Lynn's lines

Pray for Lynn 07/18/2008 Friday morning.

2008-07-19T06:29:00.000-08:00

I (Earl) received a cell phone call last night from a stressed Jeremiah around 6:30 PM. He was with Lynn at Walmart and Lynn was completely disoriented, confused, and starting to have a seizure. She has never had one, and Jeremiah (14 yrs old) has never seen anything like this before. She had to be taken to the Emergency Room. I arrived at the store in time to ride with her to the hospital. As she came out of the seizure, she was in terror and completely confused.

At the ER, they took a CAT SCAN, blood work, etc… looking for anything obvious. Nothing obvious was found. Jeremiah and I later joked with her that they did in fact find a brain By 8:30 PM she was groggy, had a headache, but was otherwise back with us. She was released at 10:30PM and I brought her home.

As a testimony of our Lords goodness, allow me to share how He was so very gracious to us during this trial. First, Jeremiah was with her and acted like a man...albeit, a scared one. He usually would have stayed home while his mother goes to "Wally World". Second, Tammy Youngblood (a close friend) was the manager who responded to the "Customer in distress" call at Walmart. Lynn was so disoriented, she didn't know her at the time, but she was there for Lynn and Jeremiah. Third, an RN was in the isle when it occurred and helped protect Lynn as she went deeper into the seizure. Forth, someone else from our church here in Fairbanks was there and coached Jeremiah to call 911. Jeremiah is not sure of her name. Fifth, I wasn't in a village with Operation Saturation, hundreds of miles away, with no phone service, bad weather, ...

God would still be God without these blessings, but we rejoice in these "handfuls on purpose". What a kind, loving God we serve.

God was good to us when He gave us friends like those who pause and offered up a prayer for my bride.

More later

Not felt very "Bloggy" lately.

2008-07-17T13:02:00.002-08:00

We'll y'all have been visiting my blog, and all you see is an old post. I have not felt like blogging much lately. I am sorry. Sometimes I enjoy it more than other times.

Much has happened for which the Lord has showed or is showing Himself faithful, as usual.

My dear friend Melissa, who is almost 5 months, was just diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer. She has the best type that you can have. It acts benign. It looks like she will have surgery the first of August to remove that portion of the thyroid. Please keep her and her family in your prayers.

The Lord is still working in Manly. Many are opening up to my husband, Earl. He's just a good friend and listener.

The Lord has given Mission Air Care a new home. It is located on the international airport. It will be strange not having all the hustle and bustle happening around my house. That also means I won't see my husband as much as I do now. He'll leave here in the mornings around 7:30am and return around 5pm. He believes in putting in a full day for the Lord just like a secular job. I will try to post a picture.

The Lord has also brought a new family to Help MAC. David and Tammy Youngblood and kids. They are from NC. They have been an amazing blessing already. They just moved their camper next to the hanger here at the house, today. When we leave in Sept. for furlough, they will move into our home to rent it while we are gone.

Y'all have a great day!

Lynn
John 15

Gas Prices and being a missionary

2008-06-24T11:42:00.003-08:00

We all are dealing with the horrible realization that gas isn't going to stop going up anytime soon. Every time I used to fill up, it cost a whole whopping $30.00. Just the other day it took $75.00 to fill my minivan. I am thankful for that van. I am still amazed how the Lord provided it to us at such a good price, but I am also amazed at the gas mileage it gets. It get almost 23 miles to a gallon. That's great for a minivan. When Earl talked about parking his diesel truck (which has been parked for over 2 months,) I told him he needed to get a van like mine, or better yet, get a newer one and I'd give mine to him. Isn't that a great idea! It didn't work. The Lord gave him a big Ford van that takes almost $150. to fill up. I don't know what gas mileage it gets, but it's not great. He drives every week to Manley to preach. Some have asked how this has affected our ministry. It has hurt more than you know.

