My mother is dying...and getting ready for a Wedding!

I'm going to take a break from the adventures we've been through on our Journey.  A couple of months ago, we planned to come up to Indiana to visit our daughter and her family.  Since she lives only an hour-and-a-half from my mother, we would be able to visit her once or twice, too.  Some time before leaving Quito, I started to feel that maybe God was organizing things the way He did when my father died last year.

You may remember that we came up last year to have a last visit with my father, who was dying of pancreatic cancer.  We asked my mother which she preferred: that we come then, and hopefully get in some visits with my father while he could still recognize us and was responsive, OR wait and come up for the funeral.  We couldn't afford to make two trips.  She wanted us to come then, so we did.  And God called my father Home while we were there, so we were able to be at the funeral!

My mother's condition has been worsening, but lately took a decided turn for the worse, and I began wondering if, once again, God was orchestrating things - so that we could be here for her last days, be able to grieve with the family, and likely be here for her funeral.  I think He put the idea of visiting Debbie at this particular time in our minds, and facilitated the plan (she found us some super-cheap tickets), so that we would also be here when my mother leaves for Heaven.  Others of the family didn't necessarily share my premonition, but we don't all perceive things the same way.  The feeling never abated.

I flew up before Germán, and had a lovely week with my beautiful granddaughters; then, once he arrived, we drove over for the day to see my mom.  I teared up when I saw her...so withered up and helpless-looking, so heart-achingly frail.  She desperately wants to go to Heaven and be with her Savior and be reunited with my father.  She's not suicidal, she just knows what she wants!  She's tired and frustrated, and I don't blame her!

A couple of days ago she was accepted into hospice care, which is only for the dying.  She has had numerous health problems all her life. Now it looks like her kidneys are failing, and her heart is giving out.  She does not want any artificial life-support of any kind, and just wants to die peacefully...which is what will happen.  She drifted into a coma recently because her CO2 was way too high. But only artificial means will keep it from happening again.  The doctor even told us that, although it might keep her alive for a couple more months, it would wear her poor, damaged heart even further...and that would kill her.  So we are letting her slip away as she wants, and at the speed that God has planned.  Soon she'll drift into a coma, and then quietly take her leave. She is beyond the scope of any therapeutic measure - except the most important one:  being taken to live forever in God's presence of Love and Light and Joy!

As of yesterday, all four of her children are here, just as for my father.  We are ready to release her into God's loving arms.  We do as we did for my father:  sing hymns and choruses of praise, and thus accompany her as she starts out on her last, but most important, adventure!

My sister asked me, when I had just arrived, what we should dress her in when it comes time for the viewing.  I suddenly remembered something.  She had a special dress that she wore to all the family weddings.  In fact, she called it her "wedding dress".  I suggested we use that, because she is going to join those who are the Bride of Christ, and be ready for the Wedding Supper of the Lamb.  What great joy!...for her, and for us, even in the midst of our sorrow.  Our mother will finally be free and with our father!

Last night she said to us, "You may wake up tomorrow and find that I've gone."  How would she feel about that?  She raised her fingers and wiggled them, and sang out, "Bye bye!!" 

I will write more as we go on this last journey with her.  I usually write every week, but I will most likely write more often, depending on how things evolve, so you can come back here from time to time.  (I haven't checked in this morning yet to see if she's still with us.)  Many have told us they are praying.  Thank you!

Only 10 days later...there it was!

I had an electronic keyboard, and it was a blessing.  But one day I was really, really missing being able to

crash up and down the octaves, all over the keys, using the pedals, etc., which is impossible on a keyboard...at least the way I like to do it!  And I suddenly thought, "I've never asked God for an acoustic piano!" So I did.

I knew it would be a luxury, not a necessity; I also knew that we couldn't really afford one unless we were able to pay for it little by little.  At that time, pianos being sold and re-sold within the missionary community ran from $1500 - $2000, on average.  This was because it was not at all an easy thing to ship down, especially if the final destination was out in the jungle somewhere!  (Years ago, they didn't even make pianos in Ecuador.)  So they never really depreciated.

