AUGUST
/ SEPTEMBER 2007
THE TWIN CITY TRAGEDY --
WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM IT?
Retired
pastor Ronald Claussen, Defiance, Ohio
RamblingsFromRon.com
PART 1
The tragic collapse of the interstate bridge
connecting
The FIRST RESPONDERS provide us with a
lesson to be learned. Most of the time when we think of FIRST RESPONDERS, we
think of people trained to respond to emergencies who can arrive before the big
equipment reaches the scene. In the TWIN CITY TRAGEDY, these first responders
were the people in the cars who were either on the bridge and were able to
escape from their cars, or people who had made it across or not yet driven onto
the bridge. I have not heard many stories about how people were rescued. I have
seen pictures of those helping the children from the school bus. I am sure
there are stories of some who risked their own lives to help others to safety.
I am also sure that there are some who drove away as fast as they could so they
would not have to get involved. I heard the story of one couple who helped a
lady to safety. The lady asked the couple if they would take her home, which
they did.
WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THIS? What
would the results have been if no one responded immediately? What if everyone
said that they were not trained for this and the people crying out for help
would just have to wait for the professionals to arrive? Think of how much
worse the panic would have been for those children on the bus and for others.
There are so many people today whose
bridge of faith is crumbling, and many who call themselves Christians don’t
want to get involved. They say they re not trained, they don’t know the right
thing to say or do. Those FIRST RESPONDERS on the bridge were not trained; they
didn’t know what to do or say. THEY JUST DID and somehow people were helped.
Can’t we do the same thing with those on the collapsing spiritual bridge? You
don’t have to know what to say or what to do, JUST DO.
I believe that somehow God led those
responders on the bridge to do the right thing, and I believe He will lead you
to do the right thing for people on the spiritual bridge.
I join with multitudes who say THANK
YOU, FIRST RESPONDERS for what you did to either save a life or remove a person
from danger. Oh, how I hope that someone can call you a FIRST RESPONDER and
thank you for saving them from falling into the depths of sin.
PART 2
The SUDDEN DEATH of those in this
tragedy leads me to reflect on two different thoughts. I certainly join with
others in prayer for the families in this time of sorrow.
People have a tendency to not think of death. They hear or read the words
that
The other thought relates to how we react to those who mourn. On
Can we learn from the tragedy in the Twin Cities that we may not have the
opportunity tomorrow to come to faith in Jesus? May we learn that when there is a death, no
matter who the person was, no matter how the death took place, there are
families mourning, hurting in sorrow, and God wants you and me to give them
comfort and hope, not only in the first three days after death, but in the
weeks, months and even, years to come.
PART 3
The LONG IGNORED INSPECTION REPORT
SHOWING POTENTIAL PROBLEMS is something we are all in need of learning
from. I am referring to television news reports stating that some years
ago inspectors filed a report of a need for repairs to the bridge that
collapsed.
The first thing that is important to say is that I do not know if the
report is true or not. Before I accept it as fact I have to ask these
questions: Who released the statement?
Was the statement released on the basis of an official document in the
person’s hand or was it released to throw suspicion of fault on others?
Are the items listed in the document really the cause of the collapse?
These questions need to be asked every time we hear someone blaming
someone or saying something negative about someone.
The second important consideration is, regardless of whether the
information in the report is the cause of the collapse or not, the question
still remains, why were these statements or signs of potential danger ignored?
We dare not rush to judgment here because we probably have done the same thing
under different circumstances: Have you ever
had a serious ache or pain that indicated major future health problems and then
ignored the warnings?
Have you ever heard severe weather warnings that included not to drive on
certain roads and then ignored the warnings?
Have you ever looked at your gas gauge and saw the indicator on E and
ignored the warnings? Maybe none of the above seem as
serious as the bridge collapse, but even these could result in tragedies. But what about the next one?