Not only has gas gone up, but AVGAS has really gone up. We pay over $6.00 a gallon. In one village where Earl stops to fill up on the way to pick up missionaries, it is almost $12.00 a gallon. What this has done, has put a halt on most of the flying. We still fly some, but many times it's cheaper to fly commercially. The missionaries in the bush has "hunkered down" and are staying put. One camp we fly for has canceled camp this year. That breaks my heart. When we fly the missionaries pay for the fuel and oil. We wish we could do it for free, but we can't.

I sat this morning and figured out that the cost of Earl driving to Manley ever week and the cost of health insurance takes up over 1/4 of our support. That's crazy. I try not to dwell on this for I will start worrying and doubting, and that is a sin.

If you would remember us in prayer that would be great. Between repairs to the airplane and fuel prices, we're a little stressed right now. Today, I will be sitting down and trying to figure out how I can cut down some.

What a weekend

2008-06-17T11:05:00.002-08:00

We had a wonderful weekend. The Lord is really working in Manley Hot Springs. I am pasting my husbands update of our ministry here in Alaska. We really need the Lord to do a mighty work right now.

Greetings,

We’d like to share blessings from this weekend. Our Lord gave us a special day this Sunday (6-16-08). We had the largest attendance that I know of at Manley. Many churches would blush if they had 26 attend the Sunday morning service, but for us, it was a “packed house”! It also represents about 50% of the population of our community! I guess it is all your perspective. We were glad to share God’s Word with the 3-5 who were faithful through the winter, but it is indeed a blessing to see our number gradually increase as we visit house to house.

We also were encouraged to have, what we were told was, the first ever scriptural baptism in Manley. Two teens trusted Christ at Bible camp, and one of the teen’s mother had never been baptized after salvation. Now the place where Earl baptized them was especially nice. Remember the name of the village? Manley HOT SPRINGS. We were able to use the hot springs and the tubs were in a green house with all kinds of flowers and grapes hanging around. What a joy it was for all! Thank you Lord! Check out some pictures at: http://missionaircare.org/site/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.ShowItem&g2_itemId=1070

There are some battles we are facing though. Would you please pray for the aviation side of the ministry? The twin engine is plagued with “little” problems that has the potential of grounding us for the rest of the summer. We have committed not to go into debt paying for parts on the credit card, but we are in a tight pinch. Like everyone, our heating oil has gone up 300%, car gas 200%, and we have had to park our diesel truck because of the cost of that fuel. We drive to Manley (3 ½ hrs vs. 30 minutes flying) because of the cost of fuel. All this has tapped our work fund for the plane. We need an electric fuel pump ($1250), an engine driven fuel pump repaired ($800 est.) and we just paid for a fuel servo ($1500)! Would you join us in prayer, that our Lord will keep this plane from breaking down, and that He will provide the funds for these flight safety matters? He is working. He prompted one of the missionaries we serve to donate $1000 towards the repairs. What a humbling experience, for we need more humbling too.

It's easy to send you the good news, and difficult to send you word of our needs. I have been told many times though, "We can't help if we don't know." That's the only reason I include this info.

You folks are a blessing. Thank you for your friendship. Thank you for your prayers.

Bro. Earl

Lynn
John 15

You've got to see these movies.

2008-06-12T00:07:00.009-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, our church had teen camp. I had company that whole week. Lisa P. was staying with me while her kids were at camp w/ my son. One night I wanted to rent a movie. This is something that we never do, because it is still a big waste of money and time. We've been in AK 7 yrs, and we've rented movies maybe 5 times. Anyway, Lisa suggested a movie to me. At first I thought "yea right, a movie about football." Thrill, thrill. I got it anyway.

The name of the movie is (if you've not already guessed) is "Facing the Giants." WOW! This movie is amazing. For those who've not seen it. Don't waste your time renting it, Just buy a copy. It will be watched over and over again. This movie is everything a movie should be. CLEAN, funny and serious. It's was made by Sherwood Baptist Church, in GA.

The Lord has changed me because of this movie. It made me realize that I wasn't giving everything that I could to the Lord, and I wasn't praying like I should, but when I did pray, I prayed doubting. I didn't prepare for Him to answer that prayer. The most important thing that the Lord showed me was that even if the Lord doesn't answer my prayer the way I want, I still am going to love Him and praise Him.

