It's a Blessing to Serve the Lord

I can't believe that it has been a month since my last posting.  We have been so busy at the church with various things that I lost track of time.  We have been here in Lake Havasu City for 2 1/2 months already.  It has been such a blessing to be here and to personally see what the Lord is doing here at Bethany Bible Church.  We all have been praying for the Lord to bring in the people and since my last post He has brought us another new couple and one single man all of whom have said that they have found their new church home.  And the best part is that they are not snow birds.  Pastor Dennis has been on the Christian radio station a few times and his name and the church is once again getting out into the community.

Pastor Dennis, Deacons, Jim King, Eric Stephen, and Stan Broder, and myself attended the Shepherd's Conference at Grace Community Church.  As always, it was a great time of encouragement and instruction.  Dennis and two of the deacons stayed for the Sunday service while Stan and I  returned for Sunday services at BBC.  I preached in both the morning and evening services.

Last Thursday evening we had a concert by the Durocher family.  What a wonderful family and a wonderful concert.  They had nine of their 12 children and everyone sings and plays an instrument.  I would highly recommend them to your church.  As a matter of fact I gave them a few contacts in other churches so some of you might be getting a phone call from Paul Durocher.  It was very refreshing to fellowship with this family for a couple of days.  I even had some very intelligent and  deep theological conversations with them all....even the kids.  And yes, they are all home schooled.

The Durocher Family      http://durocherfamilymusic.com

I should keep a journal to remind me of all that I have been doing at the church.  I'll try to remember now though.  I have preached several times already and I will be preaching again for the Good Friday service.  I had to do some repair work on the church doors.  All the locks and door hardware needed attention and all the locks needed to be re-keyed.  This was a full two day project.  We also had to remove the rain gutter on the entire east side of the building and replace the boards to which the gutter attaches.  This was another two day project.  There are still many projects yet to be tackled and we are getting them done.  Fortunately they are mostly repairs which as of yet has not cost much money.

Two of the church's five air conditioning units had stopped working.  We had a repair man come out and he said that they both needed to be replaced.  So we figured that it would be a very hot summer in the church because each unit costs about $5000 which is just not in our budget.  Then one of the deacons decided to have a friend come out and check out the units.  After a couple of hours and replacing just a couple of parts we had all five a/c units working just fine.  That bill was only $900.  What a blessing!

Another blessing, a little more personal, was a new computer.  Yes, our computer problems continued.  Remember that all three of our computers had major malfunctions.  The replacement computer that I was able to find for Dayle died a couple of weeks later. I took my laptop computer and my desktop computer to the repair shop.  My desktop was repaired and is working great, but my laptop was not repairable.  On the Sunday after the Shepherd's Conference I was preaching on the doctrine of Biblical Contentment. Whenever I fill the pulpit I almost always preach on what I had just went through so it is like I am preaching to myself.  This Sunday was no different and I used the example of all of our computers crashing and two of them are now just paper weights.  Then after the service one of the men came up and asked me if I wanted a laptop computer.  He said that he bought it and never used it.  Well, of course, I wanted a laptop computer.  So we went to his house after the service to pick it up.  He handed me a computer carry bag with the laptop inside and several accessories.  Once I got home, I could not believe my eyes.  I pulled out what appeared to be a brand new and very expensive HP laptop computer. It is almost four years old but I don't think that it had anymore than 10 hours of use.  This computer has more bells and whistles than any laptop that I have ever seen.  It even has a remote control device.  This is the computer of my dreams.  Four years ago he paid $950 at Costco.  I don't know what this would cost today, but it is more than what I would ever spend on a computer.

One other unexpected blessing was that our car got totaled.  We left Dayle's Mercury Sable with Mel and Annie in Grants Pass.  Someone broadsided Mel while going to work,  He was not hurt.  But the car was totaled.  The insurance company paid us a better that fair price for the car.  The amount they gave us was the exact amount of our tax bill this year.  Does God take care of His own or what?

