Remember how, in school, a teacher takes roll and calls off all the names, by surname, alphabetically? If you have a name like Brent West you were probably always called last, but if your name is like Edwin Chandler you were called almost right away. Growing up, I always got called somewhere in the middle.
Something weird happened to me... I got called first. That's right, Jones was the first surname, alphabetically, in my Hebrew class.
There's a lot of Koreans and some Europeans in my class, with a lot of Mr. Kim's... oddly, making me first. Never thought it would happen to me!
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Cathy driving to Georgia again to see her dad
So Al, Cathy's dad, had two operations scheduled, one for his throat and one for his lung. He had trouble breathing afterwards and would have died but was resuscitated.
He had the throat surgery Tuesday was recovering at the hospital when he “flat lined” and had to be resuscitated. The doctors are saying he had an allergic reaction to the anesthesia used for the surgery, and this was a reaction to the allergy. I'm not sure what that means, but that scared the family.
Al is under observation but expected to make a full recovery.
Cathy is still quite spooked and is driving out to see her dad. Please pray for Al’s recovery, and please pray for Cathy’s safety in travel. Thanks. She should be there Saturday afternoon.
He had the throat surgery Tuesday was recovering at the hospital when he “flat lined” and had to be resuscitated. The doctors are saying he had an allergic reaction to the anesthesia used for the surgery, and this was a reaction to the allergy. I'm not sure what that means, but that scared the family.
Al is under observation but expected to make a full recovery.
Cathy is still quite spooked and is driving out to see her dad. Please pray for Al’s recovery, and please pray for Cathy’s safety in travel. Thanks. She should be there Saturday afternoon.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Cathy's Dad's Cancer is Shrinking!
Got an update on Cathy's dad. The chemotherapy is nearing completion, and the tumor is shrinking. Short of a miraculous disappearance, this is what we prayed for. There are two surgeries planned, one for the tumor and one for his throat.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Backing Up Into Cars
This past Sunday we backed into another car on Sunday, at church.
I was at church early, and Cathy came a little late. Parking is scarce at church, so I told her to meet me in front, and I would park the car while she got a seat. She thought she saw a parking spot in the alley next to the church, which led to the events in which we hit another car.
I say "we" because Cathy although was driving, she thought I was guiding her, and I don't blame her for thinking so. She could not park in the alley and began to back out between the wall and the other cars. At one point, I warned her that she was getting close to the wall, and she thought I was guiding her the rest of the way out. At the end of the alley, we hit a red car.
So, we hit a red car parked at a bend at the end of the alley. It wasn't too bad, but it was a light scrape. I put a note on the car, sent Cathy inside, and parked the car. While I was waiting for a spot, I prayed with an elder, and on my way down the hall to the sanctuary I prayed with another elder. By the time I was in my seat, I was finally O.K. with it.
After the service, we waiting around for someone to call. Unfortunately, there was a lunch event associated with our missions events. Asking around, the senior pastor said, "I think that's Jim's car."
This Jim, as it turns out, is the man I report to for my IT stuff at church. Sure enough, I found him at the lunch and confirmed it is, in fact, his car. He said he'd look at it and call later. I offered to pay for the damage and went home.
Honestly, we don't have the extra money, what with the impending mortgage crisis. It was a real blessing, then, when Jim called and left me a voicemail indicating, "never mind, fergetaboutit." He indicated he was parked illegally anyway, and it wasn't too bad, it'll be unnoticeable after a car wash.
Thank God, and thanks to Jim. That was very gracious of him.
I was at church early, and Cathy came a little late. Parking is scarce at church, so I told her to meet me in front, and I would park the car while she got a seat. She thought she saw a parking spot in the alley next to the church, which led to the events in which we hit another car.
I say "we" because Cathy although was driving, she thought I was guiding her, and I don't blame her for thinking so. She could not park in the alley and began to back out between the wall and the other cars. At one point, I warned her that she was getting close to the wall, and she thought I was guiding her the rest of the way out. At the end of the alley, we hit a red car.
So, we hit a red car parked at a bend at the end of the alley. It wasn't too bad, but it was a light scrape. I put a note on the car, sent Cathy inside, and parked the car. While I was waiting for a spot, I prayed with an elder, and on my way down the hall to the sanctuary I prayed with another elder. By the time I was in my seat, I was finally O.K. with it.