There are some things that I don't agree with in this movie. The music and version of Bible used are the main things. However, the good outweighs the bad. I don't think you'll be sorry.

Another one that this church also made is " Flywheel." It is good also. This was the first movie this church made. The quality isn't as good, but it is still worth it. Again, it has showed me some areas in my life that need changing. The music and the version are not something we agree with, but our family really has been touched by this movie.

I don't usually tell people to watch movies, because there is so much time wasted in doing so, however, I did not consider my time wasted on these movies, for they pointed out some problems in my life.

Lord bless,

Lynn
John 15

Fire update

2008-06-11T23:41:00.002-08:00

Is anything too hard for GOD? Absolutely not.

I had asked for prayer for the Pfaffenroth's. Missionary friends of ours. A forest fire was about 2 miles from the camp that they have in Uranium City Sask. Canada. The last report I had before I went to bed Sunday night was that they had ordered a total town evacuation, because they felt the whole village was about to go up in flames. The winds were picking up and blowing straight towards the camp and town. Mr Pfaff. got permission to stay behind (along with a school teacher that wanted to help him,) after he flew his family out.

When Mr. Pfaff returned, they set up water sprinklers and drenched everything down, and then they prayed together for the Lord to have his will. The teacher is not saved, so this was going to be a great chance to witness to him about God's love, even if He took the camp. Keep in mind they were the only ones in town. After they prayed, they left the camp for town. That is a 15 minute drive. When they arrived in town, they made sure there was plenty of fuel in the plane for them if they had to make a mad flight out.

Well, the Lord started working. The winds slowed down, and then they shifted and started blowing the opposite way, and then basically stopped. The humidity shot way up. Do you know what that means? Yep, moisture.

It stayed like this all night long, then the next morning water bombers came and started dropping water all over the fire. Then they dropped fire retardant also. Then they did back fires to protect everything.

So, as you can see, the Lord did a mighty work, Didn't HE. We are so excited, and relieved. I hope we would still praise Him even if he did allow the camp to be burnt. He's worthy of ALL our praise.

Lord bless!
Lynn
John 15

A prayer request and thinking back

2008-06-08T10:58:00.005-08:00

We just received an e-mail requesting prayer for our dear friends The Pfaffenroths(pronounced fa fen roth.) They are missionaries in Uranium City, Saskatchewan. Canada. They have a church there and run a Bible Camp called Beacon Bible Camp. The only way to get to "UC" as we put it, is by plane. The request is to pray for the Lord's protection of the camp. There are forest fires approaching the camp. Mr. Pfaff. and some other town men are out there spraying down as much as they can. This is such an important request. Beacon has been such a help to that community, and there is no insurance available in the bush of Cananda. If it burns, the Pfaffs will have to rebuild. If this happens, more than likely, we will be there to help. For you see, this is where it all started for us.

While we were students at Bob Jones University, the Lord directed us to the Pfaffs. He was in charge of the Aviation department. He and Earl hit it off. Mrs. Pfaff. is such a sweet, Godly woman, and I was drawn right to her. In fact, when JD was born, the Pfaffs. were the first to hold him. They were like our parents in Greenville. Anyway, we began going with them on summer teams to UC. I think we went 4-5 years. We helped in many areas from building, cooking, counseling, to even running the camp a few weeks. We even had our own "little house" on the grounds that Earl cut all the trees down around and repaired so we could "live" there in the summers. We surrendered to UC, and we just knew that was where the Lord would lead us. We knew the town, we knew the people, we knew the camp, the whole nine yards, but the Lord had other plans. Now the Pfaffs. are full time missionaries there. He has a church, Beacon Baptist Church and he runs the camp. It's nothing like what we had all those years ago. Much nicer. They have electricity there now. We had a generator that we had to crank every morning around 5am, so the hot water tank could warm up. Our water came from the lake in front of the mess hall. Ace Lake. It sits at the end of the airport runway, so every time someone took off, we'd usually get buzzed. It gets a little scary when you in the lake taken a bath(fully dressed.) We girls preferred the "run and jump in the lake" method than the "hocky pokey dance" you had to do to get a shower. We put all our stuff in a little bag and just dive in. Anyway, we knew most of the pilots, and they would spot us and really hold that plane on the lake until the last minute just to see what we'd do. I remember one time a float plane really sent use out the water. We swam so fast! All he was doing was taxiing over for a visit, but we didn't know that. We flew out of that lake. Fully dressed in culottes, t-shirt, and all the under garments, and just stood there acting like we knew what was happening the whole time. One summer Earl and all the adult guys at camp had to go fight forest fires there near UC. Memories! So you can see we had some great times there and we'd more than likely go back to help if they needed it.

