Things Don't Always Go According As Planned

On Monday I was supposed to travel to Klemtu with some Pastors from a church in Beaverton, OR. The purpose was to introduce their new Youth Pastor to Klemtu in preparation for a ministry trip this summer.

Sunday night I received a call saying they had to delay the trip until Jan 1-5 because of the bad weather out here. (As a side note, much more of this Global Warming and we will all freeze to death out here.) I was disappointed, my bags were packed and I was ready to go.

But God, in His wisdom, had other plans. So our trip was planned. It was disappointing but understandable.

For our dear sister mentioned in the blog below, things were more than disappointing. Rather than going home for Christmas after 8 months in the hospital, she is being flown back down to Vancouver to a hospital there for treatment she can't receive from the small hospital near her home.

We will probably be her only visitors on Christmas day. I can only imagine the sadness she feels. Being home with her extended family has been her goal for many months now.

We don't always understand God's plans for our lives, especially in the short term. However, we must continue to trust in His love, wisdom and plans for us.

An Unlikely Hero

Below is a copy of our Christmas Ministry Update. Christmas greetings to all!!

An Unlikely Hero

“Why does the nurse say I’m a hero?”

That was the question that a dear friend and sister in the Lord recently asked us as she lay in her hospital bed unable to care for herself. You probably wouldn’t take notice of why the nurses felt like that unless you chose to sit and spend time with her. What that nurse saw in our friend was a cheerful determination to persevere through difficulties and a caring heart for others. That alone is a miracle. If you knew the mistreatment she had suffered from others throughout her life, you would be amazed that she smiled at all. If you knew of her long struggle with diabetes and now a stroke and other complications you would be even more amazed.

We spent the last 6 months visiting with her on a regular basis, sometimes laughing, sometimes crying, praying together and sharing meals together. We took her on outings to the mall or down the street to a favorite Chinese restaurant. We worked with her on diet and attitude. We spoke with countless doctors, nurses and social workers on her behalf. We encouraged her to not live through our faith but through her own. Mostly, we just shared life together as best we could.

And in the end, we came to appreciate again what that nurse saw in her for the first time: her big heart for others. Even as she lay in the hospital month after month her concern was for her family back home. “How are they doing?” “Can they come visit?” “Can you help me get a cell phone so I can call them?” “Can we go shopping so I can buy all my nieces and nephews Christmas presents?” (We took her to Wal-Mart one night where she bought 4 Rubbermaid totes full of Christmas gifts and decorations to make Christmas special for her family.)

She recently was transferred to a hospital closer to home with the hope of being home in time for Christmas. Pray that she does.

She was a ‘hero’ to the nurses because of her care for others in spite of the great challenges she faced herself. She perseveres and struggles on with the hope of making it home where she could be with her family again.

Thank you for your care and concern for our ministry and family. We are all doing well. The Leadership Mentoring Ministry is slowly coming together. Like it is for most people these days, things are challenging financially. But we continue to be thankful for God’s provisions through your gifts. Without it we would not have the opportunity to minister, whether in a hospital or mentoring others who minister in Native Christian Fellowships.

We trust that God will richly bless you this Christmas season.