Have you ever heard or read the words of Jesus, “Nobody comes unto the
Father but by Me,” and ignored them? If you have
ignored them, you still have a chance. Your “twinkling of an eye” has not yet
arrived. There is still time to make the corrections in your life that
will lead you away from Eternal Death to the joys of Eternal Life.
Possibly the most important thing we
can learn from the tragedy in the Twin Cities is that we can’t wait until
tomorrow to respond to warnings concerning either our spiritual or physical
life because tomorrow may not come.
Jungle
Journal
(Missionary Terry & Mary Schultz,
Church
leader Tangoa from the native
The school will be a
dream-come-true for Tangoa. Raised in a classic
"hunter-gatherer" society, Tangoa moved from
village to village over the years. When he was ready to settle down permanently
a few years ago, he and his brother Cecilio founded
Nuevo Porvenir with about half a dozen native
families. Tangoa
and Cecilio always hoped for a Christian school in
their village so that the children could learn to read and write.
Last month I sat in the
classroom of our Tarapoto Bible Institute with Tangoa during a week of Pastor Training classes. At my urging, Tangoa
described the strange road his life had taken, growing up a Chayahuita
native deep in the Amazon jungle.
Tangoa was taught at an early age that the
world is dominated by evil spirits. Like
everyone in the village, he deeply feared the spirits and tried to avoid
them. As a child he feared inadvertently
walking under a tree at night that was inhabited by an evil spirit. Everyone knew that without warning, the evil
spirit could reach down from the tree and snatch up a child right off the path. The child would never be seen or heard from
again. (This of course, keeps a lot of
native children from wandering off at night.
Indeed, the parents truly believe spirits can grab their children at
night! Same thing if a child falls off a
raft in the middle of the river: Often
the child is never seen again: The evil spirit-possessed
river dolphins have carried the child off to the underworld!
Tangoa was also taught that the spirits
swirling about the jungle could be influenced or manipulated. He learned that in times of crisis, your best
friend was the mysterious, amazingly-gifted, powerful village shaman. The shaman instilled more than a little fear
in the villagers. After all, he could
contact spirits from the other world, and direct their supernatural
powers. Such power was beyond the reach
of normal natives.
But Tangoa's
world was turned upside down years ago when a Christian social worker passed
through the village. Through hearing the
gospel message, the Holy Spirit immediately went to work on many villagers'
hearts, including Tangoa's. And pretty soon, Tangoa
and the other new Christians were questioning the entire shamanic system with
its calling down of spirit powers. With
every visit of the Christian social worker, Tangoa
and others were growing in the faith!
About a year after the
social worker visits began, the village experienced its worst drought in
memory. Times were really bad: a
terrible rice harvest, few fish, and a startling increase in illnesses among
the women and children! Bad times such
as these are usually great times to be in the shaman business: People are desperate, looking for any kind of
help, especially when women and children catch deadly jungle diseases, and no
one knows what to do except stand by and hold their loved ones until they die. The possibility of aid from supernatural healing
forces is invariably welcomed. Enter the
powerful shaman! The shaman living near Tangoa's village was more than willing to do business!
Now, it's important to
understand that in Tangoa's village, business
transactions were conducted by a barter system.
Rarely did anyone have any cash.
The most common item of value in the village, the commodity of trade:
Chickens! Everyone traded with everyone
using chickens. Chickens could be traded
with a neighbor for vegetables, liquor, bullets, or beads! In fact, the shaman's services, (whether
summoning supernatural healing forces for a sick child or casting a curse on a
wayward lover), all cost the same: 1 chicken!
"Our village shaman
did very well," Tangoa recalled. "In those 3 years he was with us, he easily
received more than a hundred chickens!"
However, with the hard times that had come upon the village, a strange
set of circumstances converged: With little rice or fish to eat or sell,
everyone had to start eating their chickens!
Each family's chicken supply began to dwindle. As a result, no one was going to the shaman
to request a healing or a curse; no one could afford it. The shaman's business began to dry up!
The shaman, (who lived
outside of the village per tribal custom) had to take the extreme measure of
coming into the village to drum up business.