HP Pavillion DV6 Entertainment Computer

My Dayle is feeling much better in the warmer and drier climate.  We went to a rheumatologist last week.  He said that Dayle has Osteoarthritis in her fingers and that there is not much that can be done  for them.  The doctor did confirm that the warmer weather is much better for someone in her situation.  So, we may be spending much more time each year in the warmer climates.  Sorry kids, but I don't think you will see much of us in the winter months.  Washington and Oregon are just too cold for mom these days. Her cute little fingers are sore and swollen and are beginning to become deformed due to the osteoarthritis. The doctor also sent us to a physical therapist who examined Dayle and made several suggestions and is ordering some splints to keep her fingers from deforming any more.

Right Now Dayle is in Sacramento with Stephen, Neeley, and Jack.  Jack is three months old and he loves his grammy very much! Dayle flew to Sacramento on Saturday and will be gone for four weeks.  She will be back in 24 days (but who's counting).

 

 Our future plans are now just short term plans.  We now plan on leaving Lake Havasu in early May and will be spending the Summer at Fir Point Bible Camp.  I have been asked to be the missionary speaker for two of the youth camps.  We are just waiting on the Lord to direct us further.

Please continue to keep my Dayle in prayer for her osteoporosis and osteoarthritis.  Also pray that our tenant will purchase our house in Klamath Falls.  He said that he is interested but will have to wait until he gets some personal matters worked out.  He is a good tenant and it would be a huge disruption to his family right now if we were put the house on the market with a realtor right now.  So, I told him that we will wait. 

Also continue to pray for Bethany Bible Church.  Specifically for people to come who want to serve the Lord and for financial provision.  

Treatment Approved

We went to Dr. Deb the other day and we were told that the treatment plan was approved.  Yea!  The treatment for the osteoporosis consists of one injection every six months for two years.  This injection is extremely expensive...it must be made of liquid diamonds.  Each injection costs $2700 but our Tricare insurance covers 80%.  Dr. Deb also set Dayle up with a rheumatologist for the osteoarthritis in her fingers. Her appointment is on March 19th. So finally things are getting done to get my Dayle the treatment she needs.  Praise the Lord!  We hope to leave Lake Havasu around the first of May and return to the Pacific Northwest but again it depends on Dayle's treatment.  Dennis at Fir Point Bible Camp called the other day asking when we will be returning.  I told them that if nothing else comes up that we will be there the end of May.

We are still quite active in serving at the church.  And I am still nursing my wounds from that most dangerous sport--Softball.  My knee is almost healed, my toe doesn't hurt anymore.  But yesterday while fielding a hard hit ball it took a bad hop at the last moment and the middle finger on my right hand got in the way.  The ball hit the finger straight on at the nail causing the nail to be pulled up just a little.  My finger then began to bleed a lot.  We had to stop the game and wrap up the tip of my finger to stop the bleeding.   But we won so it's OK.  We have only two more games left in the season and even if we should loose both games we still win the league championship.  Dayle wants it to be over now so I will stop getting hurt.  Even though playing on the team is a lot of fun and great exercise (and a great reminder that I am not 30 years old anymore) I have had many opportunities to share my faith.  Please pray for Tony.  His wife is a Christian and he and I have had several conversations about the Lord.

Before my softball injuries, we took an afternoon and went for a hike.  We also took our two dogs and Stan and Stephanie's dog, Tramp.  Tramp is a golden retriever.  See that cupcake looking mountain in the distance.....that is where we hiked.  I wanted to hike around that whole thing.  It is actually a lot bigger than it looks.  But I did go around the whole thing.

We made it.

Tramp was tired....

...and decided to take a nap.

A picture from the top facing north.

It has been over a year since I was the interim pastor of Bethany Bible Church.  During that year Pastor Dennis McBride has been grounding the people on what a church is to be all about, and training up leadership.  Attendance has been quite low and there are only 12 members.  We have been praying for god to bring the increase.  In the past three weeks there have been two new couples and both have said that they are staying.  Both said that they love the friendly people and the great preaching.  It does appear that God is in-fact bringing the increase.  Please continue to pray for this small struggling church.  There are some real financial struggles right now.  Two of the heating/cooling units are inoperative and one needs to be replaced. These are very costly.  One unit costs in the neighborhood of $5,000.  but we are also convinced that our God will supply!