Please pray for this situation, and for the Pfaffenroths. I'll let you know how things turn out.

In Christ,
Lynn
John 15

PS
Earl is in Manly today. JD and I are both home sick with bad sore throats and congestion. I think mine is Allergies. We have pollen every where now.

What an amazing week at camp.

2008-06-02T10:50:00.002-08:00

Well, the teens are all home now. Last week was an amazing week. A total of 31 were saved at camp. One of which, was our son. JD had made a profession of faith last year. He really hadn't changed much. He has made some changes already. Some might say that they don't agree with people being saved numerous times. Our feeling on this matter, is this. It is too important to risk not being saved. The Lord knows their hearts. It's not up to us to say if they are saved or not. That's between them and the Lord. We will NEVER try to convince someone that they are saved.

Many of the teens have gone to a Purity conference in Anchorage. We were going to send JD, but he is very sick. I don't believe in sharing germs. I also want him nearby in case he gets worse.

Please be in prayer for little Gracie. She is still struggling. Also, I read a blog everyday from a lady that is going through cancer treatments. Her name is Heather. Her daughter, Emma Grace, had to have a heart transplant when she was a baby. Well, she is in the hospital, and she may be experiencing transplant rejection after many years. Please pray for them.

I have to get moving. I am exhausted and I have no reason to be. I did nothing last week. I got up at 9:30am, and it is now 11:06am and I could go back to sleep right now.

Lord bless,
Lynn
John 15

It's camp time

2008-05-28T04:49:00.002-08:00

Well, it's that time of the year again, Camp time at our church. It began Sunday night and will go through Friday night. Jeremiah has plenty of friends there this year. An old friend's son, Michael, and the Poelman's. A new missionary family to McGrath that we met when Earl was doing an annual on his Cessna 172. They have a total of 6 kids. 1 married and the rest live at home. A 22,15, and twin 14 year olds. Great family. Well, they flew here with their mom, which is here with me. The youngest 4 are at camp also. We drove there last night, and man alive was there some great preaching. I think 6 were saved. We drove out there tonight to give Jeremiah some Claritan for his allergies, and left. We both felt like we shouldn't be there tonight. We want the Lord to do a mighty work in or kid's hearts, but we want them to go forward because the Lord wants them to, not because mom is there and she probably thinks they need to. So please pray for all the kids there this year. There's about 115 maybe. I'll give a report at the end of the week.

Y'all have a great, Godly day!

Lynn
John 15

I am blessed

2008-05-14T19:26:00.003-08:00

I want to give a huge shout out to Earl, my honey. Where do I begin?

He has been so amazing to me the last few days. He has demanded that I stay in the bed most of the day to give my foot time to heal, and for my shingles to heal as well. He is even in the midst of trying to get me a wheel chair. I am not thrilled about that, but I can see his point. I tried crutches yesterday. Crutches aren't for everyone.

Earl has even made me toast every morning and brought it to me. He's never done this before. He knows I'm in tremendous pain from both the foot and shingles. I praise the Lord for Earl so much. I'd praise the Lord even if he weren't helping me during this time. I feel so bad making him do everything. He feeds the crew in the morning and puts stuff out for lunch. I have taken care of supper. Last night they had pizza. Tonight I made Salmon, Shrimp and baked potatoes, and I made homemade Strawberry Shortcake. It was delicious. They just left for church. Earl is preaching at one of our supporting churches tonight.