After I asked God for the piano, I just put the idea to rest.  Ten days later, Germán called to tell me that some missionary friends of ours were going to be going home to Canada because of the wife's health, and expected to be away for about a year.  They wanted to know if I'd be interested in baby-sitting their piano for them while they were away!  Free piano for a whole year!  I could hardly believe it...only 10 days after I'd asked for it...there it was.
                                                                                                           

It was only on loan, you say?  Well, that was a start, wasn't it?  But watch and see how God continued to orchestrate the answer to my request.

Only a short while later, we heard that our friends had decided not to return to Ecuador, due to the health issues.  He would come back to sell their things.  I immediately thought, "I wonder if they'd let me buy their piano, and pay them off little by little." We could manage, say, $50 a month.  It would take years to pay, and not everyone would agree to that kind of arrangement, but we thought that these particular friends would probably be fine with it.  I knew that they would have to buy another piano back home. Before I could even suggest this to them, God closed the deal.

Only a very little time after, we were in the living room one evening, and Germán was reading the mail.  Suddenly he shot out of his chair with a shout!  "It's yours!"  What was mine?  The letter was from our friends, and their message was:  the Lord had provided everything they needed to settle in back home (including another piano), and they were giving me their piano!  An outright gift!  I was stunned.

God gave me my acoustic piano, and made sure it was a good one! We recently had to have  it checked by a professional and he was impressed at the condition it's in.  (Our friend had pretty much taken it apart and rebuilt it inside.) Also, we were told that nowadays pianos are often made with just plywood.  But mine is made of sturdy, durable wood, indicative of its superior workmanship.  And it didn't cost me a cent!

************************************************
It makes me think of another Gift,  one of superior workmanship.  Nobody can afford it, and we can't "buy" it, paying little by little with good works. The only way to get it is to accept it as a Gift.  It's the most important Gift anyone could  receive, the difference between eternal Life and Death.

The Love of God, our redemption fully paid through Jesus, his Peace...                     .                                                                 what more could we ask?  And it's FREE!
*********************************************************************************************
                                       I wish you Love, and bid you Peace!    

Can you just walk away?..."Sing His Song"

In 1992, Germán's main position in the mission was that of "Director of Field Services". Missionaries can be very busy with their ministries and it takes valuable time to do things like take cars to the mechanic, go to the post office, or find a printer to do prayer letters. To free them up,  HCJB had its own mail room, auto shop, print shop, etc. Germán oversaw these, plus areas like maintenance, telephone system, and security. 

He added a special touch: Bible studies with the personnel of each department. He wanted to be available to them, aware of the fact that their staff's personal problems are often overlooked  by busy leaders.

                                           Sing His Song

              If you know what to say to the spirit that's broken,
              can you just walk away and leave the words unspoken? 
              Healing notes are on the tip of your tongue,
              but your pride makes you want to leave the Song unsung.                                                      

               
Don't leave God's song of healing unsung.
Don't leave His act of mercy undone.
Sing His Song!  Won't you dare
to show your hurting brother that you care?

Sing His Song!  Love's healing song!
It's through you that God can show how much He cares.

If you feel the despair that in his eyes you've read,
can you just walk away and leave the tears unshed?
Words of hope can pierce the shadow he wears...
do you give in to shame and leave God's love unshared?
                                                           

                Don't leave the tears of comfort unshed.
                Don't leave the words of kindness unsaid.
                Sing His Song!  Sing His Song!
                Show your hurting brother that you care.

                Sing His Song! Love's healing song!
                It's through you that God can show how much He cares.                               
 **********************song lyrics by Becky Rhon************

No matter where we live, where we work, what we do, or what position we have, we come in contact with people who are hurting and need Jesus to hug them and encourage them through us.  If we know The Answer, are we willing to share Him?

God bless each of you who reads this.  See you next time!

Lizard tails for dinner! ... but here's an even better idea, in this poem.

One evening Debbie had a friend over for dinner.  I had prepared a dish in which the beef is pulled apart in little threads.  The friend saw the little strips as I set the dish on the table.  "What's that?" she asked.  I answered the first thing that came to my mind.  "It's lizard tails."  She got a little somber but, with good manners, ate all of her portion.
                                                                                        

Later, Debbie came to me and said, "Mom, she asked me 'Was that really lizard tails?'" She didn't know if I was being serious, wasn't sure whether to believe me or not!...I mean...lizard tails??!!   (I wonder if she remembers, after all these years?)

