VICTORY!

Posted by Leona Bergstrom

Today we celebrate a victory! My friend, Donna, had her last chemo treatment on her 62nd birthday and was pronounced “cancer-free.” Her long battle, her perseverance and her faith have been exemplary! She gave me permission to share her victory story with you.

Go, girl! We’re celebrating with you.
Leona

Dear Family and Friends,

To everything there is a season, and a time for every matter or purpose under heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1 Amplified

There is for some a time for cancer, killing cancer cells, battling and persevering.
There is a time of victory when crossing that finish line.
A time for restoring cells, to heal and get strong!
The Lord has won this battle for me and He is the Victor!
Thank you Lord for this next season of Spring when things are new and the old passes away.
The season of restoring, healing and strength.

Yesterday I completed my last and 12th chemo treatment crossing the finish line. I lift my arms up in victory, joy, love and prayer to my Faithful God who has carried me through this journey.
I pray that My life will continue to fulfill His purpose for the remaining years He has for me. I want to tell you again how important your prayers, support, and encouragement have been to our family. When one goes through cancer, it is so important to have a support system and a resource center during the journey.... There are so many people that have taken this cancer journey that are all around us. This journey changes one's life, making one more aware of life around them. THANK YOU for being there for me. The Lord Bless You!

With Love and Thanksgiving,
Donna

Rerun Wednesday - Live like you were dying

Posted by Leona Bergstrom

We have written a good deal lately about the idea of making lists of things to do and experience before we die. It sounds so distant and far from reality. I think I’ve treated it like a baby shower game.

But, more often than I wish, the truth of life ending hits home and I’ve begun to wonder what it is that I really want to experience on this earth. The death of this young author, Dave Freeman, (see yesterday's post) who once took the time to compose a list of 100 things he wanted to do before dying, seems cruel and way too ironic.

I’ve thought about what my list should look like. Would it be different if I knew I was dying? Or if I was 20 years older? Would I want to go skydiving and ride a mechanical bull like Tim McGraw’s song “Live Like You Were Dying?” Probably not.

There are truly more places I want to go, like Sweden and Alabama. There are things I wish I owned, like a cabin by a river or a Bayliner motor boat. But, what I really want is to have deep conversations with my children and grandchildren about life and faith. I want to speak with clarity and grace to some of my relatives who don’t understand that God is real and that He loves them. I want to do and experience things that have meaning to God. I want to be sure that old people living in poverty get something to eat. I want to understand the generations and watch them interact with each other. I want to experience serenity.

Rather than live like I’m dying, I think I’m going to try living like I’m alive. Stay tuned.

Next year....

Posted by Terry McNichols

Recently my husband and I attended a make-up Christmas concert by the Seattle Men's Chorus. We had wanted to hear them for several years and this was a unique pay-at-the-door opportunity. It is hard to describe how excitingly musical 250 men singing with great gusto can sound. It was a very fun evening with some great musical moments. But one song, Bashana Haba'ah, continues to haunt me. I looked up the arrangement and the lyrics and found a rendition by the San Francisco Men's Chorus. Considering the problems in Israel and Gaza, it is even more haunting as I read the following lyrics:

Next year we will sit on the porch and count migrating birds.
Children on vacation will play catch between the house and the fields.
You will yet see, you will yet see, how good it will be next year.
Red grapes will ripen till the evening, and will be served chilled to the table.
And languid winds will carry to the crossroads old newspapers and a cloud.
You will yet see, you will yet see, how good it will be next year.
Next year we will spread out our hands towards the radiant light.
A white heron like a light will spread her wings and within them the sun will rise.

You will yet see, you will yet see, how good it will be next year.

Listen to this incredibly moving rendition of this piece by the San Francisco group, and imagine 250 men singing it, here in Seattle, on a rainy, post-Christmas evening. May we all experience "next year."

