Tuesday, June 12
Dear Folks,
Normally I update the blog the first thing in the morning, but it has been necessary to postpone it until evening. I have a minor condition known as Extra Ventricular Systole. What that means is my heart "skips" a beat (or more) every few beats. At worst, I barely function; at least, it makes an easy day difficult. Today has been a middle of the line because it was skipping every third beat. I can function but much like removing several spark plug wires from your car. That said, we want to share some good news with you.
Yesterday, our largest newspaper released the latest statistics show that our state now ranks second in the Latin world for violence! Wow. Living here, it seems that things are fairly quiet, although not stopped. The problem is that the northern states are still being marked as not safe. The folks here have no idea what is happening in the rest of the country.
A week ago on Saturday, we had the privilege of having all of our grandchildren with us (7) to spend the day. After a good start on the day, we sat down to eat. As we were eating pizza, the caretaker's wife came to the door and stated, "Oh, I see you are eating." We invited her in and she began saying, "G (her husband) wants to borrow your boys." Immediately I am thinking "boys?" Our grand-kids range from 10 to 2. Why would G want to borrow our grand-kids? She stammered on that "it got away." What? Finally, we got out of her that G was burning off a field out back and the wind swept the field and had sent the fire onto the two next farms. The "boys" were supposed to be "men." Cheyenne, Jonathan, the neighbor and his wife and I took off for the back part of the farm. Arriving at the starting point, we realized that the fire was a good way away from there. We started filling buckets while Jonathan took off with a shovel. About one hour later, and some 30 buckets of water carried at least 350 yards one way. Poor Ann was left with the grand-kids until we came back dirty, tired and extremely hot (96 degrees).
The church attendance has been down slightly but we still have a really good spirit as all are working together and we are seeing new visitors almost weekly. Our ex-deacon did tremendous damage, but the Lord is beginning to open eyes. Pray for this Sunday as we have a special service for fathers. We are asking the Lord to save souls.
The best news of the week was my doctor's report. In March I had nasal surgery with the purpose of opening the passages to allow me to breathe clearly again. My doctor had said that in June he would decide if I needed an additional sleep study with the possibility of using a CPAP the rest of my life. He questioned me in depth, examined me thoroughly and sat down at his computer. When he was preparing me to leave, I asked him for his opinion - would I need a CPAP or additional treatment? He smiled and said, "No, Gary. Nothing." So I have been released to be a free man again. I can actually FEEL the air going in and out which I never realized had ceased. I often commented to Ann that I felt like I had sucked air through a coffee stirrer all night long, not realizing it was true. Thank the Lord for giving doctors the ability to help us.
Thank you for caring and for supporting this ministry. Pray for us as we prepare for the DeafNation World Expo. Pray for souls to be saved.
Gary & Ann
Normally I update the blog the first thing in the morning, but it has been necessary to postpone it until evening. I have a minor condition known as Extra Ventricular Systole. What that means is my heart "skips" a beat (or more) every few beats. At worst, I barely function; at least, it makes an easy day difficult. Today has been a middle of the line because it was skipping every third beat. I can function but much like removing several spark plug wires from your car. That said, we want to share some good news with you.
Yesterday, our largest newspaper released the latest statistics show that our state now ranks second in the Latin world for violence! Wow. Living here, it seems that things are fairly quiet, although not stopped. The problem is that the northern states are still being marked as not safe. The folks here have no idea what is happening in the rest of the country.
A week ago on Saturday, we had the privilege of having all of our grandchildren with us (7) to spend the day. After a good start on the day, we sat down to eat. As we were eating pizza, the caretaker's wife came to the door and stated, "Oh, I see you are eating." We invited her in and she began saying, "G (her husband) wants to borrow your boys." Immediately I am thinking "boys?" Our grand-kids range from 10 to 2. Why would G want to borrow our grand-kids? She stammered on that "it got away." What? Finally, we got out of her that G was burning off a field out back and the wind swept the field and had sent the fire onto the two next farms. The "boys" were supposed to be "men." Cheyenne, Jonathan, the neighbor and his wife and I took off for the back part of the farm. Arriving at the starting point, we realized that the fire was a good way away from there. We started filling buckets while Jonathan took off with a shovel. About one hour later, and some 30 buckets of water carried at least 350 yards one way. Poor Ann was left with the grand-kids until we came back dirty, tired and extremely hot (96 degrees).
The church attendance has been down slightly but we still have a really good spirit as all are working together and we are seeing new visitors almost weekly. Our ex-deacon did tremendous damage, but the Lord is beginning to open eyes. Pray for this Sunday as we have a special service for fathers. We are asking the Lord to save souls.
The best news of the week was my doctor's report. In March I had nasal surgery with the purpose of opening the passages to allow me to breathe clearly again. My doctor had said that in June he would decide if I needed an additional sleep study with the possibility of using a CPAP the rest of my life. He questioned me in depth, examined me thoroughly and sat down at his computer. When he was preparing me to leave, I asked him for his opinion - would I need a CPAP or additional treatment? He smiled and said, "No, Gary. Nothing." So I have been released to be a free man again. I can actually FEEL the air going in and out which I never realized had ceased. I often commented to Ann that I felt like I had sucked air through a coffee stirrer all night long, not realizing it was true. Thank the Lord for giving doctors the ability to help us.
Thank you for caring and for supporting this ministry. Pray for us as we prepare for the DeafNation World Expo. Pray for souls to be saved.
Gary & Ann
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