"Will the circle be unbroken
By and by Lord, by and by
There’s a better home awaiting
In the sky, Lord, in the sky."
Refrain, Will The Circle Be Unbroken
Great day on Sunday! There was a nice number of members and visitors who joined us on Sunday to hear the third Bible Study lesson presented by David Carpenter. Thank you, David; you’re doing a great job at generating some interesting observations and discussions.
We celebrated several birthdays, Charlotte Rowe (7/25), Skip Scott (7/29), Mary Ninde (7/31), and a couple of anniversaries, Jim & Ginger Smyrl (visitors who are nearly members) and Mark Lee & Brenda Miller. Congratulations!!
Our thanks for our greeters who provided refreshments: Jim McCann & Angie Dale and Rex & Allene Donley. Yummy, yummy! Next week, our greeters and providers of snacks are Sharon Bookout (guilty snacks / setup) and Jennifer Hall (healthy snacks / cleanup).
One of our announcements pertained to the expected arrival of a new resident at our sponsored apartment at Exodus House. However, today, I received notice from Bob Russell that the prospective resident committed infractions prior to his release which will result in his continued incarceration for some future time. Whether it will be the same or a new person assigned to the apartment in the future is yet to be known by us.
There were announcements of joys and sharing of concerns. First, the joys. Bill and Susan Thomas announced the engagement of their daughter. Denise and Albert Klein’s son, Matt, has completed his requirements for the Eagle Scout award (an update from Matt will be sent seperate from this weekly report). Darlene Lorenz, hospitalized last week, while still in the hospital (Hillcrest), is doing much better and expecting to head home by Tuesday.
As to concerns, there were several. Former member, Karen Koller has discovered that she has cancer; Michelle Place’s grandmother is moving to a nursing home. Kendall Carpenter’s father had a stroke while in OKC, and is hospitalized there. All these members, friends, and family members need your prayers and expressions of concern.
Paul Staat was hospitalized last week for abdomidal surgery, relatively routine. Regrefully, there were complications. First, the routine surgery was not routine; greater repair was required than originally expected. Second, swollen, inflammed lymph nodes were removed for further testing. The tests have shown that Paul is suffering from lymphoma. Further testing will reveal the type of lymphoma and whether there are other sites for the disease or additional complications. Paul had a great attitude when Meredith and I visited with him (and Mary) on Saturday evening, expressing his feeling of being blessed by God that the original surgery enabled the discovery of a disease that was otherwise without symptoms. Please pray for Paul, Mary, and Kate! Visit Paul; he enjoys company! We’ll keep you updated on his progress.
Karen Brownlee Campbell has arranged for meals to Mary and Kate (and Paul when he returns home), and it is my belief that she currently has sufficient volunteers. However, I urge you to contact Karen if you are interested in helping. At this time, we don’t know when Paul will be returning home. News today indicates that he might be staying longer than expected to begin treatment for the lymphoma.
Next week, David will complete his first of two 4-week Bible Study sessions. The Bible verses for this coming Sunday are: Galations – Chapters 5 and 6.
Following David, we will be joined on two Sundays by Don Forsman who will be our teacher.
Have a great week! Look for updates.
Richard Wansley
Maranatha Class Website 