First Month In Lake Havasu City, AZ

I looked at a calender the other day and discovered that we have been in Lake Havasu City for a month already.  Wow, the time has gone so fast.  So, I guess it is true...the older you get the faster the time goes by.

Since we have been here we have been busy at the church fixing, and cleaning, and organizing.  The sound system in the sanctuary needed an upgrade and some sound issues sorted out.  This took a couple of days and is still a work in process.  My good friend Stan and I have made quite a team in all these various projects.  I have been participating in leading music and filling the pulpit.  Pastor Dennis hurt his back really bad and I had to fill in for him.  We have made Bethany Bible Church our official home church and we are now actual members.  It is really a good feeling to have a home church and to have a pastor again.

Dayle jumped right into ladies ministry.  She has been attending all the ladies functions including a bible study on Tuesday morning.  She helped plan and set up for a Valentine's Chocolate Extravaganza.  There was so much chocolate that even a chocolate lover would get their fill.  Dayle has also been ministering to a couple of shut-ins by visiting them and taking a cleaning crew over to their homes.

Remember my last post where I was whining about having a Horrible, Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Week?  Well, it is amazing how the Lord worked everything out.  I was called by the Senior Softball League and was put on a team.  I was able to finally fix my computer by putting in a new hard drive and reinstalling all my programs (Until my new hard drive crashed just the other day.  Another new hard drive is on its way).  Dayle's replacement lap top computer arrived and I put in her old hard drive and everything works perfectly.

But the best thing was that Dayle found another doctor here in Lake Havasu City.  We were a bit skeptical at first.  This visit to the doctor's office was completely different than the first one.  Dr. Debra Gulyanics walked in to the room and introduced herself to both of us and said, "Just call me Deb."  Doctor Deb sat with us to get to know us.  She gave my Dayle a full examination and addressed every concern.  She said that her condition is very treatable but we just have to find the right treatment for her.  She ordered a full blood work up.  She also said to not take the drug that the previous doctor prescribed.  A couple of days later we went to the lab and they took six vials of blood.  After the results came in we returned to doctor Deb and went over the lab results one by one.  Each and every test was either in the normal range or better than normal.  Then Deb said, that she cannot figure out why Dayle has osteoporosis.  So Dayle in now on Doctor Deb's "problem child" list.  Deb consulted with some older doctors in the office and they suggested a treatment plan which involves an injection every six months.  So, the staff at the doctor's office is seeking approval from our insurance because it is very expensive.  We will know more this coming week.  So it looks like  we will be returning to Lake Havasu City every six months, unless the doctor can arrange for Dayle to get the injection elsewhere.

Dr. Deb Gulyanics...Our new best friend.

We are really enjoying the warmer weather and the bright sun.  We love being in a church again and being able to serve.  I will be preaching again on March 10th in both morning and evening services.  We have also had much opportunity to get out and enjoy God's creation.  I am riding my bike almost every day which keeps me in pretty good shape.  The softball league also keeps me active too.  We had a double header the other day and there I discovered that senior softball can be very hazardous to one's health?  See picture.  It looks worse than it really is.  Just a scrapped knee and a stubbed tow.  I think I need new baseball shoes.  I also tweaked my back.  But it is all OK because we won..both games. 

The Shepherd's Conference is just a little over two weeks away,  Myself and four others will be attending.  Dayle will spend the week with my sister.  Dayle will also be going to spend a month with Stephen, Neeley, and Jack.  She leaves the middle of March.  Neeley needs to go back to work for one month so Dayle will babysit while Neeley is at work.  Then Neeley will cut back to just two days a week.  Stephen will watch baby Jack one day and a good friend from their church will watch him the other day.  God really answered our prayers concerning this situation.

Jack 7 weeks old...holding his head up.

As far as future ministry plans there are a couple of things in the works although nothing is definite yet.  But if nothing else, we will return to Fir Point Bible Camp to serve for the summer.  We love having the freedom to go where ever we are needed.  And we just pull our house with us.  What a blessing.