Can I ask that you pray for Earl. He has some major decisions to make soon, and a very busy time schedule for the summer. Also pray that the Lord would get rid of a fungus he has growing in his lungs. Thank you in advance.

Lord bless y'all

Lynn
John 15

Happy Mother's Day

2008-05-11T01:08:00.002-08:00

I would like to wish all of you Moms a very blessed Mother's day. May this be a very special day for all of you.

I am blessed to have a great, fun, and a hard working Momma. I hope that I will always be a hard worker like she is. You would never guess her age by her activity level or by looking at her. Jeremiah always makes this comment when he talks about his Me Maw. "My Me Maw is something else. She's 73, but she looks 50." To this I can say that he is correct. My mom is a beautiful, vibrant woman. But one thing that I will always remember is that she loved my Daddy, and man alive did she ever take care of him. She did things for him, that most woman would hire someone else to do. All she ever said was "Well, I married your Father for better or for worse." She misses my daddy so much, but she'll see him again one day.

Well, y'all have a blessed Lord's day.

Love ,
Lynn
John 15

PS
Well it looks like my shingles are visiting again. Same place, bigger spot. Hopefully I can handle the discomfort til Monday.

I'm torn

2008-05-07T22:25:00.002-08:00

Tonight I sit here torn up inside. I have some things tonight that are burdening me so. None of which involve us. I thank the Lord, but yet, I feel really bad for the others.

The first is the baby that I have asked y'all to pray about. She now has Hep. C from a blood transfusion. They are trying to decide if she is able to be put on the heart transplant list. Wow, That's something I have a hard time praying about. That would mean someone else would loose their baby, but yet I want her to live. She may not qualify due to the Hep. C. Please pray for Gracie, The Lockyer's, and the Brown Families. I don't know what to do, but pray.

Next, I spoke with someone at church tonight that is really struggling at home. Their spouse has a real anger issue and is taking it out on the family. I've never seen Earl so mad that it is obvious to anyone else. Please pray for "a special person." I again, don't know how to help,
but pray.

And finally, a youth I know is having problems. We tried to find he/she tonight, but to no avail. I thought I could pray with "X", but couldn't find "X." I have a son that when he has a bad attitude, realizes it and comes and apologies. I again don't know how to help, but pray.

I am SO thankful for my life, spouse and child, and I don't know how to help those that are hurting, other than prayer. But, who better to bring these issues to. He already knows all about them. He is also the Great physician, Calmer, and reconciler.

Lord,
Tonight, Please be with these dear one's. Heal, protect and work in their lives in a way that only you can. I Love you Lord, and thank you for all you've done for me. I don't deserve it, but I thank you. In your Jesus' name, Amen

Algebra

2008-05-02T11:47:00.002-08:00

Well, I am sitting at my computer as my honey is doing math with our son.

When I was a senior in high school, the state of NC made a rule that you had to take algebra to graduate, but if you were already taking a different math, you didn't have to take algebra. I was taking Business Math. Which I still love. So when we got to algebra in the school work this week, I didn't understand it. Earl did take algebra.

Yes, I am embarrassed to admit this. I tried to work with him, but it just wasn't happening. So Earl worked with us yesterday and just sat down with him today. I asked where he wanted me to sit, and he told me just to listen. Which I am. I feel like a failure. My heart is sick that I can't teach my son this math.

Earl did tell me he wants me to find JD a math tutor. So, I'm gonna be looking and calling next week. Earl will be in flying school in Champagne, IL. Great. I guess I'll sit and cry and confuse my son more.

Am I the only one that doesn't know how to do this?

Lynn
John 15

Prayer request

2008-04-25T14:11:00.002-08:00

My friend Katie has asked that we pray for her Mom. She is having a hard time breathing. They determined that she has Congestive Heart Failure. Please pray that she will do what needs to be done to improve this condition. Katie's parents are suppose to visit next month, and they still want to, but if she doesn't get better, she won't be able to.

Also, keep praying for Gracie Jean. She really needs a miracle from the Lord. Dr's are saying the only way for her to survive is a miracle or a heart transplant, but she too sick for even that. I have a hard time praying for her. All I can do is pray that the Lord would heal her if it's His will.

