Closure.

This past week has been so incredibly long, but God has given such strength every single day.  I'm weak, and He is strong. It's as simple as that.

I wanted to share what I said at my dad's funeral on Saturday. I'm really glad I wrote most of it down...

My name is Anne and I'm Bob and Shirley's youngest child. Last night I heard wonderful stories about my dad and felt as if I heard his life story as people shared how my dad influenced them.

I too have a story to share. About eight weeks ago, my husband and I went over to my parents house and talked with my dad for about three hours. We wanted to resolve a conflict in our relationship with Dad and challenge him about his relationship with God. We had a good talk about how salvation is found in Christ alone. After talking about the need for a restored relationship with God, my dad and I were able to address the need of forgiveness in our relationship.

I'm so grateful I took that opportunity to be reconciled with my dad. Last night was an amazing time to hear testimonies of how Dad influenced so many lives. I am so thankful to hear all the kind words completing Dad's story on earth. But my greatest peace is to know that I was able to express my love to Dad before he passed into eternity.

Friday night I heard from so many people who came through the receiving line telling me about the impact my dad had on their lives. My dad had varied interests and pursued many of them. Along the way he was able to meet so many people. The one theme that many expressed to me was that my dad was extremely friendly and personable. Nat and I were talking about my dad last night and he mentioned the first time he talked with my dad was when he took a box of some of my things over to my parents after he returned from Thailand (about two weeks before I moved home from my year long stay there). My dad was sitting outside when Nat drove up and began chatting with Nat right away.

Of course my dad really knew how to talk, as I'm sure many remember!  When Nat went to ask my dad if he could have my dad's permission to marry me, I think Nat was there for three hours before my dad finally said yes. :-)

We received a lot of closure with my dad's funeral.  I know several in my family have been waking up early and thinking, unable to go back to sleep.  But the healing process has begun.  My dad had an appointed time last Monday, just as the Bible says. Hebrews 9:27 ~"And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:"

My dad's funeral was the best funeral I have ever attended. Nina and her sister played sweet hymns on the harp, which my dad loved. Our wonderful pastor, whom my dad really liked, preached a wonderful message on salvation. My three brothers and I each gave a testimony of my dad, and my nephew read a scripture passage from Job. I know my dad would've been very pleased with his funeral.

Nat and I cancelled the rest of our meetings (4) from the last leg of the trip we were on. We will be home until the end of May to be with my mom.  We also need to get our car fixed this week.

We weren't supposed to be home for another three weeks, but I'm really grateful to be home. What a joy to be with my family over the last several days and then to be with my church family on Sunday. Truly the Lord has been very good to me.

Funeral Plans.

We arrived home safely Tuesday morning at 1 AM. It's been a whirlwind ever since. Most of my family is in town, and my brother is coming in tonight.

Dad's funeral is Saturday morning at 11 AM, so I would appreciate prayers! Things are just about done for the preparations. God is so good!

God is good!

Last night found my husband, son, and I starting the 24-hour trek home. We were not supposed to return to base for another three weeks, but my life changed early yesterday afternoon with a single phone call.

My husband and I were on our way to have lunch with a pastor and his wife. A lady in the church was very gracious in watching Paul so we could go out to eat and Nat and I were so excited to have some alone time. Well, we never did go out to eat with the pastor and his wife. Halfway to town, we got a phone call from my brother saying my dad had died as a result of a heart attack.

Shock, denial, and tears were my response. That and the desire to return home immediately. Small problem since we were in North Dakota!

Nat and I saw the Lord's hand right away, given that our son was not there in that initial moment. We were able to return to the place we were staying, pack everything up, get Paul and leave within 90 minutes.

6 hours down the road, we encountered a snow storm in Minnesota and Wisconsin. The snow fell quickly and made a sloppy mess of the roads. We hit one particular spot of ice that threw the car into a 180 degree spin and sent us sliding into the concrete barrier. Thankfully I was in the back with Paul and was able to shield him from the rear windshield as it shattered and rained glass pieces inside the car. Add to that we were facing the wrong direction on the highway and it was snowing inside the car. We had a little situation on our hands. :)

My husband is very cool and level headed and so he calmly got out, put the glass pieces in a garbage bag we had (that's random!) and then came up with a game plan to fix it.

We stopped at Walmart for tape and cardboard and the cashier mentioned there was a service garage nearby that is sometimes opened at night. I had my doubts since it was after 10 PM, but there happened to be a man there who fixed us up with a plastic cover! It's been a noisy ride, but at least we're able to drive it home. :)

So now we're driving thru Indiana and hope to be home by midnight. We are doing a 24-hour trip in 30 hours which is kind of funny because the most we drive in a day is usually 8 or 9 hours tops.

I'm so grateful Nat and I took the opportunity to restore my relationship with my dad before it was too late. There are rough days ahead, especially for my mom, but God's timing is perfect! I'm thankful we have a couple of weeks open now to help my mom out.

Family is coming in this week, including my brother who is in the middle of boot camp. How good the Lord is to allow us to be home, and not overseas yet!

Helping.

This week has been a unique one for us on the deputation trail. Through a series of events, we're staying with a friend of an acquaintance we met at a church in Ohio one time back in February.

I think the Lord wanted us to be helping hands this week. We spent Wednesday raking for the older couple we're staying with and today we're helping the acquaintance mentioned above with unpacking at her house.

As you can see, we have our work cut out for us! Praise the Lord for opportunities to serve! We'll see how far we get today. :)

All Tuckered Out.

We went for a walk today, and apparently the fresh air was too much for our little guy!