Please keep my Dayle in your prayers as she gets treatment for her osteoporosis.  Also pray for insurance coverage.  One injection costs several thousand dollars.  (It must be made of diamonds or something.)  Also, pray for me to have witnessing opportunities on the softball team.

A Horrible, Terrible, No Good Very Bad Day/Week

We left Stephen and Neeley and our new grandson, Jack, just 10 days after he was born.  Even though we would like to stay and watch the little guy grow up, we knew that Stephen and Neeley needed to be alone with their son.  Besides, we had to get to Lake Havasu City by January 13th.  We also needed to spend a couple of days with my sister, Andrea and her two children.  She had a "Shelley Do List" for me.  After completing the work list and spending time with Spencer and Madison we completed the final leg of our trip and arrived in Lake Havasu City at the home of our good friends, Stan and Stephanie Broder, just in time for dinner.

Sunday morning I preached "Seek No Vengeance" from Romans 12:17-21.  I spoke on biblical humility and love for others even when one's enemies, or anyone for that matter, may have wronged or offended you.  In the evening the message title was "A Proper Attitude Towards Government" From Romans 13.  I had some very good responses.  One man said that it was like I hit him with a baseball bat.

So far, so good.  We have been in Lake Havasu for about 36 hours and all was well.  On Monday morning we went to Dayle's appointment with the "perfect" doctor for her osteoporosis.  I was so happy to finally get this started.  Then the disappointment began and so did the beginning of a horrible, terrible, no good, very bad week.  This doctor was a "flake."  This doctor walked into the room and totally ignored me and gave Dayle a brief handshake.  She asked Dayle a couple of questions and then prescribed a different drug for her to take for two years.  This doctor totally ignored anything Dayle had to say or anything that any previous doctor had recommended.  This doctor was very young and obviously inexperienced and did not display any concern for the patient.  When Dayle tried to ask her about two other problems that she is having the doctor said, "they only give me 15 minutes for each visit and I only discuss one thing per visit.  So, you will have to make two more appoints to address the other issues."  We couldn't believe what we had just heard.  I suppose we got spoiled by every other doctor that we have ever had who truly cared for us.  This new drug is supposed to be very successful for osteoporosis but Dayle called the doctor to ask a question concerning drug interaction......the doctor never called back.  So we figured that we better find another doctor.  She has an appointment this Friday with this another doctor.  Pray that this will turn out for the better and will have wisdom (and time) to help with the issues concerning Dayle's health.

After we got home from the very disappointing doctor's visit, I unpacked my desktop computer.  I love my desktop computer.  I use dual monitors which makes my study and sermon preparation productive and very enjoyable.  When I turned it on the screen displayed absolutely nothing.  My hard drive had totally died. (Fortunately I had all the important stuff backed up.)  I contacted a couple of computer techs and they told me to get a new hard drive and get the recovery disks from HP to make my computer just like new.

Then I pulled Dayle's laptop computer out of the cupboard.  Her ancient laptop hasn't been used in a few months but this is where she has most of her lessons and studies.  When I plugged it in it started smoking, literally.  I quickly unplugged it before everything melted.  I opened the case and found that the power connection had broken and shorted out.  So her computer was now toast and nothing was backed up.  I got on eBay and found a used identical laptop computer for $50 which arrived yesterday (Monday).  I pulled out her hard drive from the old computer and put it in the new one and all is well.  Yay!

One of the joys of being in Lake Havasu is the that I get to play senior softball on Monday's and Thursday's. There are lots of opportunities to share about the Lord and our ministry there. So this past Thursday I showed up at the ball fields with all my equipment.  Most everyone remembered me and it was good to see everyone.  When asked what team I was on I discovered that the league play had started and I had missed the sign-up.  The league lasts for seven weeks.  So I cannot play until the league play is over unless 11 players get injured.  I am number 11 on the waiting list.  I was so disappointed I wanted to cry.  But this is a senior league and these old guys do get hurt so I may have a chance.