Have a great weekend,
Lynn
John 15

Please pray again.

2008-04-21T08:40:00.001-08:00

Attention Prayer Team!!!! Don't mean to be a burden but we need you again. Amanda just called and the Dr.s asked them to sign a consent form as the Dr.s are going to perfom a rather risky procedure now. The Dr.s will be installing a direct line through her liver into her heart for distribution of medicines. the Dr.s feel this is necessary because if Gracie has another episode like saturday they want the ability to respond with immediate medication. Also the line in her groin is just wore out and needs to be replaced but her arteries are just not conducive. They will not be inserting dye so no damage to her kidneys is expected. However they wll be going through the right aorta where her blood clot is and there is a risk of stroke if that should move. Pray that they will get past it with no damage or movement. They feel the clot is as small as it is going to get and basically adhered to the wal of the aorta so should be able to get past it. (With the Lords guiding hand) Also there is a risk of new clots forming anytime a procedure like this is done. Pray that God will keep her from this. They will also be going through her right ventrical and trying to get a good look at it. The Dr.s feel this might be the location from which her fluid buildup is coming from and hope to see if anything can be done to rectify that. Finally she will have to be moved to the 7th floor taken off the vent and bagged by hand during the move to the cath lab and this is always risky and scary. So pray specifically for these items.Thanks you so much. WE BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF PRAYER!!!

One final thing, Gracies little friend, Montgomery is having his first Hypoplasty surgery in South Carolina today. He is just 7 days old. PLEASE PRAY HARD FOR MONTGOMERY AND HIS PARENTS!!

Grandpa Jim

Just got an update

2008-04-20T18:39:00.003-08:00

I just got an update on Gracie.

Greetings prayer supporters, This is Grandpa Brown offering an update on our precious Gracie. Just got off the phone with Amanda and she asked me to give the evening news report. Gracie had a rocky day full of a continuous balancing act of all her varied medicines, wires pressures etc. The Dr.s say this is to be expected in the days ahead. The good news is that by tonight Gracie was bright eyed, beautiful, resting comfortably, stable and holding her grandma Lockyers finger. A GREAT IMPROVMENT CONSIDERING THE LAST 36 HOURS!!! AND ALL DUE TO THE PRAYERS OF GOD'S PEOPLE AND THE MERCY OF OUR FAITHFUL GOD! Also her kidneys are working and she had a good wet diaper. Pray that this stability continues throughout the night giving her time to rest and recuperate for the challenges ahead. The plan is to slowly but surely wean her down from the support and medicines that sustain her. This will be a long process and may have many days of up and downs such as she experienced today. The goal though is to ask God to let it all happen without major setbacks. Thanks for your prayers and love and support. Grandpa Jim

GOD IS GOOD!
Lynn
John 15

What a beautiful Lord's Day

2008-04-20T17:53:00.007-08:00

I have been sitting here looking out the window today, and it is absolutely beautiful. The Chickadee's are loving life outside my big living room window. It is almost 60F out side. It was already 40F when I got up this morning at 8am.

Go figure, I was told not to go to church by my honey due to my foot, and I wake up at 8:00am. I didn't sleep well at all last night. I never do when Earl is not here. I also kept waking up thinking about Baby Gracie.

I haven't heard anything today on her. She is still alive. I called Duke Hospital, and of course they can't give her condition, but the Lady said "Honey, she's still a patient here. That should give you a little answer." It did, but my heart is breaking so much for her and her family. I realized I wrote something wrong yesterday. She wasn't born in April, she was born in March

While I'm on births. Our Governor, Sarah Palin, gave birth to Trig Paxson Van Palin on Friday.
The paper stated that he may have Downs Syndrome. This is The Palin's statement about Trig. "We knew through early testing he would face special challenges, and we feel privileged that God would entrust us with this gift and allow us unspeakable joy as he entered our lives.” WOW. I am so proud to call her my Governor. Our First lady is just that; A Lady! I feel bad for states that have governors that push abortion.