Tangoa said he remembers the day that became a
turning point in his life: The Christian
social worker had recently passed through, and reminded the villagers that God
strictly prohibits the practice of witchcraft.
However, Tangoa's young, fragile,
undernourished children were seriously sick!
Who should come knocking at Tangoa's door one
day but the shaman (make that the devil's agent!) offering his healing
services! What would Tangoa
do?! "The deciding factor," Tangoa said to me as he broke into a huge grin: "I was running low on chickens! Between that and remembering the words of
Lynn, the social worker, I said no to the shaman!"
The shaman was furious
with Tangoa.
He really wanted a chicken! The
shaman decided to pull out all the stops:
"If you don't use my services and give me a chicken, I will curse
you," the shaman heatedly announced.
Tangoa still refused. The infuriated shaman viciously pronounced a
hair-raising curse, imploring the evil jungle spirits to come out soon and kill
Tangoa!
Now let me assure you
readers: While the image of an irate
shaman pronouncing a death curse on someone may strike our ears as so much
"child's play," this was deadly serious business to the villagers. To them, Tangoa was
courting demonic disaster. Tangoa however, found
himself turning toward God. He prayed
day after day for healing for his children and protection from the demons for
himself. Many days passed. The children got better and Tangoa remained alive!
For the desperate, hungry
shaman, it now became even harder to find any business! The Christian social worker returned with
more Bible-based teachings. Tangoa testified of his growing trust in God. The fact that
he was not struck down by powerful,
Now it's hard to say when
the spiritual "turning point" so to speak, came to the native
village. Over the year the Holy Spirit
had worked in individual hearts, replacing the fear of jungle spirits with
faith in God. Suddenly, two more
developments occurred in the community that would set into motion an
unimaginable string of events: First, a
number of children died at about the same time.
By the power of the Holy Spirit, many of the natives hung onto their
faith, not blaming God for the deaths.
These new Christians took great comfort in God's promise of a future
reunion with their baptized children in
Secondly, by now Tangoa was not the only one to have received a demonic
death curse from the shaman. Other
villagers had followed Tangoa's lead in refusing to
do business with the shaman. The village
elders took a survey. They counted six
men who had been placed under a death curse by the furious shaman. It was time to call a community meeting. The elders, plus every adult man and woman,
met in the communal lodge one evening.
"The dead children, the 6 death threats, and the teachings of the
Christian social worker all played a part," Tangoa
told me. The decision from the adults
didn't take long: All the villagers
decided it was time to kill the shaman!
"'Justicia nativa'
(native justice), is what you call it in Spanish," Tangoa
said to me.
The next act in this
tragic, twisted tale involved "the subcommittee." Five village elders, the most trusted men of
the village, convened to discuss who would carry out the assassination
assignment. After limited discussion,
the one who volunteered for the job was approved.
To have one of the most
revered elders stride through your front door in the afternoon, unannounced,
with a loaded rifle, can only mean one thing to a shaman. The elder walked right past the shaman's
wife, who never uttered a single word.
There was obviously no fear that the wife would report what was about to
happen. The elder didn't even wear a
mask. The shaman met the elder in the
middle of the dirt floor and immediately dropped to his knees. He began pleading for his life; wailing away,
begging for mercy. The elder stood and
calmly listened, waiting for the shaman to finish. The shaman finally wound down his desperate
plea. The house went silent. The elder raised his rifle and shot the
shaman in the head.
It was the shaman's wife
who described to a few friends those last horrific moments of her husband's
life. It was probably a way of dealing
with grief. She certainly never uttered
the name of the assassin. No one ever
did. "But doesn't everyone in the
village know who shot the shaman?" I demanded of Tangoa. He just looked back at me and let the
question hang there a moment. Again, he
couldn't suppress a faint smile as he gave me a little pat on the shoulder and
softly repeated: "native justice."
