Being
the Lord’s Day here, Chip and I were due to be picked up at 8:30am and go to
services where he was to do the Bible study and I was to preach in the assembly
hour. We were a little late being picked up, but made it to the building in
time to get right in to the Bible class. Chip taught from Proverbs 30:24-28 on
“Learning from Little Creatures,” focusing mostly on the locust and the spider.
He did a good job and made very good application to all. I followed with a
lesson from Luke 24 entitled “On the Road to Emmaus.” I dealt with the change
seen in the disciples’ thinking from when they started on the road and the
radically different mindset they had at the end. We then drew a parallel to our
walk in life. An invitation was extended, but there were no visible responses.
There were about 140 present for the services.
After
the services, we had an excellent lunch with the Gumpad family. It had been a
longer time than the normal interval since I had been there, but Tessie has not
lost any of her cooking ability! A good time was had by all as we ate, joked
and reminisced about past times together. To the Gumpad children and
grandchildren, I am known as “Pappa Bear” and we love each other like family.
It is always a pleasure to be with them and see their faith, dedication and
tender hearts.
Following
lunch, I went back to the hotel to work on the lectures for tomorrow and Chip
went to preach for the Palca congregation. Rody was going to go with Chip, but
I got his son-in-law, Mark, to take Chip and let Rody rest for the afternoon.
Rody begrudgingly agreed and took me to the hotel. We had a long talk and he
admitted that he is still having a great deal of chest pain. We had a good discussion
and I urged him to slow down and mind his health. He works as hard as any
preacher I have ever known anywhere in the world, but the work of the Lord in
this area needs him around for more years of faithful service.
This
evening, Chip has not been feeling well. It may be something that he ate at
supper, but we have agreed that he will stay home tomorrow and I will handle
the preaching in the lectureship. Please keep him in your prayers that he will
fully regain his strength. [Additional note: I just finished going up to check
on Chip after completing the report and he told me he has spoken with Lynda, so
I will let you know a little more of the problem. Many of you know that Chip
has had a heart attack and triple bypass surgery, so I am concerned about him
on trips over here. At supper, his face made it obvious that he was not feeling
right. I ask him and he said he was feeling very strange, somewhat like when he
had a TIA. I immediately called Kathy Forelo (Rody’s daughter who is a medical
doctor) asking her to come as soon as possible and then got a wheelchair to
take Chip back to the room. After lying down for a little while, his color got
better and he was better still in just the short time it took Kathy to get
here. His blood pressure was still too high, but coming down. Over Chip’s
objections, she insisted with his history on taking him to the hospital for an
EKG and monitor his heart for a little while. They gave him a pill to bring the
blood pressure down further, monitored him for a while and then released him.
Kathy charged me with checking his blood pressure after 30 minutes and it was
down in very good range. He was exhausted and ready to sleep and I left him so
he could sleep. It has been an eventful evening, but thankfully it seems much
better now. Please pray that all will continue to improve.]
