Day 9

Weekend Review:

Friday- Sal's parents come down from South Dakota for the weekend. Sal and Penny did some shopping in Newton. Bob helped me with the project we've got going on in the backyard. He used to say his dream was to be a missionary home on furlough. I've done that and it is more work than being on the field- all the driving, services, meet & greets, and family. I told him being a pastor on sabbatical is way better. Thanks again to HMB for first of all giving me a chance to try being a youth pastor and then giving us time away so we can recharge. Through the good and the bad of youth ministry, God has continued to put joy in my heart.

Saturday- More work in the backyard. We cleared out and away all the stuff from around our shed. Smiley Jost heard I was going to tear down the shed. He offered to give a hand and showed up with a loader. INCREDIBLE. The shed just fell apart as he bulldozed and obliterated that building. He did in a couple of hours what it would have taken me a week to do. What a blessing!

For supper, my folks joined us for roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, cucumbers and rhubarb dessert. Sal is an amazing cook. It was cool to hear my dad talk to Sally's mom and thank her for teaching Sal the secrets to cooking. My mom and dad benefit from time to time from her expertise. We celebrated an early Mother's Day and Cassidy's birthday which is coming up on Tuesday. I'll dedicate my blog Tuesday to her (I think that's called a "teaser").

Sunday- We planned to go to Westlink for church, have lunch and do some shopping. Service didn't start till 10:45 and so wouldn't have to leave till 10. Going to sleep in a little.

That was the plan.

At 6:45 the phone rings. Dad's incision from the heart cath isn't looking good this morning. He wants to know what I think we should do. I told him I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn last night. He didn't laugh (at least I tried). So by 8 Sal and I are at their house. We decide I will take dad to the ER in Newton and Sal stays with mom. Now between Sal and I, I'm usually the optimistic one. But I figure the day is shot and if the incision needs to be resealed he'll be in the hospital all week. Sal tells me to not worry about the rest of the week or even the rest of the day. Just do what needs to be done now. So we did.

The ER visit was productive and positive. The seal on his artery had not broken. The doctor gave some helpful tips to keep the swelling down and hopefully get dad back to normal soon. By 10:30 we were on our way to Hesston. Dropped dad off and picked up Sal. At 11:30 Cass was driving us to Wichita to enjoy Mother's Day lunch at On The Border. As we were leaving OTB, bumped into the Eitzen's. Cool to see people from church and "catch up".

Between this paragraph and the last one, I got a call from Xavier Soller. X was a part of the Hesston Youth Group and lives in Denver now. He told me today he went to an NBA skills contest. X went through the obstacle course in a record 17 seconds. Best time they have had on their 9 city tour. Qualified him to go to Dallas in July to face the other city winners. I love that guy. He's come a long way and God has great plans for his life. As a youth pastor, the last 10 minutes were one of those priceless moments that come along as you see your "kids" grow up.