3-5-04

Dear Family and Friends,

Here are our new stats:

Address: 10822 W. Granada Rd.
Avondale, AZ 85323

Home Phone: 623-478-8421 (should be working next week)
Cell Phone: 623-332-2523

We are in our new home. Moving Day (Saturday) was one of the most encouraging days of our lives. We were moved “locust style”, as our friend Jim put it. Our church family descended on our old place like a swarm of locusts - every last thing was picked up and carried off to the new place. Not only that, but the old house was cleaned and the new house all set up - by 3 p.m. the furniture was placed and put together, audio/video equipment hooked up, shelves lined, books unpacked, dishes put away, beds made, lawn mowed, weeds pulled…you get the idea. Desert Springs and my folks went way beyond the call of duty. The Pabst’s and Hughes’ even brought lunch, so it turned into quite a party. Like the apostle Paul, I can say that I am thankful every single time I remember you, my dear church family. On Saturday, I saw Christ in action, in the flesh! We love you. Thanks a million.

We have spent the past 4 days finishing up at the old house. Daniel and I cleaned up the yard, trimmed bushes, pulled weeds and replaced 2 drip irrigation lines and replanted a couple of bushes that our monster, I mean puppy, Capt. Jack had teethed on. It was kind of fun, actually, and we were so thankful that our friend Dan S. had showed us how to fix those lines and also our sprinklers - am sure it won’t be the last fix we need to do as Jack still has a couple of months of growing up to do. The next day, Becky and I cleaned the oven, ceiling fans, blinds, windows, and touched up the house one more time. Rae and Dan and I spent the next two days touching up paint in the house and garage and then yesterday, Dad and I power washed the garage floor and driveway. So, the place looks great and someone can move right in. I just need to replace two screens and patch a spot of stucco - again, due to puppy’s growing pains. Actually, one screen was my doing - you know how you do dumb things when you are tired and rushing around?? Well, I was prying off a window screen so that I could wash the window and it was chilly and I was hurrying because I was running out of daylight, and I slipped and put the screw driver right through the screen! Dumb. It feels good to have all of that behind us so that we can concentrate on getting the new house organized.

Tim remains stable. I helped change his dressings on his pressure sores a few days ago. They had been debreeded. They didn’t look any better to me, but no worse either. His wheelchair is finally on order and should be in in 4 weeks. I am praying that it will be in sooner. It sounds like a very nice, highly involved chair and it is being specially made to fit Tim and his needs. Daniel can’t wait to push Dad around in it.

Tim’s mom will be flying out with her husband in a few weeks. We are looking forward to that.

We went to see “The Passion” this past week. Goodness, that was difficult to watch, but we felt compelled to go. It is one thing to read about what Jesus went through on our behalf and another thing to see it. I just sat there saying, “Thank you so much, Lord” throughout the whole movie. Even after reading about and seeing Christ’s sacrificial death, I still walked away shaking my head, trying to comprehend a love that great. We think we are pretty good folks, most of the time - loving, courageous, noble, sacrificing - but if we are completely honest with ourselves, I am sure we would admit that none of us would have gone through what Christ went through for another human being. If we’d been given an out as He was, we would have taken it. My pastor brought up a good point, too. He said that he thought that the physical suffering was portrayed accurately, but he wished that somehow the spiritual suffering could have been made more evident - but how do you portray something like that? How do you portray what Christ encountered as He was “smitten of God, and afflicted…pierced through for our transgressions, …crushed for our iniquities” (Is 53:5). I cannot imagine what it must have felt like to be completely sinless, perfect, and holy and to have someone’s filthy sins placed on me. What is even worse would be being forsaken of God. Sometimes, when we go through a difficult time, we feel as if God has forsaken us. But we humans have never, ever really been forsaken by God. Hebrews 13:5 says, “for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you“, so that we confidently say, The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What will man do to me?“ The only person to truly be forsaken was Jesus, and He is the only one who didn’t deserve it. Amazing love.

I pray that we “may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:18-19

That’s it for today - we’d love to have any of you come and stay with us. Our home is open to all of you. We are so thankful to God for providing us with a home and pray that it will be a blessing to others.

In His love,
Carole and the Kids