Tangoa and the new Christians of the
village obviously still had a long ways to go in their walk with the Lord. Their motives for killing the shaman certainly
were not pure. Distorted elements of
Christianity were mixed with lingering elements of tribal superstition. Through their brutal and bizarre methods, the
villagers were quite pleased to have put witchcraft and shamanism behind them,
at least momentarily.
Flash forward to the here
and now: Tangoa
has truly come far since those crazy shaman-slaying days. The majority of the dozen Chayahuita
families that followed Tangoa and Cecilio
to establish a new village are either Christians or families who appreciate
living in a community directed by two fine Christian men. Their new village is 5 hours from the tribal
Don't think for a moment Tangoa does not understand the tremendous blessings a
Lutheran grade school will be for his village.
The mission will cover the one cost most tribal villages could never
afford: The salary for a trained teacher
who will agree to live in a remote tribal village three out of four weeks per
month. Tangoa
will of course teach religion classes to all the children!
Why you may ask, is it
important for children living deep in the Amazon jungle to know how to read and
write? The natives must learn to one day
read and study God's Word for themselves!
Our school will in fact teach the children to read the Bible in both the
Spanish and the Chayahuita languages! Thanks to the fabulous life-long work of a WyCliffe Translator, the Chayahuita
language was put into written form and a Bible translation produced many years
ago. We are now working with the best Chayahuita
translator in the world, Amazon-born
Tangoa, Cecilio,
and the rest of the village are indescribably excited over having a
Right before the mayor
came in, the elders stood up in a semi-circle around
me and said they had an important announcement to make. The elders had come to a decision last month,
one to which the entire village agreed.
After the elders apologized to me for not consulting me ahead of time,
or asking for my permission (???), Cecilio made the
bold announcement: In honor of our
mission work for the village; in teaching Tangoa to
be a pastor and opening a Christian grade school for the children, the elders
had decided to officially rename the village "Louis Terry!!" (The elders had seen my full name printed on
our legal papers. They can't pronounce
"Schultz" but spotted "Louis." It wasn't important to them whether they used
the first, middle, or last name; they simply wanted the two names that sounded
nice to their ears.) I was stunned by
the announcement, and expressed my deepest appreciation. I reminded everyone that to God alone belongs
the glory for bringing a school to the village and training to their future
pastor! I was moved beyond words by
their incredible gesture!
Everyone in the room was
smiling hugely. We said a prayer of
thanksgiving for our brotherhood in the Lord, our salvation, and for the fact
that the complex legal work for the school was progressing so well! Praise God for our dear brothers of Louis
Terry and for the grade school that will soon be teaching every child the love
of our Savior Jesus!!
Until next time amigos,
Terry
Life
In
E. John Fredrich,
former member of
The
planning of the graduation began about four months ago. I have taken part
in planning a few of these before so I figured this would be a very simple
ordeal. I was very wrong.
Fortunately, I had some
help planning this year’s graduation service. Mrs. Titus (grade 2) and
Mrs. Hurst (Pre-school 4) were more than eager to assist. The graduation
service was for the grade 6 students and the pre-school 4 (4 year-old)
students. At our first planning meeting, there was talk that we
should have the pre-school 3 (3 year-olds) involved as well. That way,
they would know what to do next year. Thankfully, that idea was shot down
by some other teachers. There was no need to graduate 3 year-olds into
the 4 year-old program just for the sake of having them better understand their
graduation from pre-school 4 into Kindergarten. We also discussed the
gowns, the menu, and the decorations. We were told that the gowns from
previous years were old, torn and moth eaten, so we decided to have new gowns
made.