I went home all disappointed because I couldn't play softball.  So I thought I would take my mountain bike and go for a ride in the hills.  Bike riding is so enjoyable for me and I knew it would cheer me up.  (Am I sounding like a whinny baby stinky pants yet?)  So I went to Sara Park and was going to ride the rugged trail all the way to the river.  It was such perfect riding weather. I was feeling so good. As I was going down a fairly steep hill my seat post bolt snapped in half sending my seat in one direction and me in another.  I didn't get hurt for which I was really thankful because I now had to walk the bike out almost two miles.

Well I still have my road bike, so the next day I thought I would go for a 20 mile ride, at least that was my plan,  I went only 6 miles when I got this terrible cramp causing excruciating pain in my right inner thigh and almost had to call for Dayle to come rescue me. I was able to stretch it out and walk it out each time it flared up.  I made it home finally and was sitting with and ice pack for the rest of the day.

Back to my desktop computer..... the Recovery Disks came and the new hard drive came.  I installed the new hard drive and followed the instructions for the recovery disks to no avail.  Got an error message telling me that the operating system is not compatible with the hardware.  After several hours of messing with the hardware, I finally gave up.  Now I would have to buy a new operating system.  Then the new hard drive stopped working.  Arrrrggggg.  I figured that it would be more cost effective to just get a new computer.  Staples had a good one on sale and it will be here Wednesday.

Then on Friday afternoon Dennis asked me to preach again on Sunday morning because he is still in a lot of pain.   So, I asked Dayle if she had any suggestions for a sermon topic and she said, "Humility, and the Sovereignty of God."  Ouch, I guess I was being a whinny baby.  I had mentioned several times that I was having a horrible, terrible, no good, very bad week.  There is nothing like preaching from personal experience. So my sermon title was "How Not to Have a Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day/Week." I used Titus 2:13-14, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.  This of course speaks of our attitude that is to always be in the forefront of our thinking.  After all, God is in control of all things even when things don't go the way we want them to go.  But if we keep looking for the blessed hope and and the appearing of His glory, all these things don't have to bother us (or me) at all.   But we could and should live denying ungodliness and worldly desires, and live sensibly, righteously and godly in this present age all the while looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.  All that happened to us this past week is nothing when you compare it to all that Christ suffered for us.  I think sometimes God allows all these annoyances to teach us that this world is not our home so don't get to comfortable!!

Please keep my Dayle in your prayers.  Also pray for our church here, Bethany Bible Church, that God would bring the increase. also for pastor Dennis who is still in great pain due to two herniated disks and hip problems.  He will be having an MRI very soon to determine the extent of the damage.

Jack Louis Wetzel has Arrived!

On 12-30-12 at 12:05 AM our newest grandson, Jack Louis Wetzel, arrived.  Neeley and Stephen are doing fine and there were no complications.  They are due to come home today.  We praise the Lord for His mercy and grace.

Jack just a few hours old in his PJs

My Dayle..the proud grammy
 

I can't believe it...another baby in the family.

All of our children and grandchildren we able to come for Christmas although not all at the same time.  Jason and Shelli and kids arrived on the 24th and left on the 28th.  Mel and Annie and kids arrived the evening of the 28th and departed yesterday the 30th.  Jason's family and Annie's family did meet up in the northern California mountains for lunch and to play in the snow.

 

We plan on being with the Stephen, Neeley and Jack for al least another week then off to Lake Havasu City, Arizona with a short stop with my mom, sister, and niece and nephew.  I am still scheduled to preach on January 13th and Dayle has a doctor's appointment on the 14th for her osteoporosis.  Please keep us in mind for these things as well as our time of ministry at Bethany Bible Church.  We expect to be there at least three months.

No New Grandson Yet--Almost Lost a Grandson

Our daughter Neeley is so ready.

First, let me apologize for not posting an update sooner. Ideally I try to update every 2-3 weeks.  Well here we are in Sacramento with Stephen and Neeley awaiting the birth of their first child and our 6th grandchild.  Tomorrow (12/22) is the actual due date but the doctor said that "Jack" is not ready yet and it may be another week or two.  So in the meantime I have been a handyman here at the house, helping with painting, repairing, refinishing tables and counter tops, gardening, and more. Stephen said, "Having me there is like having his own private handyman. All he has to do is feed me and make sure I get a good bike rider every other day." Dayle, too, is keeping herself busy by decorating and hanging pictures, and housework. Stephen and Neeley bought their home a few months ago and now it is finally looking like it is really their house.  Dayle also accompanies Neeley to all her doctor's appointments and, of course, lots of shopping trips.