Moldova Still Calls

Posted by Leona Bergstrom

I love how God is challenging both Terry and me to look at His world through His eyes. Terry heads to El Salvador to bring love, music and hope to a village—and to renew relationships that have grown to fill her heart. I continue to work on behalf of the elderly in Chisinau, Moldova and Bethany Church’s feeding program. We both are facing the cruel realities of poverty and looking into the desperate eyes of those who are both physically and spiritually hungry.

This week I am deeply moved (as usual) by the depth of the friendships we have in Moldova. I am rejoicing in recent news that the people of Bethany Church in Chisinau are now worshipping in their new building! I am rejoicing in news of elderly people being fed in the nearly finished basement, and how street children were given a party there on Christmas Day and were told of the love of Christ. I am happy to know that God is working there through His people. I also groan in my spirit knowing that these are desperate days for the people of Moldova. It is very cold, food is scarce and life is hard. The Russians threaten to withhold natural gas which could reduce even more the availability of heat in their homes.

Recently, we had the opportunity to visit Elena, Pastor Dima’s daughter. One of our Moldova mission team members brought her to Edmonds for a week after Christmas. What a wonderful opportunity for Elena to visit the U.S and for us to renew relationship with her! Hearing her voice and her Moldovan accented English made me long to go back. Maybe in 2009?? We’ll hope.

Pictured: Dick and Leona visit Elena in Anne’s home.
Recent baptism service at Bethany Church.

Rerun Wednesday - El Salvador revisited

Posted by Terry McNichols

I have chosen to repost this summary of my last trip to El Salvador, in July of 2008. My husband and I are currently visiting the same village with a group of people, all of whom have visited this village at least once. We are excited to see our friends and further the relationships we have already started. Please pray for us as we minister and are ministered to!

Where do I start to write about my recent trip to El Salvador to visit the village of San Diego de Tenango? So many memories. I find it difficult to process at this point in my journey. I felt the same after a visit to the same village last year. My brain and heart fills to capacity, and I need some time to let the joys and sorrows sink in. Our main purpose in visiting is to build relationships with the people. We do some physical labor, working with the people, but mostly we are challenged to work on relationships. Our village has had an ongoing relationship with Agros and UPC for 6 years now. But it has been the last 3 teams (July 07, January 08, and July 08) that have seen an opening up of the villagers to us. Many of our team members were now on their second visit to the village. We have one member who has visited this same village 5 times now. The villagers are beginning to trust us and seek us out during our visit. And we find commonality in the hopes, dreams, worries that we all share as humans.

I have always noticed that returning missionaries show slide after slide of people. I confess I have often found myself slightly bored, waiting for the pictures of scenery, houses, animals, flowers. But anyone with a heart for missions soon realizes that the faces of the people are the pull on the heartstrings of the caring. I give you faces from San Diego de Tenango .

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Travel

Posted by Terry McNichols

As the traveler who has once been from home is wiser than he who has never left his own doorstep, so a knowledge of one other culture should sharpen our ability to scrutinize more steadily, to appreciate more lovingly, our own. --Margaret Mead, anthropologist (1901-1978)

I am writing this in advance of my attempt to follow the above words of wisdom and travel once again to El Salvador. This will be my third trip in two years to a small village that I have grown to love. Our rerun post this week will give more information on that village. But I am looking forward to sharpening my ability to "scrutinize more steadily and appreciate more lovingly, my own country. " Visiting a third-world country immediately puts our wealth, our materialism, our many freedoms and our responsibilities into new perspective, and I welcome the opportunity. There are times when I question the wisdom of spending a lot of money to visit poor people, but the rewards are great and the lessons seem worth the expense. We go as friends and come back with renewed love and understanding of the role we must play in combating poverty in the world.
Hasta mi regreso!
(Photo by nep, shared via Flickr)

The Art of Play

Posted by Leona Bergstrom

One of the greatest things about being a grandma is learning how to PLAY again! I'm quite certain that I play better as a grandma than I ever did as a busy mom. I'm not afraid of chasing, crawling (harder to get up than it used to be maybe), or pretending. I could care less what people think of me when I'm with my grandson in the toy store, at the playground or in the library. It's just fun to see the world as a two-year old does with fanciful thoughts and yet-to-be-defined reality.