A month or two after that
first meeting, we had a meeting with the parents. At this meeting we
discussed the menu, decorations and the pictures. Every parent had to
choose something to bring for the meal; those that did not were assigned set up
and clean up duties. I announced to ALL the parents that ALL the graduates
would be taking a graduation picture. The lady who was in charge of
organizing the pictures stood up and told me that the pictures were arranged
only for pre-school graduates, but she politely added that she would try and
arrange pictures for all the graduates. I then discovered that the gowns
discussed during the last meeting (and already ordered) were just for the
pre-school kids. The grade 6 students had to go to the uniform store and
rent a gown. This, of course, was not arranged by anyone and I had no
information as to how much they would cost or anything…
A few weeks later (only a
few weeks to graduation), Mrs. Titus informed me that there was a problem with
the gowns that were being made. Mrs. Titus went to pick up the finished
gowns and the tailor gave her 9 finished gowns. There were supposed to be
25. Apparently Mrs. Hurst bought the same amount of blue material (for
the gowns) and white material (for the collars). She told the tailor to
make 25 gowns out of the material given – the lady only made 9. She had
enough white material to make 50 collars, but had only enough blue material to
make 9 gowns. Of course, the tailor had not told anyone that this was the
case; Mrs. Titus discovered this when she went to pick up the gowns. Mrs.
Hurst was gone on sick leave so she was unable to help. Mrs. Titus had to
take a day off of school to drive around town trying to find blue material for
the rest of the gowns. She ended up finding two different shades of blue,
but went ahead and purchased them anyway. The blue that Mrs. Hurst had
found was on clearance and was no longer available. We got the gowns two
weeks before the graduation – and the collars were made incorrectly. They
had ordered square collars, but the tailor made round ones. They also
came with a tie on the back, whereas the teachers just wanted them to slip over
the children’s heads.
Now, for my 6th grade
parents – after I got some information about the gowns for them, I told them
what they needed to do. This was about three weeks before the graduation
service. They needed to go to the uniform store and rent a gown for their
child. They were responsible for picking it up and taking it back to the
store. Well, as easy as that may sound, it was difficult for some of my
parents.
That just covers the
parent involvement of the graduation service – now for the fun part – the
graduates.
All of the teachers tried
to have some input as to what the students should do. They each had one
song that they really wanted the 6th grade students to sing. We finally
narrowed it down to three, one of which they danced to. The pre-school,
on the other, had songs, poems, prayers, Bible readings, etc. that each child
was able to be a part of. I eliminated a few things from the service,
telling Mrs. Hurst that it was already too long and that she could have her
students perform them after the service if she would like. I did give her
some lee-way since she is retiring and this will be her last year teaching the
pre-school. My students had a Bible verse that one of them read, a poem
written by one student and read by another, a speech by the valedictorian, two
songs and one dance. Not too bad. But one of the songs we didn’t
have music for – until the day of the service.
The actual day of the
graduation service, Thursday, June 7th, I received a phone call at about
The service went well,
long, but well. You couldn’t understand much of what the pre-school
students mumbled into the microphones. But they looked cute doing
it. The first song for the sixth graders went alright – you could tell
they were nervous. The second song was not good – we had a practice on
Wednesday night (only 8 out of 15 students attended) and that was the first
time they heard the music. I wasn’t able to be there so I had no idea
that the music was completely different from the way we had been practicing the
song for over a month. The students had no clue what was going on and the
music had some lady’s voice blaring the vocals, so it looked a little strange
and unrehearsed. But the dance was much better. It was interesting
to see the boys dancing too, but I think they all got a kick out of it.
The service was supposed
to be no more than an hour and a half, but it went on over 2 hours. Mrs.
Hurst pulled out some extra certificates and awards that she told me she would
present after the service – well she did it during the service and I wasn’t
going to go running up there to stop it. Instead I just made notes about
what would be allowed next year and what wouldn’t be.
After the service we had
the graduates sit in a room that was specially prepared for them – tables with
places set for them and decorations and everything. When we have potlucks
at our church, we don’t have the benefit of a room to sit down and eat in – we
just have classrooms with desks or folding chairs outside. So it was a big
deal for these kids to have a table at which they could eat their meal.
