*Even though temperatures dipped down below freezing in February 2021, the Jackson family enjoyed the cold weather while playing in the snow.*

During this wonderful holiday season of giving, examples of generosity abound. Many are moved to share their blessings with others by providing food, clothing, and gifts for those who need a bit of extra help. While their generosity is quite admirable and certainly makes the holidays brighter for the recipients, in most cases, it isn’t necessarily sacrificial. Sacrificial giving involves parting with something that is very precious to the donor – perhaps a treasured family heirloom.

Many people choose to register to be organ donors upon their death, and while they have made their wishes clear, it is still a sacrifice for a grieving family member to face that decision in the midst of tremendous loss. When a family member or dear friend needs an organ transplant, some even offer to donate a kidney to their loved one. It is quite rare, however, when an individual chooses to be an altruistic donor – one that makes the decision to give a kidney without knowing who the recipient will be. Such an act definitely merits the term sacrificial giving.

*The Jacksons say this picture shows 10-week-old Trinity throwing up one last prayer for her father right before Travis was wheeled back for surgery.*

A local pastor was the fortunate and immensely grateful beneficiary of such a gift two and a half years ago. Travis Jackson was an active and healthy 29-year-old pastor with a beautiful wife and a fabulous life. Travis and his wife, Whitney, started dating in high school. After high school, he attended Ouachita Baptist University where he played baseball and football. He later transferred to Texas State University and earned his bachelor’s degree in political science.

Growing up in Hooks, Texas, Travis was raised in a close family which includes his sister, Kelsey. “I have a lot of great memories growing up,” Travis shared. “Most of them center around being around family and friends.” He was a typical teenager – but his life changed at age 17. “I got saved at 17 and started serving at my local church,” he recalled. “I loved Jesus and wanted to tell everyone about His love. In my 20s, as I began to grow and mature in my faith, I felt God leading me more into vocational ministry. God opened several doors for this to happen.” Travis earned his master’s degree in theology from Regent University and is currently pursuing his doctorate. He has been in full-time vocational ministry for over 15 years and can’t imagine doing anything else.

*Whitney shares that Travis is the best father to their children: Gabe, Aslyn, and Trinity. (Photo by Jake Driggers)*

One day, at age 29, Travis began to feel unusually tired. He was shocked when a blood test revealed that he had kidney failure. After a biopsy and testing, he was put on medication to restore some of his kidney function. Unfortunately, this didn’t solve the problem. “At the time, I had 50% function,” Travis explained. “The plan with my doctors was to monitor my blood every three months and, hopefully, the function would remain around 50%. 50% is not great, but it’s not terrible. So that’s what we did for the next three years – we lived a normal life. We had babies, traveled around the word, and just lived life.”

Then one day Travis began to “not feel so good.” He was tired and had no energy. He had a low grade fever for several days. “When I finally went to the doctor, my blood work was really bad, and I was rushed to the hospital for a spinal tap,” Travis remembered. “After testing, it was determined I had been bitten by a disease carrying tick. That’s not good for someone with autoimmune disease. My kidney function went from 50% to 10%. 10% is not good.”

*This past May, Travis, Whitney, and their kiddos celebrated Travis’ two-year anniversary post-kidney transplant.*

From there the Jacksons met with Dr. Hemphill here in Texarkana. It was determined that Travis would soon need to get on a kidney transplant list and would need to start dialysis. “We ended up walking down my kidney function from 10% to 5%, and then I began peritoneal dialysis,” Travis explained. “I will be honest; this was a gut punch to me. I never thought I would have to be on dialysis. I never thought that I would need a transplant. But here I am. I am 32 years old, I have two young children, and I am on dialysis. I can’t play with them like I want to, and I am always tired. I’m not able to be as active as I want. I can’t throw my kids in the air. It was tough.”