But this week my grandsons didn't visit because they had other plans (with their parents, of all things). And I had twelve inches of snow in my yard! How sad is that? No one to play with!

And then, it dawned on me that I could go outside and play in the snow by myself! This is nothing I would have done in my 30's or 40's -- but ah, the abandon one can have in one's 50's! So, I bundled up just as I should, went outside and built a snowman in the slightly softened snow. I felt refreshed, a little giddy and not quite so lonesome.

"Play keeps us vital and alive. It gives us an enthusiasm for life that is irreplaceable. Without it, life just doesn't taste good." --Lucia Capocchione, Author

Rerun Wednesday - The Rain

Posted by Terry McNichols

Since we seem to be talking a lot about the weather, we decided to repost this summer rain posting, just as a reminder to snuggle up with a good book and a warm fireplace and enjoy the dreary days of January!

After a number of 90+ degree days and a few in the 80's, we in the Northwest let out a huge sigh of relief when the temperature dips to a comfortable 65 and the threat of rain returns once again. You know you truly belong in the PNW if you melt when the temperature is over 75 degrees and long for a "good rain" to clear the air. We do enjoy those great sunny days and milk them for all they're worth, but when the rain returns, we settle back into the rhythm of our lives, wondering about people who actually need to water their lawns and worry about water reserves. The pressure of "enjoying the sun while it's out" fades into the background and we are content.

The rain allows us to get back to our computers, our books, our coffee shops, and give up the search for the perfect place to spend a hot and sunny afternoon, afraid of wasting one of our few precious sunny days. Remind me to read this post in late December or January!
(Photo by C4Chaos, Flickr)

The Call of the Rain

Posted by Terry McNichols

Leona has an upcoming post this week about playing in the snow that reminded me of a quote I have saved for many years. Our recent cold snap tested all of us and at times stifled the call of the rain. But we need to be reminded.

No rain falls that I do not at once hear in the sound of the falling water an invitation to come to the wedding. It is rare that I do not answer. A walk in an evening rain in any setting is to walk in the midst of God's loving attention to his earth, and, like a baptism, is no simple washing, but a communication of life. When you hurry in out of the rain, I hurry out into it, for it is a sign that all is well, that God loves, that good is to follow. If suffering a doubt, I find myself looking to rain as a good omen. And in rain, I always hear singing, wordless chant rising and falling.

When rain turns to ice and snow I declare a holiday. I could as easily resist as stay at a desk with a parade going by in the street below. I cannot hide the delight that then possesses my heart. Only God could have surprised rain with such a change of dress as ice and snow....

Most people love rain, water. Snow charms all young hearts. Only when you get older and bones begin to feel dampness, when snow becomes a traffic problem and a burden in the driveway, when wet means dirt -- then poetry takes flight and God's love play is not noted.

But I am still a child and have no desire to take on the ways of death. I shall continue to heed water's invitation, the call of the rain. We are in love and lovers are a little mad. -- Matthew Kelty, Flute Solo, Reflections of a Trappist Hermit, pp. 117-19.

(Photo by faeryboots, shared via Flickr)

Life is Fragile

Posted by Leona Bergstrom

Both Terry and I are struggling with the emotions and the gut-wrenching questions that come with facing death – especially the loss of young people. (See Terry’s post about Ben.)

Friends of mine recently lost their 27-year-old son after a three-year battle with cancer. The depth of their loss overwhelms me. I attended the memorial service and immediately came home and called my own son -- just to hear his voice (even if it was a voicemail greeting).

I was reminded of a song I recently heard Dave Irish sing in concert entitled Life is Fragile. Dealing with his own personal loss of a dear friend, Dave penned words that say it all. “On the canvas of an artist there’s an intricate design - depth of vision filled with color on display. Then a senseless hand of cruelty caused an angry crooked line, and the beauty is forever swept away.” His conclusion is that life is fragile – and that those we hold dear can leave us in a moment.