Wednesday night our Daughter Annie called with a very frightening story.  She said that AJ, her 10 year old son, ran up to her to give her a hug when she got home from work and then grabbed his head in both hands, screamed, and fell to the ground unconscious.  He was out for about twenty seconds.  She scooped him up and rushed him to the hospital emergency room.  To make a long story short, AJ  had a brain aneurysm.  The doctors conducted numerous tests, brain scans, and more tests are being conducted even as I am writing this blog entry.  While at work yesterday one of the hospital doctor's came into her dental office, where she works, and he told her that this event with AJ was the talk of the hospital because most often aneurysms result in death or at the very least brain damage.  Yet AJ has came through this life threatening incident unscathed.  The doctor told Annie that they need to count their blessings.  Please remember AJ in your prayers and also for Melvy and Annie and AJ's brother, Andy.  Pray especially that God would use this event to draw them closer to Him.

We are all set to be at Bethany Bible Church in Lake Havasu City by Sunday,January 13th where I will preach in both morning and evening services.  Then on the 14th we have Dayle's doctor's appointment.  We plan on staying in Lake Havasu for a minimum of three months and possibly longer if the treatment plan for the osteoporosis so requires.

Next week is Christmas which is our favorite time of the year.  We love all the decorations, the Christmas Eve service, the church Christmas get togethers, family gatherings and all the fuss all because of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Our entire family is coming to Sacramento.  This will be the first time that we have all been together in several years.  We are very excited.  We were hoping to have Jack with us by Christmas but we don't think that is going to happen.  But at least his presence will be seen in Neeley's tummy.

Our wish to every one is that you will have a wonderful Christmas as you remember the birth of the Savior and more importantly the reason why he was born.

Doctor Found

While searching for just the right doctor and one that accepted our insurance we discovered that we already had a doctor.  When we were in Lake Havasu in 2011 Dayle saw a doctor for an unrelated issue.  It turns out that this doctor is just what we have been looking for and he is a contracted provider with our insurance.  Yay!  This means that she won't have to go through all that new patient paperwork and other stuff.  This alone will shorten the time that it will take to get to her started on required treatment by about a month.

She made an appointment with the Lake Havasu City for January 14th.  So Arizona here we come. 

Thank you for praying!

Osteoporosis ???

Greetings to all our friends and family.  Our time here in Port RainMuch (Port Angeles) is almost over.  We will leave the land of rain on Wednesday November 14th.  We will greatly miss our kids and grand kids but we won't miss the rain.  We did have many good days that were ideal for outdoor activities.  I have rode a couple of hundred miles of mountain trails during our time here. We have had a blast playing with the grand kids and had some great time of fellowship with our son and daughter-in-law. But it is good that we are leaving because it is getting colder and Dayle really needs some warmth.

Once we arrived here in Port Angeles in September we tried to find a doctor that could treat Dayle's osteoporosis which she has been battling for several years. When Dayle was in Mexico in September our doctor friend there who had examined her again said that she needs to be in an aggressive treatment program for her osteoporosis.  Today, we finally got in to see a doctor here in Port Angeles. The doctor said that she needs a full blood work up and exam in order to determine the best treatment and that we need to stay put for two to three months to get all this done.  So we will head to Sacramento and try to find a doctor there who can address her needs. The other possibility, and my preference is to return to Lake Havasu City, Arizona and find a doctor there.  At least there in Lake Havasu we can be actively involved in the church.   We have been asked to return there in January anyway because they could really use some help.  It is much warmer in Arizona and Dayle will be much more comfortable in the higher temperatures and low humidity.