                  
                      ****************************************************************

Thank God, we don't have to doubt what He offers us, do we? We don't have to wonder if He's being serious, or if we should believe Him. We can be confident of the nourishment He supplies for our souls and spirits.  His Word contains all we need, shows us the Bread of Life and Living Water.  (No spiritual "lizard tails"!)  If it's in the Bible, it's serious and we can believe it! God is generous with His gifts for our growth and development.  But we have to reach out and take them!  
                                                  

                                 Letter to My Beloved Sheep                               
               
                 Dear __________,

                 Why is it that you go hungry
                 when I spread the finest fare?
                 Or you struggle, sad and weakened,
                 when My Food gives strength to spare?
    
                 Why will you forget, sometimes,
                 that you're My sheep?  Your Shepherd knows
                 why His Rod and Staff are blooded;
                 Rod and Staff are friends, not foes!                                              

                 For I would lead my sheep to pastures
                 that enrich the soul anew;
                 I would bring you, thirsty lamb,
                 to crystal streams drawn just for you.

                 Let Me help you to remember
                 where My Feast can best be had.
                 Look, dear sheep, (oft undiscerning):
                 seek Me, find Me and be glad!                      

                                                Yes!

     Come and dine! And be replenished.
     Come and dine...and be restored.
     Come remember Me, rejoicing
     at My Table.

     Signed, Your Lord          
                                

            **************************************************Becky Rhon****************

"'It is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.  For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.'... Then Jesus declared, 'I am the bread of life.  He who comes to Me will never go hungry, and he who believes in Me will never be thirsty.'"  (John 6:33,35)

"'So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For whoever asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." (Luke 11:9,10)

 Amazing, comforting, challenging words!!  Let's keep them close to our hearts.  See you next week!

100 Bloody paw prints /// One Bloody crown of thorns

                                                                   

Actually, I didn't count them, just estimated the number on seeing the driveway covered with bloody paw prints. I was astonished at what was going on.  Zach, the second or third in a line of 5 or 6 dogs that we've had since we came back, was a black Labrador we'd gotten when he was only a few weeks old.  Now he had grown a lot, and was putting on quite a performance.

Our neighbors had topped the 8-foot wall between our houses with broken glass embedded in cement, a common deterrent for thieves.  Next door, their dog was about a quarter the size of Zach, and loved to be out on the flat roof...where Zach could see him and join in their verbal sparring, barking their throats dry, non-stop.  That's where the little dog was now, and he seemed to relish baiting Zach, knowing he was out of reach.

Zach, apparently, decided to try proving his foe wrong.  All the bloody paw prints covering the driveway were the result of him jumping as high as he could, somehow managing to just barely reach the top of the wall, where, of course, he cut the pads of his front paws on the pieces of broken glass.  What was hard to understand was why he kept on leaping and barking, in spite of being wounded. He either didn't really realize what was happening to his paws, or he didn't really care!

We managed to get him settled down, and I stopped the bleeding, and cleaned and bandaged his paws. (We couldn't afford a vet.)  His heart was racing wildly, and even to someone who is not a vet, it was obvious he was going into shock. Thinking I had done as much as I could, I left him to rest, and went inside.

A few minutes later I was called outside again.  I couldn't believe what I was seeing.  Zach had gotten up and was starting his side of the argument all over again!  There he was, leaping up and trying once more to reach the little dog on the roof!  He had hurt himself in a vain effort to prove he was bigger and better, (besides, this was HIS territory!) and now all he could think about was continuing the confrontation.  It didn't matter that he was only making his wounds worse.  We finally got him to stop, and stay stopped!
                   ****************************************************

What an illustration of the way we human beings act sometimes!  We have to prove our point, no matter what, even if we pay a price to do it. And we often make things worse, rather than better.  On top of that, we can end up hurting ourselves much more than the other person...and even then, sometimes we don't stop!  Pride makes us do stupid things sometimes, doesn't it?                                                                                                                                 

But there was one Man who showed us that battles should be waged against Evil, not against each other.  He bled, but not out of pride.  His battle wounds were won in destroying the Enemy of our souls.  He did prove a point:  God's love is so great that Jesus chose to bleed to death in order to give us Life.  His humility and utter selflessness, his willingness to be wounded even though He was innocent of any wrongdoing whatsoever, gave Him the greatest victory in all of history.