Predictably, the song encourages us to do what seems impossible: Live life to the fullest, count the stars, embrace life.

Lord, teach us to make the days count....... (Psalm 90).
(Photo by e3000, shared via Flickr).

The death of a child

Posted by Terry McNichols

As I try to make sense of the seemingly senseless death of a 3-1/2-year-old boy to the scourge of cancer, I am buoyed up by the saints all around me who join the struggle and come up with beautiful ways to explain the seeming silence of God at such a time. Here is something I have taken from the blog of another fellow wanderer, who says it well:

For me, the intense suffering of a small child is a crossroad event, especially when it leads to death. One road coming through the intersection is actually a superhighway. It is characterized by an agony that articulates the very real, very honest and very tempting cry, "Where were You?"

The other "road," actually little more than a climber's trail, dangerous and meandering, staying close to the contours of the way things truly are, is definitely the way less traveled. This path is characterized by an agony that articulates a different cry. Something David Hart wrote in the Wall Street Journal a few days before Ben was born, in response to the tsunami that killed hundreds of thousands:

"For while Christ takes the suffering of His creatures up into His own, it is not because He or they had need of suffering, but because He would not abandon His creatures to the grave. . . As for comfort, when we seek it, I can imagine none greater than the happy knowledge that when I see the death of a child I do not see the face of God, but the face of His enemy."

Impress your grandkids!

Posted by Terry McNichols

I was given the idea of making coloring book pages for our upcoming visit to San Diego de Tenango, in El Salvador. I became intrigued and did some research on how to do this and made pages for the people of the village to color when we visit.

At the same time, I decided to put together a coloring book for my grandchildren, which I gave them for Christmas. (To see an example of some colored pages, click here). I took a few of my favorite recent pictures, processed them with a free program I downloaded. I then took the black and white pictures to a copy place for copying, had a cardboard back attached and had them glued into pads, with a colored picture on the front. The result was a fun success, as each child recognized him or herself in the pictures and enjoyed coloring them. This can also be done in PhotoShop, but involves many more complicated steps than the free program I used. Here are a couple of examples of pictures I used. Feel free to steal my idea and enjoy!

Oh, Those New Year’s Resolutions

Posted by Leona Bergstrom


Here it is again, another New Year’s Day and the pressure to have a few resolutions. To be honest, I’m tired of resolving to lose weight, exercise more, spend more time with family, and save money. It goes without saying that every year I look at that list and realize I’ve totally blown it.

I rather like the reflective writings of woman named Nadine Stair, who at age 85 wrote “I’d Pick More Daisies.” Probably if these became my resolutions I’d be relaxed, limber, fit, happier, and far more interesting.

I'd Pick More Daisies
By Nadine Stair, age 85

If I had my life to live over,
I'd try to make more mistakes next time.
I would relax. I would limber up.
I would be sillier than I have on this trip.
I would be crazier. I would be less hygienic.
I would take more chances, I would take more trips.
I would climb more mountains, swim more rivers, and watch more sunsets.
I would burn more gasoline. I would eat more ice cream and less beans.
I would have more actual troubles and fewer imaginary ones.
You see, I am one of those people who lives prophylactically and sensibly and sanely,
hour after hour, day after day.

Oh, I have had my moments
And if I had it to do over again, I'd have more of them.
In fact, I'd try to have nothing else.
Just moments,one after another.
Instead of living so many years ahead each day.
I have been one of those people who never go anywhere
without a thermometer, a hot water bottle, a gargle, a raincoat, and a parachute.

If I had to do it over again, I would go places and do things.
I'd travel lighter than I have.
If I had my life to live over, I would start barefooted earlier in the spring and stay that way later in the fall.
I would play hooky more. I wouldn't make such good grades except by accident.
I would ride on merry-go-rounds.

I'd pick more daisies!

(Photos by betterpharm, Mike Rawlins, shared via Flickr)