his family laugh. He had a strong Christian faith, as well as a strong sense of loyalty towards his friend and school. One morning, a pick-up truck hit Elijah as he was crossing the street to the school bus. His family agreed to donate his organs and within a year of his death, several recipients sent letters of gratitude. Their words and encouragement have brought Elijah's family much joy and healing knowing that their son's death made a difference in the lives of others.

Elijah's Story

The evening of April 16, 2009, was a fun night for the Nabua family. Throughout dinner, 14-year old Elijah kept everyone laughing hysterically as he recalled anecdotes from his school life in the Philippines.

After dinner, his parents called Elijah to their bedroom for a pep talk about boosting his grades. In a facetious way, he reminded them that there were things more important in life than grades. Taking over the conversation, he dwelt on how much he wanted to work on his self-confidence so he could be more effective when sharing his Christian faith with his friends. He also told them about how badly he wanted to win his next tennis match to help his high school's junior varsity team improve its record.

After they prayed, a voice in her head told Elijah's mother, Salvacion, to spend some more time with him. She followed him to the family room and asked him to drop his homework so they could watch "American Idol" together. They had a great time predicting who would make it to the final round. To his surprise, she let him drink his first coffee, which turned out to be his last.

The following morning, a pick-up truck hit Elijah as he was crossing the street to go to the school bus. He died the next day.

Losing Elijah was the most painful event this family ever had to endure, but something helped carry them through the agonizing process of recovering from their loss: their decision to donate his organs.

Within a year after his death, his family got letters from recipients expressing how grateful they were for getting a second chance at life. Their words of gratitude and encouragement brought them much joy and healing, knowing that their son's death had made a difference in the lives of others. "Our Elijah may not have been there to help his tennis team win, but he surely won new lives for a lot of people," said Salvacion.