Too much time has passed since we have been able to update you on Pastor and the status of his recovery. Our season of Thanksgiving has passed and the calendar moves on toward Christmas whether we are ready for it or not. We have never been ones to overplay the holidays, as ours is a lifetime calling to the Lord's service and people need to hear the Good news of salvation through Jesus Christ whether it is a holidy season or not. Yet, with all that has transpired in our lives, we find that an attitude of gratitude abounds, and something about having a houseful of grandchildren at Christmastime heightens one's sentiments to look toward the more simple, joyful blessings in this life and after. That being said, lets fill you in on some of the happenings in Pastor's life.Some things change....and for Pastor it was a sneaky adjustment from a hoary head of wisdom to a sphere of peach fuzz to adorn his skull. Louise walked in their bathroom one evening to find Pastor standing there with the razor, unable to finish the job he had begun to shave his head. With his large brace, the back portion that fits round his head was constantly pushing his hair up and creating a moppy mess that irritated him. He wanted it gone. So out with the clippers and off with the rest! He now loves it, and the rest of us can't say much about it, other than that it is gone.
Some things stay the same...that stubborn streak you all know is as strong as ever. This is great when Pastor is applying it to his exercises and blood sugar management, but not so good at other times. For
instance, nearly all of Montana has experienced freezing temperatures the last few days. As a result, the water pump in the well house that supplies water to all three church buildings as well as the parsonage, froze. In no time he had his coat and gloves on, Louise in tow with scarf wrapped round her head, and out to the well house to investigate they went. He was able to reach someone who could tell them what might be the problem, but who did not have time to come by and fix it. Two men in the church were able to come by and help him, but FOUR hours later, they were still working on it and Pastor was frozen. His son Joel came by and sent him inside...he simply would not listen to anyone else. Please pray that we are able to fix the water pump soon and that no other pipes freeze.On a much lighter note, get ready to laugh. Preaching has been better than ever. Each week, Pastor is stronger and feels less and less tuckered at the end of the day. The messages have hopefully been a blessing to others. The Lord has taught him many things through this experience and the sharing of those in messages has truly been rewarding. However, the delivery of these messages has at times been humbling. One Sunday after the song special, he rose from his chair to approach the pulpit. The attitude in the sanctuary was reverant and hearts were prepared, until two steps into his approach, his dress pants fell straight to his ankles. Yes, you read correctly, he now has experienced a more embarrassing moment than any of you preachers out there. You see, at this point, he has lost some 38 pounds. A belt cannot be worn under his body brace, which used to hold up those pants just fine. So for the last few Sundays, he has worn suspenders, and we have accepted seeing the color of his socks over the color of his boxers. Now how's that for a good laugh! Go ahead, he laughed at himself too...
We would ask that you please continue to pray during this time of recovery. His doctors have taken away his walker, he is completely off pain medication, and should be able to have his brace taken away after the first of the year. At that time, he will need to start physical therapy again for a different set of challenges in learning to use those muscle groups again. Blood sugar management is still a struggle, though we have seen some positive changes of late. We just need them to be more consistent. Thank you all. We love you.