After the service, we waiting around for someone to call. Unfortunately, there was a lunch event associated with our missions events. Asking around, the senior pastor said, "I think that's Jim's car."
This Jim, as it turns out, is the man I report to for my IT stuff at church. Sure enough, I found him at the lunch and confirmed it is, in fact, his car. He said he'd look at it and call later. I offered to pay for the damage and went home.
Honestly, we don't have the extra money, what with the impending mortgage crisis. It was a real blessing, then, when Jim called and left me a voicemail indicating, "never mind, fergetaboutit." He indicated he was parked illegally anyway, and it wasn't too bad, it'll be unnoticeable after a car wash.
Thank God, and thanks to Jim. That was very gracious of him.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Remembering 9/11/2001
Today is the six-year anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center in New York. I was driving back to the office about noon when I heard it on the radio.
Where were you?
Where were you?
Monday, September 10, 2007
Nice weekend
We had a very nice weekend. OK, it was also a busy weekend, and Cathy felt that I had over-committed myself, but it was a good weekend, nonetheless.
On Saturday, I got up and worked on the computer a bit, and Cathy woke a little later and kept me company. We lounged around the house until I had to leave for the church to do tech work for a Luau and concert.
The Luau and concert was great. We had somewhere between 200~240 people attend, with five responses from first-time guests to our church requesting a follow-up. The music provided during the worship was fantastic, led by Imua Garza (YouTube videos), his wife Tiffa, and his brother-in-law Eric. They were great! As a request from our youth pastor, he did his Super Mario guitar solo (embedded below). That guy is really good! They also played Sunday morning and evening (when we had the youth event).
On Sunday, along with the Hawaii-themed worship, we heard from Dr. Eric Theonnes, a pastor from another EV Free and a professor at Biola. He spoke on the glory of God and how it should impact our lives and missionary work. It was truly fantastic, with a cogent message, good delivery, and a consistent, coherent theology firmly grounded in the Bible. One thing that struck me deeply was his reference to Isaiah seeing the Lord enthroned (in chapter 5), and he was undone. I pray for such an undoing of my self.
That evening, my loving wife convinced me to find someone else to cover the worship service and spend time with her. She was right; I was spending too much time away from family, even for such a good cause.
This night (Monday) we attended a missionary appreciation dinner at the Disneyland Hotel sushi restaurant, Yamabuki. Each table got to sit with one of our missionaries and spent quality, quantity time with them. The couple we sat with have been involved in L.A. inner city missions since 1981 and has a similar target at Cathy's dad's church. I was already asked by a pastor to visit his ministry to help out, and this conversation confirmed so much more. I am looking forward to my first visit.
Well... it is late, and I have a Hebrew test tomorrow, and I am having difficulty staying awake...
On Saturday, I got up and worked on the computer a bit, and Cathy woke a little later and kept me company. We lounged around the house until I had to leave for the church to do tech work for a Luau and concert.
The Luau and concert was great. We had somewhere between 200~240 people attend, with five responses from first-time guests to our church requesting a follow-up. The music provided during the worship was fantastic, led by Imua Garza (YouTube videos), his wife Tiffa, and his brother-in-law Eric. They were great! As a request from our youth pastor, he did his Super Mario guitar solo (embedded below). That guy is really good! They also played Sunday morning and evening (when we had the youth event).
On Sunday, along with the Hawaii-themed worship, we heard from Dr. Eric Theonnes, a pastor from another EV Free and a professor at Biola. He spoke on the glory of God and how it should impact our lives and missionary work. It was truly fantastic, with a cogent message, good delivery, and a consistent, coherent theology firmly grounded in the Bible. One thing that struck me deeply was his reference to Isaiah seeing the Lord enthroned (in chapter 5), and he was undone. I pray for such an undoing of my self.
That evening, my loving wife convinced me to find someone else to cover the worship service and spend time with her. She was right; I was spending too much time away from family, even for such a good cause.
This night (Monday) we attended a missionary appreciation dinner at the Disneyland Hotel sushi restaurant, Yamabuki. Each table got to sit with one of our missionaries and spent quality, quantity time with them. The couple we sat with have been involved in L.A. inner city missions since 1981 and has a similar target at Cathy's dad's church. I was already asked by a pastor to visit his ministry to help out, and this conversation confirmed so much more. I am looking forward to my first visit.
Well... it is late, and I have a Hebrew test tomorrow, and I am having difficulty staying awake...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)