Greetings
from chilly, no, cold Florida. I arrived
in Florida a week ago to help to my sister-in-law (Bev) in any way possible get
ready for my brother Bob’s memorial. I
had left Don behind with Savanah and a team.
Thank goodness Vero was there to help him with the team and also with
Savanah. He also had 2 former
missionaries and their daughter come in the day the team left. And that was a real blessing for us. But I sure did miss getting to spend time
with them. Bud offered to help Don with
our Toyota. Don was having problems with
the starter and with the frame rusting through.
From this point I don’t know what was all accomplished, but I do know
that they were a huge blessing for Don.
The team had been another blessing, too.
They did a lot of work getting the walls up for the addition to Vero’s
house and the women helped out at the IDADEE orphanage. And they were great…and willing
to do whatever was needed.
I
am now spending the last two days with Bev before heading back to Haiti. The memorial was awesome in so many
ways. Oh we worried about things before
hand, but the Lord had it all in HIS hands and it went great. Bev had gotten quite a few calls where people
were not going to be able to attend. We
thought we’d have maybe 50 or so there.
We had made a lot of food, and some others offered things, also. Sunday, after church, I had headed back to
the house to get some things to the club house here at the SKP park where the
lunch was being held. I walked back into
the church when the memorial service was to soon begin and was totally
shocked. The church was packed. The service was really great and wonderfully
done with the help of Bob’s children and grandchildren doing a major part in
it. Then we rushed to finish setting up
at the club house. I was really totally
shocked when well over 100 people showed up to honor Bob. His family had done an awesome job with the
fellowship time and meal. One granddaughter
did a video presentation with songs Bob loved in the background. Others sorted and helped display photos of
Bob’s life. And many memorial items were
also on display.
I
think the part that really touched me deeply was when Bob’s grandson, Lance,
asked if he could do the prayer before the meal…. He turned on his computer, and it was Bob
saying the grace. Lance had recorded him
praying at a family gathering quite a while before. I immediately started crying when I heard Bob’s
voice. But it was such a touching start
to a really great time of remembrances of Bob and what he had done and what he
was like. After the meal they had a time of
sharing. Anyone who wanted to share
their memories of Bob were welcome to come forward, use the mike and
share.
Bob had worked as an air traffic controller and progressed higher in that job. He also taught and participated in many scuba diving events. He and Bev (after retirement) became full time RV travelers, and then became permanent residents of the SKP park. And he was a elder in his church. He was involved in many organizations all over the country. The people present were a sample of each of those things he was involved in.
Here are a few photos of that afternoon.... the first two are of the display boards and just a bit of the memorabilia shared.
These next two are some of the many people who were present....the second one shows many watching the continuous video being played. And the one after it, was the screen it was being played on.
This is Lance who was responsible for a lot of the "technical things".
Here are two of his children, Jeff and Dawn... I'm the last one on the right.
We
were also blessed to see many we hadn’t seen in YEARS, and to meet and greet
new friends that had loved and shared times with Bob. It was so wonderful to hear people share
things we hadn’t know about, things for all of the family to treasure. Although Bob has been in the presence of the
Lord Jesus Christ for 3 months now, his life and those who’s lives he touched
was a wonderful way for those present to rejoice with us in his life. Bob is missed by so many, but his memory will
hold a place in many, many hearts for a LONG time to come.
We
do rejoice that he is with the Lord and not in pain anymore. He is not only walking on the streets of gold
in heaven, he is dancing and praising the Lord he loved to share with others.
Thank
you all so much for the last months of prayers and praises for the hard
situation Bob and Bev went through. We
know the Lord heard and He answered those prayers the way He felt was best.
May
your life be filled with the Love and Joy the Lord has to offer, even in the
hardest of times and the roughest of situations. He IS there for you, as He was with us
through this time. God’s love and
comfort never leave us, even if we don’t see or feel it for a time.
