Southwest
Just in time for Christmas, husband receives miraculous 'Godwink': 'Completely healed'
David Espinoza and his wife Toni were living on the southern border of Texas, in the city of McAllen, five hours south of Houston.
As Christmas approached, they received the worst news.
Doctors in Houston told David Espinoza that his heart was operating at only 10% capacity.
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If he didn’t get a heart transplant quickly, he would not live to see his family for another Christmas.
Worse, he was told that finding a perfect donor could take nine months or more.
Just ahead of Christmas, a wife wondered if she and many others were praying for someone to die in order for her husband to live. (iStock)
Toni Espinoza, known to be a prayer warrior, organized everyone she knew — and hundreds she didn’t — to pray for her husband to find a heart donor.
But within days, she felt conflicted.
She decided to change her strategy.
It seemed as if they were praying for someone to die in order for her husband to live.
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She decided to change her strategy.
She began praying fervently for God to completely and miraculously heal her husband.
For added comfort, the woman asked God to confirm her answered prayer by making it snow in McAllen, Texas, on Christmas Day. (iStock)
And just for added comfort, she asked God to confirm her answered prayer by making it snow in McAllen, Texas, on Christmas Day.
She shared her private decision to pray for these miracles with a trusted childhood friend named Crawford.
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“Toni, have you ever seen snow?” her friend asked her.
She shook her head.
“It hasn’t snowed here in 109 years! And never on Christmas.”
She’d lived in McAllen, Texas, all her life.
The average winter temperature on the border was about 75 degrees.
Toni and David Espinoza of Texas. “I know God is going to answer my prayers,” she told a friend. (SQuire Rushnell/Godwinks)
Her friend continued, “The reason you’ve never seen snow is because it hasn’t snowed here in 109 years! And never on Christmas.”
Toni Espinoza shrugged, smiled and gave her friend a look of resolve.
“I know God is going to answer my prayers.”
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It was nearly midnight on Christmas Eve when one of the Espinoza daughters, home for the holidays, looked into the backyard — and shrieked.
“Mom, it’s snowing!”
Coatless, Toni Espinoza dashed into the backyard — delighted to see snow covering her fully flowered rose bushes.
Toni Espinoza is pictured on the night she rushed outside to see the snow. (David Espinoza)
Gazing into the night sky, as white snowflakes speckled her dark hair, she whispered, “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
The next morning, children across McAllen bundled up, ran outside, rolled in the snow, fanned angels, and made snowmen for the first time in their lives.
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A McAllen newspaper headline announced the “First White Christmas Ever!”
Yet the best Christmas present of all came three weeks later.
The Espinozas’ dramatic story appears in the bestselling book, “Godwink Christmas Stories” by SQuire Rushnell and Louise DuArt. (Amazon)
David Espinoza’s Houston doctor looked at the medical charts.
He shook his head and said, “David, I don’t understand how this happened… but you’re going to live for a long, long time.”
He added, “Your heart is completely healed.”
In tears, the couple embraced — and praised God for the best Christmas gift ever.
The couple’s story appears in the bestselling book, “Godwink Christmas Stories” by SQuire Rushnell and Louise DuArt, from which this article is excerpted. Copyright © SQuire Rushnell and Louise DuArt. For more info, see www.godwinks.com.
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The star-studded feel-good giveback event of the summer has returned. KTLA 5 is teaming up once again with Project Angel Food for the annual “Lead with Love: Going the Distance” telethon to raise critical funds for medically tailored meals delivered to people living with serious illnesses throughout Los Angeles County. The seventh annual telethon airs […]
A woman was hospitalized with serious injuries after she was violently attacked by a robber in downtown Long Beach. On June 18, Jennifer Silva, 34, was attending a World Cup watch party at a Hooters restaurant at 90 Aquarium Way. After the game ended, she left the restaurant just before 11 p.m. As she walked […]
Jurors deliberating the fate of the man accused of starting the Palisades Fire, one of the most destructive wildfires in California’s history, failed to reach a verdict Thursday afternoon, telling the judge they were deadlocked.
A spokesperson from the United States Attorney’s Office told KTLA that jurors will continue to deliberate until they reach a verdict or give up.
Jonathan Rinderknecht, 30, a former Uber driver and one-time Pacific Palisades resident, is accused of starting the Lachman Fire on New Year’s Eve. The fire continued to smolder underground for about a week, even after Los Angeles firefighters believed it had been extinguished.
Flames reignited on Jan. 7, erupting into the deadly Palisades Fire that killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of homes in the upscale community, authorities said.
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A courtroom sketch of Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, during his initial court appearance on Oct. 23, 2025. (Bill Robles) -
The U.S. Dept. of Justice booking photo of Jonathan Rinderknecht over the Palisades Fire devastation in Malibu, California in January 2025 (AP).
Prosecutors argued that Rinderknecht deliberately set the fire, claiming he had grown increasingly resentful of wealthy residents and viewed Pacific Palisades as a symbol of that frustration.
“Their case, though circumstantial, is strong,” KTLA legal analyst Alison Triessl said. “The defense is relying on, can they (prosecutors) show beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Rinderknecht actually started this fire and it wasn’t the result of fireworks or some intervening cause.”
The defense argued there is no direct physical evidence tying Rinderknecht to the fire and said the prosecution’s case relies entirely on circumstantial evidence. Rinderknecht did not testify during the trial.
Defense attorney Steve Haney spoke outside the courthouse Wednesday about why he believes it will be difficult for prosecutors to prove how the fire started.
“The lack of scene preservation. The fact that they got there after a lot of the evidence was missing. Not a lot of direct evidence. This is a circumstantial case, which is always difficult as a prosecutor to prove,” Haney said.
Rinderknecht, who was arrested and indicted last October, faces up to 45 years in prison if found guilty of three arson counts, including destruction of property by means of fire, arson affecting property used in interstate commerce and timber set afire.
Tony Kurzweil contributed to this report
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