Well, I'm gonna close.
Lynn
John 15

URGENT PRAYER REQUEST for Gracie

2008-04-19T11:04:00.000-08:00

Dear loved ones,

URGENT PRAYER REQUEST : As we were getting ready to go to the hospital Dr. Jaggers called and told Amanda that right now things are looking pretty "grim". Gracie is continuing to fill with fluid and she is not getting rid of it. This is continuing to affect her blood gasses and they have had to put her on the jet ventillator (more support). He is getting ready to do one more test to see if there is a blockage somewhere in her body. If there is PRAY that it might be seen so maybe it can be removed or treated (if that is a possibilty)? She is also in more pain the bigger she gets. They are running out of options now.

PlEASE PRAY HARD!!!!!!!

Update on Gracie

2008-04-18T17:24:00.001-08:00

Much has happened to Gracie in the last few days. Sorry I haven't updated. They put the pace maker in and it is helping. They have had to adjust it some. Her family really covets our prayers. I beg you to continue bringing the Lockyer's and the Brown's to our dear Heavenly Father. Here's the latest below.

Lynn

John 15

Dear loved ones,

just wanted to give a quick update on Gracie this afternoon. Through the night some of Gracies numbers started on a slow but downward trend. In response to this they had to go back up on her ventillator settings (which means more support). She is also more swollen today than she was yesterday (both eyes are unable to open because of all the fluid in her head. They also had to stop one of the diuretics because she was losing too much fluid from her vessels so they are waiting for those numbers to come back into an acceptable range before they can start it again. Also her heart was paced once this morning and while I was there her heart rate slowly dropped and had to be paced 35 times (very quickly and in succession) again to be brought back to an acceptable range. When I left her numbers were starting to go back toward where they should be but this will take some time. Gracie needs your prayers today that her numbers will come back up, that her heart will continue to strengthen, that this fluid will go from her tissues back into her vessels so that she can start to get rid of it, and that she will be able to tolerate the pain and discomfort she feels whenever she is stimulated in any way (right now she can't tolerate hardley anything at all). Please pray. Love, Todd and Amanda

Update on prayer request.

2008-04-04T21:08:00.002-08:00

Good evening,

Here is the latest update on the request I asked you to pray about. Thank you for bringing this dear family to the Lord.

Lynn
John 15

Amanda and I just returned from the hospital where our little darling is resting peacefully. Her numbers are continuing to stay up and we thank the LORD for that. They are talking about trying to wean her down a little more tonight on a couple of her medications and see how she tolerates that. As of earlier this afternoon one of the doctors said himself it looks as though she is beginning a very slow progression upward. For this we are very thankful and PRAISE GOD! We do however have again a specific prayer request. Aside from what I mentioned earlier today in the update, please pray specifically for her heart not only to strengthen but also for it to function properly. Later this afternoon and earlier this evening she has had once again some abnormal arithmias in her heart that once again have her doctors somewhat puzzled. At this time her vitals are not changing when they happen and they have not had to intervene, though sometimes they last for an extended period of time. Please pray that the doctors might be able to find whats wrong if it needs corrected or that the Lord might take these abnormalities away or that they do not worsen so that she might be able to live with them. Thanks again for all the prayers for our darling little girl and the rest of our family! Only eternity will reveal the impact that the prayers and faithful witness of those that know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Lord and Personal Savior have had on the lives of those around them, as they tell the story of our " little gift " and how GOD LOVES HER and US and is POWERFULLY working all things out for HIS GLORY according to HIS WILL whatever that might be.

In Christ, Todd and Amanda

A huge prayer request

2008-04-01T16:14:00.005-08:00

One of our supporting Pastor's sent an e-mail regarding their little granddaughter Gracie. She is only a few weeks old. She was born w/ major heart problem. She is not doing well at all. Please pray for them.

Here is some information on her. Go to www.caringbridge.org type in graciejeanlockyer on the left side of the page. You will be able to read about her and her family there.

Today hasn't been a good day. Many ups and downs.

Thank you for praying for this dear family.