And the graduates were served first while all the parents snapped pictures and
commented on why some of the gowns were missing… After the graduates had
their food, then everyone else could eat. The food was good, I guess,
because by the time I got there the only things left were chicken legs and
shepherds pie and fruit salad. I found out later, while I was helping
clean up, that there was still more food that was not served. That food
was set aside to be taken to the beach picnic the following day. I was
shocked to hear that, because there were many parents who were late in the line
with me who did not get much of any food.
All in all I am very
happy that this school year has come to a close. I am even more thankful
that the graduation hoopla is over as well. Next year will be different,
now that I have a clue as to what usually takes place.
Have a great day!
E. John
Highlights Of The 44th Annual
LWMS Convention
Engraved
on His Hands
“See, I have engraved you on the palms
of my hands.” Isaiah 49:16
2007 –
The 44th
Annual LWMS Convention opened with a service of praise to our faithful and
loving God. The large congregation was led by liturgist Pastor Paul Schossow, Spiritual Growth Pastor, and Missionary Robert Wendland, who delivered the sermon. What joy to raise our
voices in worship with over 1,300 brothers and sisters in Christ as we were
assured that God has engraved us on the palms of His hands.
Missionary Wendland, who serves in
Sadly, it is we who forget about God and His loving plan
of salvation. If home is where the heart is, where is your heart? Where is your
home? Is our focus on this world or on our life in heaven with Christ? We can
have hope and joy on the darkest days knowing that we are merely in
transit—that we haven’t arrived home yet and, because of that hope, we can say,
“My life is for You Lord. I am engraved on the palms of Your
hands.”
Lisa Solomon, who co-chaired this year’s convention with
Ginger Olson, challenged everyone to increase our personal Bible study by ten
minutes a day throughout the next year. As the Lord blesses our study with
spiritual growth, thankfulness for the amazing love God shows us through His
plan of salvation will also increase.
Business
Meeting
Encouraged by LWMS President Sarah Malchow
to remain united to do God’s will and to speak and hear each other as loving
sisters of Christ, 281 delegates to the 44th annual convention of the Lutheran
Women’s Missionary Society considered five proposed changes to the
organization’s bylaws during the business meeting of the 2007 convention. Four
of the proposals were considered separately; however, a proposed change of logo
required no amendment to the bylaws, so that matter was considered at the same
time as the proposed name change. Bylaws Committee member Carol Dobrunz presented each of the proposals.
By a vote of 54 in favor, and 212 opposed, the amendment
to change the name of the LWMS to Women of WELS was defeated.
With the addition of 18 new member congregations and eight
reinstated members, 919 congregations now belong to LWMS. Treasurer Linda Diersen reported that the organization’s working fund has
its first positive balance since December 2004.
Total mission offerings for the year
590 member congregations submitted ballot votes. The
election results were: Paula Danekas of Good Shepherd
in Downers Grove, Illinois, Chicago Area Circuit – president elect; Rosalie
Pederson of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Willmar, Minnesota, Crow River Circuit
– treasurer; Michelle Markgraf of Good Shepherd
Lutheran in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Minnekota
Circuit – spiritual growth woman; Pastor Paul Schossow
of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, Shoreline Circuit –
spiritual growth pastor.
Rita Kruschwitz
represented
The
Seed
A
successful Christian business man was growing old and knew it was time to
choose a successor to take over the business.
Instead of choosing one
of his directors or his children, he decided to do something different. He
called all the young executives in his company together.
He said, "It is time
for me to step down and choose the next CEO. I have decided to choose one of
you. "The young executives were shocked, but the boss continued. "I am going to give each one of you a SEED today one
very special SEED. I want you to plant the seed, water it, and come back here
one year from today with what you have grown from the seed I have given you. I
will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the
next CEO"
One man, named Jim, was
there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and
excitedly, told his wife the story.
She helped him get a pot,
soil and compost and he planted the seed. Everyday, he would water it and watch
to see if it had grown.
After about three weeks,
some of the other executives began to talk about their seeds and the plants
that were beginning to grow. Jim kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew.
Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by, still nothing. By now, others were
talking about their plants, but Jim didn't have a plant and he felt like a
failure.