John the Baptist said of Jesus, "Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!"  (John 1:29)

The Israelites used to have to make sacrifices of lambs for forgiveness. They should have died for their sins, but the lambs died in their place.  However, this had to be repeated over and over again, as there was no perfect sacrifice available.  And then Jesus came!  We should die for our sins, but the Lamb died in our place.  And because He was a perfect man, his sacrifice was permanent, all-encompassing, 100% effective.  What a way to win an argument!   

Then He added the final, conclusive, essential piece of evidence for his side of the contention: the Resurrection!  Amazing! 

As we approach Easter Sunday, let's celebrate this awesome event with heart-felt gratitude to God for loving us so much that He couldn't bear to see us die!  He let Jesus' death and resurrection prove his point! 
                                                            
Have a blessed Easter! Join me next week.

Death and resurrection...of a marriage; and a poem about starting over

                                                                                                                                                   

No, not ours...but that of a couple who were, and still are, dear to us.  When we returned to Quito, they had separated; she had remained here with their three young children, and he had gone to the States. During our first year back we had a lot of interaction, serving as a shoulder to cry on, as sounding boards...and just loving them. We cared so very much about the outcome of this precious couple's life. They were broken-hearted and we wept for and with them.  We prayed for and with them.

(It'll be easier for you to read if I give them names, won't it?... not their real ones, of course.  We'll call them Jack and Jill.)

 As time progressed, it seemed like there wasn't going to be an easy solution for their situation, BUT on another level, even more basic, God was doing wonders.  Jill told me once that before, she had gone to church, etc., just going through the motions, not from the heart.  But now, she said, she was doing it because of her love for Jesus!  She went with us to see a small drama that Debbie's class presented at school, and when they sang "If God can make a whole new world, He can make a whole new Me.", Jill turned to me with tears in her eyes and said, "That's what He's done for me!" 

Someone once said, "God can mend a broken heart, but He has to have all the pieces."  For Him to mend a marriage, each one has to "get down to the basics" with Him FIRST, give Him all the pieces, and then let Him start to work.  The best foundation for a marriage is an honest relationship with God. (Something that takes a lifetime to learn, maybe, but is worth it, as we ourselves are still finding.) So Jack and Jill needed God to touch their hurting hearts, individually, and bring them back into line with His.

About a year later, the divorce was finalized. But that was no obstacle for God! Once the kids had finished the school year, Jill left to the States to take up residence near to Jack so that they could both have time with the children, and to do some counseling. And then things started happening that had us cheering!                                       

                                                                                                         

 
Jack wrote that, as he and Jill spent time together, he was falling in love with her all over again! I think it was the new Jack and the new Jill that were being drawn together.  Approximately six months after the divorce was finalized, we got an invitation from their children for the re-marriage of their parents!

(It was in the States, so we couldn't attend, but we were thrilled!)  More than 20 years later, he tells me that they are still living the miracle God so graciously bestowed on them! 
                                                                                                         

I wrote this poem for them about the time they were re-joining their lives.  I wanted to include it here so that you could share it with anyone who is going through similar circumstances.  God doesn't just stick bandaids on broken hearts.  (That's what WE try to do, and it doesn't bring a lasting solution!)


                                                Bright Colors       (or This Second Time)

                  The first time, all we could see was BRIGHT COLORS.
                  Then they started to fade...into WARM PASTELS.
                  We grew afraid, drew back...and they turned into COLD PASTELS.
                  The COLD PASTELS iced into dingy, dreary gray.

                                  Then gray melted into black,
                                  and black wove its tent around us.
                                           When was day?
                                           When was night?
                                           What was black?
                                           What was white?
                                           Who was wrong?
                                           Who was right?
                                           We had to fight!
                         But it was so dark, we couldn't see the enemy...
                                       so we fought each other.

                          Then God picked up a red-dripping Cross
                          and slit the tent, ripping open the darkness.
                                     How the Light hurt!
                          But as it seared in,
                          we saw each other again...
                          I was horrified to see in you
                          the reflection of my darkness.
                          Were you frightened, too?
                                    Pride and pain of years.
                                    Angry, sorrowing tears.
                                           We both were wrong.
                                           We both were right.
                                           We had to fight!