Lynn
John 15

Our Weather

2008-04-01T14:38:00.012-08:00

Today has been an amazing day thus far. Right now it is +52 F. You read that right. 52 degrees.
That is weather I can live with. We are so happy around here to see those temps.. We even opened some doors today. For you down south, when it gets this warm, we get really excited. That means the snow is getting ready to say good bye for a few months. Well, we are suppose to get rain or snow tomorrow. If the warm weather hangs around, it will be rain.

I can't wait until I can plant my Pansies. Here are pictures of mine in the past. They are by far one of my favorite to plant. My absolute favorite is mingled in there. Can you see the Coleus? When I was younger, I worked at a greenhouse. Well my job was working with the Coleus. I did such a good job, and had them looking so nice that they couldn't keep them in stock. The owner gave me a nick name. Can you guess it? Yep, Coleus. Here is a picture of a very nice colored one. I would love to have my yard covered with them. But that would be way to expensive.

Another thing that I like is watching is how Jeremiah takes such good care of his yard. I say "his' because he put this yard in. When we moved into this house, there was no front yard, just trees covering the whole yard. Earl started cutting them down as soon as we moved in. Then in the spring they started pulling the stumps up. Then Earl brought in dirt. Jeremiah covered the ground evenly. He got on his hands and knees w/ a 2 x 4 making sure it was level. Then Earl - brought in top soil. Jeremiah did the same thing. He worked so hard. I felt so sorry for him having to do all that by himself. Earl said to hush because it would teach him a real work ethic. Then we ended up with this.

It raised the value of our property $20,000.00. Jeremiah still takes pride in doing that yard right in the summer.

Well, gotta run start getting ready for supper. Have a great day in the Lord.

Lynn
John 15

The Fence

2008-03-28T10:54:00.005-08:00

NAIL IN THE FENCE

Make sure you read all the way down to the last sentence. (Most importantly the last sentence)

There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His Father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence. The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nail hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.

Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper. The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence He said, 'You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same.

When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won't matter how many times you say I'm sorry, the wound is still there. ' A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one.

Friends are very rare jewels, indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear, they share words of praise and they always want to open their hearts to us.'

Please forgive me if I have ever left a hole.

Mens Retreat

2008-03-27T09:40:00.003-08:00

Earl and Jeremiah just left for a Men's retreat in Palmer. Our Pastor encourages the teens to come with their dads. This is Earl's first year attending the retreat, I believe. He always scheduled it on his calender, but he would always get a call from a missionary needing a flight or a plane would need to be worked on. Earl is an amazing man. Have I mentioned that before??? He always puts others needs first. I think He needs this retreat. He looks and sounds very tired to me. I ask that you pray for him, please.

My prayer is this; many would be saved, some to put Christ first again, and the Lord to speak to my men if HE sees any areas they need to improve in and for them to be open to the Lord's leading.

Someone asked if I was afraid when they are gone. Not like I used to be. I have many guest in my house that would love to help if I need them. Their names are; Smith & Wesson, Ruger, Cult, Browning, Winchester...the list goes on and on. The most important guest is the Lord. He has promised to never leave me nor forsake me.

Gonna run use my new stove. Then go work out.

Lynn
John 15

My new gift.

2008-03-27T00:07:00.007-08:00

I wanted to post a picture of a gift from one of our supporting churches. We were "Missionaries of the Year." This church asked us for ideas on big gifts, and we gave them gifts we would, nor could never buy ourselves due to the cost. Little did we know we would actually get these gifts, plus tons of other things from them. I don't want to start listing the gifts for fear of forgetting some, and offending those who bought things I didn't mention. I also don't want to make it look like we are bragging, or putting one church above another. Hence the reason I'm not giving the name of the church. They know who they are. I also hope they know how humbled we still are.

My new gift was a new RANGE. It is a flat surface ceramic top, with five burners. Four for cooking, one for warming. It is also a convection oven that is self cleaning. I so look forward to using it for the first time. I picked it up last night, and my men put it in tonight after church. Melissa, what can I bake in there for the first meal?

Well, I'm going to bed now. It's only 12:30am.

Lynn
John 15