Six months went by--still
nothing in Jim's pot. He just knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had
trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Jim didn't say anything to his
colleagues, however. He just kept watering and fertilizing the soil - He so
wanted the seed to grow.
A year finally went by
and all the young executives of the company brought their plants to the CEO for
inspection. Jim told his wife that he wasn't going to take an empty pot. But
she asked him to be honest about what happened. Jim felt sick at his stomach, it
was going to be the most embarrassing moment of his life, but he knew his wife
was right. He took his empty pot to the board room.
When Jim arrived, he was
amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other executives. They were
beautiful--in all shapes and sizes. Jim put his empty pot on the floor and many
of his colleagues laughed, a few felt sorry for him!
When the CEO arrived, he
surveyed the room and greeted his young executives. Jim just tried to hide in
the back. "My, what great plants, trees, and flowers you have grown,"
said the CEO. "Today one of you will be appointed the next CEO!"
All of a sudden, the CEO
spotted Jim at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered the
financial director to bring him to the front. Jim was terrified. He thought,
"The CEO knows I'm a failure! Maybe he will have me fired!"
When Jim got to the
front, the CEO asked him what had happened to his seed - Jim told him the
story.
The CEO asked everyone to
sit down except Jim. He looked at Jim, and then announced to the young
executives, "Behold your next Chief Executive! His name is Jim!"
Jim couldn't believe it.
Jim couldn't even grow his seed. How could he be the new CEO the others said?
Then the CEO said,
"One year ago today, I gave everyone in this room a seed. I told you to
take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave
you all boiled seeds; they were dead - it was not possible for them to grow.
All of you, except Jim, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you
found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I
gave you. Jim was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot
with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new Chief
Executive!"
If you plant honesty, you
will reap trust. If you plant goodness,
you will reap friends. If you plant
humility, you will reap greatness. If
you plant perseverance, you will reap contentment.
If you plant
consideration, you will reap perspective.
If you plant hard work, you will reap success. If you plant forgiveness, you will reap
reconciliation. If you plant faith in
Christ, you will reap a harvest.
So, be careful what you
plant now; it will determine what you will reap later.
received
via email
Depression Statistics
Depressive
disorders encompass major depressive disorder, dysthymic
disorder, and bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder is included because people
with this illness have depressive episodes as well as manic episodes.
•Approximately 18.8
million American adults, or about 9.5 percent of the
•Nearly twice as many
women (12.0 percent) as men (6.6 percent) are affected by a depressive disorder
each year. These figures translate to 12.4 million women and 6.4 million men in
the
•Depressive disorders may
be appearing earlier in life in people born in recent decades compared to the
past.
•Depressive disorders
often co-occur with anxiety disorders and substance abuse.
Source; http://www.depression-guide.com/depression-statistics.htm
Facts On Aging
(and Who Are The Caregivers?)
Caregiving responsibilities are usually assumed by the following people,
listed in order of occurance:
· a spouse
· a daughter
· a daughter-in-law
· another relative (i.e., sibling,
grandchild, niece, or nephew)
· neighbors or friends
In addition, caregivers are usually:
· female
· over age 65
· poor or nearly poor
· self-described as having fair to poor
health
What Are the Living Arrangements?
· 75 percent of elderly men live with
their spouse
· 41 percent of elderly women live with
their spouse
· 7 percent of elderly men live with a
relative
· 17 percent of elderly women live with
a relative
· 18 percent of elderly men live alone
or with non-relatives
· 43 percent of elderly women live
alone or with non-relatives
No
Nursing Home For Me
About
2 years ago my wife and I were on a cruise through the western
As we left the dining
room one evening I caught her eye and stopped to say hello. We chatted and I
said, "I understand you've been on this ship for the last four
cruises". She replied, "Yes,
that's true" I stated, "I don't understand" and she replied,
without a pause, "It's cheaper than a nursing home".