Because of having to head south I called Bob Rodgers, our mission director, and asked for a leave of absence until we can get Dayle's osteoporosis under control.  Even though we will be on a "leave of absence" from the Pacific Northwest we don't plan on taking a leave of absence from serving our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

From Fir Point to Port Angeles

So much has happened since my last post.  Due to a lousy internet connection in the rain forest outside of Port Angeles, which is where we are, I have not been able to update the blog.  Departed Fir Point Bible Camp on September 23rd and arrived later that evening in Aberdeen, Washington at the Wishkah Community Church where I was to preach in both the morning and evening services.  Then on Monday I drove to our son's home in Port Angeles.  On Friday I drove out son and daughter-in-law to the SEA-TAC airport as they were going to a wedding in New York.  A couple of hours later my Dayle flew into to the airport and we were reunited once again.  She spend twelve days in Mexico with her sister who is recovering from surgery. 

While in Mexico, Dayle went to our doctor friend and had another bone scan.  Her condition has not worsened but it hasn't gotten any better either.  This greatly concerned the doctor and he wants her to see a doctor here and get on a special medication that is given by I.V.  We have made application at a new doctor in Port Angeles and we are waiting to hear back from them about an appointment date.  Also while in Mexico Dayle was asked to speak to several women's groups.  She spoke four times. 

September 1st was my 60th birthday.  This was a day that we have been looking forward to for a very long time.  My 60th birthday marks the day that my US Coast Guard Retirement begins.  We now have free medical insurance and a small financial benefit every month.  It sure felt good to turn in my pink military ID card for a blue retiree ID card.

We still have not been assigned a church in which to minister.  This week is our IFCA Regional Conference in Lynwood, WA.  I will meet with the director and discuss our future with NICE.  Our plan was to be a help to churches and that is not happening.  We did serve at the Lake Havasu Church, and Fir Point Bible Camp, and did speak at a few churches.  But we were hoping for longer stays at the churches.  So I will talk with the director this week.

The folks in Lake Havasu would like us to return.  So we are tentatively planning on going in January after the birth of our newest grandson, if NICE does not have a church for us by then.  But the Lord is in control.

We are also going to try to sell our house next year.  If our tenants don't want to buy it then we will move back into it around April and try to sell it by owner.  Once we sell it, we will move the remainder of our storage stuff to Grant's Pass.  We will also sell or trade our 5th wheel trailer to get one that has just a little more room.

A lot going on and much to do.  We will be here with our kids till the middle of November.  They need us to help out with driving since our daughter-in-law still cant drive until November 15th.  She is now taking anti-seizure medication and seems to be doing quite well.  While here we plan to visit several different churches and introduce ourselves.

So, please keep us in your prayers.

Back at Fir Point Bible Camp

The last wo weeks have been quite busy.  We stopped in Sacramento and stayed with Stephen and Neeley.  They really put us to work cleaning, painting, and yard work.  We also drove up to Klamath Falls pulling a big U-Haul trailer.  Since Stephen now has a huge garage we emptied out our storage unit of almost every power tool that I have so Stephen can have a shop.  He is so excited to finally have a fully outfitted shop.  We also took several pieces of furniture, dressers, my canoe, and other stuff to put on CraigsList in the Sacamento area.  I sold one item the first day and the Canoe sold a couple of days later.  They sold for what I was asking for them too. 

Well now we can see the floor of our storage unit.  We plan to return in the Spring and ave a huge yard sale to sell most everything else.  Of course we will keep the important stuff and we will move it all to a more convenient location such as Grants Pass.  We will also try to sell the house once again then too.

On Sunday (9/16) I dropped my Dayle off at the Sacramento airport.  She will be staying with Ellen in Mexico City for 12 days and will fly in to Seattle on the 28th.  After I dropped her off at the airport I headed back to Fir Point where I have lots of work to finish up.  On Saturday (9/23) I will drive up to Aberdeen, WA and will be preaching on Sunday morning and evening.  After that I will continue up to Jason and Shelli's home in Port Angeles.

We are still awaiting another church assignment but no most churches have a pastor and really don't need anyone to fill in.  I am now going to be contacting churches myself and offer our services regardless of what it may be.  The church in Lake Havasu has lots of work to be done so we may return there for a while but we couldn't go until December.  So we will see where the Lord leads.