                       But then we began to see our common enemy.
                      Then we began to cling to our common Conqueror.
                      Then we began to listen to each other's heart.

                                   And, little by little,
                           the black melted back to gray,
                     then to COLD PASTELS...(a little color!)

                     Come, beloved,
                      let us pluck the COLD PASTELS
                              - those tiny buds of hope,
                                those tiny sprouts of faith -
                      and hold them to our souls...to warm them.

                   WARM PASTELS...
                   kindling the fire of the Creator-Artist's BRIGHT COLORS
                                  - brighter yet this second time -
                   that will once again give us
                                        the day,
                                        the night,
                                        the black,
                                        the white,
                               the strength to fight!!
                            but not against anymore.
                               Not against, but for,
                   as I see in your eyes reflections of His Light,
                                in your smile reflections of His Love,
                                in your words reflections of His Peace.

                             We'll let His colors rhyme
                                     this second time.                               
              ******************************************-Becky Rhon******           

                       

                                                                                  
                                                                        God bless you all.  See you next time!

It doesn't last if we try to fix it ourselves.

"I'll never see my son again!"

                       

That was my mother-in-law's concern every time Germán traveled to another country. She was afraid that something might happen to him, but even more afraid that she might die before he returned! When we left for Australia as newlyweds, Mama María (as I and others of my family called her) was only in her 60's, but still worried because we were going so far away, for so long, and might not make it back before she died.  When we came back from Australia after five years, she was content.

  Two-and-a-half years later we moved to Shell, but that was still in Ecuador, and we would travel to Quito several times a year.  After eight years in Shell, we went to the States, for those three famous years in Dallas.  Of course, we thought it would only be a year; we never dreamed it would turn into three.  But even a year was a burden for my mother-in-law, then in her lower 80's.  "I'll never see my son again!"  (Imagine how she felt when she heard he was going to have surgery!)

Mama María had nine children. (One died in infancy.) She was the second wife of Germán's father, who had six children with his first wife.  So there were a total of 15 siblings! Germán was the second-to-last child (of the 15), so he has half-nieces and half-nephews who are older than he is.  But even his full-nieces and nephews are a lot older than our children. His oldest full-niece is only a year younger than I. (His oldest full-sister was married the year I was born!)  Dan and Debbie were the very last of Mama María's grandchildren, and being the offspring of her favorite child, she was very proud of them.

One of the main reasons she doted on Germán was that when his father died, Germán took on the role of "man of the house" (at the age of 13).  Also, he was the last child...she thought.  I think Germán's little sister, born four years later, was a bit of a surprise. (In case you wonder, she and I got along well!  When Germán first took me to meet her, she was nervous and pessimistic. Germán told me later that what won her over was the hug I gave her when we were introduced!)
                                                                                                                                   

Mama María was living with Germán's brother next door when we returned from Dallas, so we saw a lot of her, and she was again happy that she hadn't died before her son came home.  Three-and-a-half months later, it was SHE who traveled to another Land, from which she never returned.  On November 19, 1992, at the age of about 85, Mama María went to her eternal Home.                    

 
Thank God that we don't have to say, "We'll never see her again!", because she is waiting for us in Heaven. I'm sure she was there to greet my father when he made the same trip 11 months ago!

   What a way to start out our first term as full-fledged missionaries with HCJB! We settled into our house, the kids were enrolled in school (Dan in 12th grade and Debbie in 6th), and Germán started acquainting himself with his new responsibilities...                                                  And then a funeral! But not one without hope!


                                        *************************

 Who gives us hope for eternal Life after death?  Let me say it with the lyrics to a short song I wrote, with echoes of Job's assurance:

                            My Father

              My Father, You love me.
              I know that You value your child.
              I know that You now have me carved in the palm of Your hand,
              now and forever.
             
 My Father, I love You.
You know on which pathway I go.
And when You have tested me, then I will come forth like gold:
pure and holy.           
                                                                                                              

My Father, I praise You.
I now see what I only had heard.
Whatever may happen, I know my Redeemer's alive.
My eyes will see Him.  
                                                  -Becky Rhon
         ******************************************


I hope with all my heart that you have met your Redeemer and know that He's alive!  See you next week!