So, there will be no
nursing home in my future. When I get old and feeble, I am going to get on a
Princess Cruise Ship. The average cost for a nursing home is $200 per day. I
have checked on reservations on a Princess and I can get a long term discount
and senior discount price of $135 per day. That leaves $65 a day for gratuities
which will only be $10 per day.
1.
I
will have as many as 10 meals a day if I can waddle to the restaurant, or I can
have room service (which means I can have breakfast-in-bed every day of the
week).
2.
Princess
has as many as three swimming pools, a workout room, free washers and dryers,
and shows every night.
3.
They
have free toothpaste and razors, and free soap and shampoo.
4.
They
will even treat you like a customer, not a patient. An extra $5 worth of tips
will have the entire staff scrambling to help you.
5.
I
will get to meet new people every 7 or 14 days.
6.
TV
broken? Light bulb need changing? Need to have the
mattress replaced? No problem! They will fix everything and apologize for your
inconvenience.
7.
Clean
sheets and towels every day, and you don't even have to ask for them.
8.
If
you fall in the nursing home and break a hip you are on Medicare; if you fall
and break a hip on the Princess ship they will upgrade you to a suite for the
rest of your life.
Now hold on for the best!
Do you want to see
So don't look for me in a
nursing home, just call shore to ship.
received
via email
$$$
How long does money last? That depends
on the denomination of the note. A $1 bill lasts 18 months; $5 bill, two years;
$10 bill, three years; $20 bill, four years; and $50 and $100 bills, nine
years. Bills that get worn out from everyday use are taken out of circulation
and replaced.
Source; http://www.factmonster.
com/ipka/A0774850.html
Psalm 100:5 reminds us:
“For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues
through all generations.” The power of
money is short lived. The Lord’s love is
so powerful it lasts forever.
Special Report: The
Rebecca Barnes and Lindy Lowry
Here,
we explore seven discoveries about the
1.
Less
than 20% of Americans regularly attend church—half of what the pollsters
report.
2.
American
church attendance is steadily declining.
3.
Only
one state is outpacing its population growth.
4.
Mid-sized
churches are shrinking; the smallest and largest churches are growing.
5.
Established
churches—40 to 190 years old—are, on average, declining.
6.
The
increase in churches is only 1/4 of what's needed to keep up with population
growth.
7.
In
2050, the percentage of the
Help Support Our
Neighborhoods!
Families experiencing
both short-term and long-term crises need cheerful volunteers to assist at the
Keystone Community Services food shelves (Midway and
Help is especially
needed at the
Keystone volunteers
must be 18 years of age or older and be able to pass a criminal background
check. Please contact the Volunteer Coordinator by calling 651.603.6650.
Vehicle Donation
Program
The Lutheran Home Association will accept drivable,
running vehicles with no maximum mileage limit. Other forms of transportation
or equipment (i.e. motorcycles, 4-wheelers and campers, etc.) can also be
donated. For your tax benefit, washed and vacuumed vehicles bring higher value
for your charitable deduction.
It's easy to do. Contact Karen at the
National Ministry Offices in Belle Plaine at
952.873.4744. Someone from Office of Mission Advancement will help you complete
a few simple forms about the donation. We will provide you with your
tax-deductible donation forms.
Many,
Many Thanks!
Our
one-day outreach family VBS, Walk with the Animals, took place on a pleasant
Saturday in July. Our members all pulled together to set up tents, put on
puppet plays and skits, organize and prepare and serve food, paint faces, and
man the beanbag toss. We had a great stage and a neat Noah’s ark with Noah
there to tell us his story. The craft tables were busy giving the children a
chance to make projects to remember the day. The fish pond was a big hit and
many toys were given away.
A big
thank-you to all those who made this day possible. We hope to make it an annual event
and to reach many more people with the Gospel.
Linda Henkel
AUGUST 10 - 12:
Golf, Motorcycle Ride, Open House, Patriotic Tribute, Banquet, Chapel Service.
Join the fun!
www.sclhs.org