Today is a wonderful day!

Today is so wonderful because it's our 41st anniversary. That's 41 magnificent yeas with the love, the joy of my life!!!

The other reason for this day being so good is that we just talked to Ellen and she is cancer free. No further treatment is required. It sure sounds like a miracle to me.

Praise the Lord.

We are praising our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Ellen's surgery went very well and the prognosis is very positive.  She is home recuperating and feels pretty good.   We are still awaiting the results of a couple of tests which will determine any future treatment.

Dayle will be going to be with her on September 16th through the 28th.  She will fly out of Sacramento on the 16th and return to Seattle on the 28th.  I will leave Sacramento on the 16th and return to Fir Point Bible Camp for a few days before going up to Port Angeles.  On the 23rd of September I will be preaching at Wishkah Valley Community Church in Aberdeen, Washington.

Please continue to pray for my sister-in-law and her recovery and for the cancer to be GONE!

Urgent Prayer Request

My dear sister-in-law, Ellen Parker, just found out that she has an aggressive type of breast cancer.  She goes in Monday for a radical mastectomy.  We are very concerned that the cancer has spread to the lymphatic system.  We will know more on Monday.  Please pray right now and often!

Camp is Finished

Teaching the 5th and 6th Graders about "Real Faith"

We just finished the last camp which was the 3rd and 4th graders.  The previous week was the 5th and 6th grade camp.  The requested speaker  was unable to make it so I was asked to be the speaker.  I was already scheduled for the 3rd and 4th grade camp, so I used the same material.  My theme was "real faith."  I taught the children what real faith is and how it shows in the life of a believer.  We had our two grandsons, AJ and Andy, with us at camp.  Andy got sick almost immediately upon arrival and went home with the stomach flu.  He returned the next day feeling great.  Then Dayle and I both came down with the stomach flu. This was the first time in our 41 years that we have both been sick at the same time.  We were both miserable and we couldn't even pamper each other.  I asked Dayle to rub my head due to a terrible headache and she said, "No. Will you rub mine?"  As miserable as we were for those 24 hours it was very funny.  We even like being sick together...go figure!

The weekend between the two camps was Fir Point's Bible Camp's Family Camp.  There were 40 families for a total of about 200 people.  The speaker was a Pastor friend from Grants Pass, and Jeff Moritz, the camp administrator, was going to lead the music for the four sessions at family camp.  But the day before camp started he got attacked by wasps and got stung in the eye.  His eye swelled shut and was not able to lead the music.  So he asked me if I would fill in for him.  Of course I said that I would.  It was really good to be able to lead the music and the people really seemed to enjoy it.

Leading music at Family Camp

Even though I have been preparing lessons for the kids we both have continued to do lots of work around here.  We continue to clean, repair and organize.  I have used my welding skills to make a ladder hanger to hang the extension ladders on the side of the shop building.  I used my electrical and woodworking skills to make a post lamp over the outdoor campfire stage.  We just had a huge yard sale and a lot of stuff was sold and even given away.  The camp is almost empty of excess stuff.  I made two trips to the thrift store and another trip to the dump.  There is actually room now for the stuff they need to keep in storage.  This next week we plan to finish cleaning out and organizing the maintenance shop.  This should take one to two full days.

As I write this entry we are in Orting, Washington (Sunday 8/5).  I preached in both the morning and evening services at Faith bible Church.  It was good to be back in the pulpit.  We are staying with our NICE mission directors, Bob and Katherine Rodgers, and it was good to be able to spend some time with them.

We plan on leaving Fir Point on or about the 13th of August and will head south to my sister's house for 2 to 3 weeks.  We will help her with a huge yard sale.  While there we will go over to Lake Havasu City and visit our supporting church and see some good friends.  We need to be in Port Angeles with Jason and Shelli to watch the kids for a few days while they fly to the New York for Shelli's brother's wedding.

We are still awaiting for an assignment from the mission.  Bob may have a church for us in Idaho, so we are looking forward to that possibility. It the mean time we will continue to serve at every opportunity.