Travis continued, “But through the whole process, God was there! God never said that things would be perfect for the believer, but He said He would be there for us.” Travis was on dialysis for almost two years, and there were times when he was upset and frustrated, and probably depressed, but God was there. “For years as a pastor, I have prayed with people and walked people through tough situations, but I had never had one myself. To some degree, I believe that your faith can only be proven through situations that you don’t know the outcome of. Though these were the two hardest years of my life, they were also a time when my relationship with God was better than any time before. I truly learned to trust God!”

*Whitney and Travis on the first dialysis treatment he received in October of 2017.*

Travis’s journey gave him a different level of compassion for people that are hurting and going through pain. Throughout this time, he prayed Isaiah 41:10: Fear not for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God: I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. “Things in my life were not perfect; I had a tube hanging from my abdomen to my knee, I had gained 50 pounds, and I was doing manual exchanges every four to six hours. I felt really slowed down in life, but God was still good, and He was with me. He was still on His throne!”

During the two years of being on dialysis, Travis was also on multiple transplant lists. He also had over 200 people who were willing to give him their kidney. Seventy-five people were tested to give their kidneys, but none were a match. During the spring of 2019, dialysis was not working as well, and they were about to increase the dosage of his dialysis. “But I got a phone call,” Travis emotionally shared. “This phone call was from the Transplant Coordinator in Little Rock. They said they had a healthy man that was donating his kidney, and they thought I would be a good match.” The next day Travis and Whitney went to Little Rock where he got a port placed in his neck. He underwent a couple of rounds of plasmapheresis, and two days later he received a kidney transplant. In a six-hour surgery, the problem that Travis had for six years was over.

“As an altruistic donor, the gentleman that gave me his kidney didn’t know the person he was giving a kidney to and didn’t want to know,” Travis explained. “During my one week post operation appointment, lo and behold I got to meet him! This was not a planned meeting. He was in the waiting room, and my wife and I were in the waiting room. I was not feeling good at all. In fact, I was in a wheelchair in a lot of pain.”

People began talking about when they had their transplant. One man said four weeks ago, one woman said two weeks. Whitney told the people around that Travis had received his kidney one week ago. “There was a man sitting across from my wife,” Travis stated. “She asked him when he received his kidney, and he quietly told her that he didn’t receive a kidney, but gave one. How awesome is that! My wife looked at me, and I said aloud, ‘I have yours.’” Travis immediately stood up and gave him a hug. A couple of months later, the donor’s family and the Jackson family ate lunch together (and have done this several times since then). “During this meeting, I asked him why he would give his kidney to someone he didn’t know,” Travis shared. “I can understand giving someone $20, but a kidney? What Thomas Burchfield said has literally changed my life: ‘I gave the kidney because God told me to.’ I don’t know how people can deny that there is a God. I am walking, living proof that God still does miracles. When I was really struggling and hurting, God was working it out.”

Not only was God near to Travis during this challenging time, Whitney was by his side though she admitted it was very difficult to watch her “super healthy husband” decline in health so quickly. “I think it’s hard to watch anyone you love walk through something difficult because you feel helpless. I can remember holding my 1 and 3 year old, praying for him, and thinking, what does the future hold? In that moment, I was reminded by a scripture I just purchased for my wall - Jeremiah 29:11: ‘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.’ So I declared every day we would have hope and a future.”

Whitney expressed deep gratitude for Thomas and his wife, Alexis. “Because of his sacrifice, Travis has a new life. He is able to be the best Daddy to our children (Gabe – 8, Aslyn – 6, Trinity – 2, and a foster baby that is 7 months old) and a loving husband to me. Words can’t express how thankful we are.”

She also gives glory to God for being their strength in times of trouble and their peace in the storm. “When Travis’ dialysis was not working well, I can remember crying out to God for a miracle and nothing was happening. Little did I know, like the song says, even when you can’t see it, He is working and when you can’t feel it, He is working. God was preparing a donor for us all along, and in a moment we were able to step into that miracle!”

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