DLmail 12/31/2008 Not For Kids

First of all, thanks go to Tim and Zach, the lone 4th/5th leaders who were able to show last Saturday night. Thanks to Susan for loaning Kimmie to supplement the shallow leader pool in the Factory. According to Susan all went well and Zach, it turns out, is a great 4 corners proctor. Thanks for serving.


Pam and I made it safely to (in the fog) and back (in the fog/rain which is ironic considering Randy's blog title) from the Celebration of Life for Randy Shafer in Jackson, MI last Saturday. There was a nice tidy contingent from Northwoods in attendance. The service was one of the most unique I had ever witnessed and yes, Randy spoke at his own funeral. But that wasn't the toughest part surprisingly. Randy spoke clearly about the importance of our personal relationship with Christ. As he experienced and expressed to us, nothing really matters but that relationship, followed by human to human relationships. Money, position, achievements...worth less than we realize. The toughest part for me and for so many in the room (and it was standing room only and the average age of the attendees was probably only 30) was when his children, Jenn, Ian and Emma stepped up to honor him in song. Each sang a verse solo, then together. Powerful. The music was loud and surprising. Randy picked it all out and he chose this as the closing song (click here). It was performed better than the original in my opinion and will forever remind me of Randy as it starts slow and crescendos to head banging levels. Quite a day. An inspiring and worthy life to celebrate.


This week we jump back on the DL horse. Kevin and Monica returned safely from their trip to see family in Newport. So the three of us and anyone else who wants to join will reconnect with the kids this Saturday. Click here to access your January small group info. Our core virtue for January is Resourcefulness. The Bible story is Taking Care of Business (A principle of work) and is found in Colossians 3:22-24. Our memory verse is Col. 3:23 "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men." If you missed last weekends message from Cal and want to catch it, click here.


There are a couple wintry photos taken within the past couple weeks in this post. Name the location of either and win a prize. Finally, whatever you do, don't let your small children see this picture (taken by yours truely before the curtains opened for Christmas service #7 of 9) below. Irrepairable harm could come and I don't need that on my shoulders right now. ****IN an act of extreme kindness and compassion, the original "Santa slightly out of costume" pic has been replaced with the one of Santa and this beautiful young 20 somethingish girl.****
One more thing, can someone please tell me the name of the first song on this skydiving video? I know the second song is Beautiful Day by U2, I am just too old to understand any of the lyrics of the first song and I really want to know the title. Thanks.

DLmail 12/26/2008 Randy's FUNeral

This will be brief. I won't be at church this Saturday. Pam and I will be trekking to Michigan for Randy Shafer's funeral. I know that Tim and Zach are scheduled to be there. Kevin and Monica are gone this weekend as well and my attempts to add subs so far are fruitless, but it will happen. This Saturday is likely to be a lightly attended service, and for once I am really hoping for low numbers of kids(odd).

I am 1/4 Croation, 1/4 German, 1/8 Italian, 1/8 Scottish, 1/16 Cherokee and 3/16 Guilt, but this time my guilty feelings of missing DL are being overridden by a sincere desire to honor Randy and support Beth, Jenn, Ian and Emma at the funeral. So I am trying to not worry, to let go. Thanks for understanding. Click here for the small group material for this weekend.

Randy was a great shepherd, mentor, pastor, father, husband, friend...and manicurist?

DLmail 12/16/2008 snotfree blood

Ah, Christmas break in Discoveryland. Preceeded directly by Keith almighty delivering the message and leading worship. I didn't photoshop his picture. I was just nicely positioned as the non-rolling clouds appeared behind him. A great job by all as we considered those shepherds and their role in the Christmas story. Yes, I am sure you all agree, Rachel White and Nathan Rychener are freaks when it comes to stage presence. They have it.

This coming Saturday I expect to see none of you as there is no DLand. Prepare by doing nothing in particular. Actually I might see some of you. The Lingenfelter family is currently living at church and will through Dec. 24th, so if you come, look for me. Even Pam is there. She arose yesterday. Very nice. If you see her just keep in mind, big squeezing hugs aren't the best.

I hope you all get to come to the Christmas program. It is sure to be great.

Last Saturday I snapped some pics during small group time. Kevin, Monica and Tim were all completely involved with their kids. How great is it for these kids to have you guys. I am humbled by your gifts and your willingness to serve. You ROC. If you missed Cal's excellent message last week, click here.

I am finding my role as caretaker is getting heavier. Last week was a tough week. I even ended up with my first cold in a long time, bad timing there, making everything seem harder to do. However, Pam is beginning to come around. Our kids are doing great. And this morning I was blowing pure blood into the tissue. That has to be good, because before I was blowing lots of other stuff, you know, infected looking stuff. Wooohooo, almost better. Take care. Drive safely. Wash your hands. Don't, I repeat don't, walk on icey sidewalks and steps with your hands in your pockets.

DLmail 12/07/2008 Early Edition

This DLmail will be one to save simply because it is the only one ever sent on a Sunday. I would save it just like people saved the newspaper front page when JFK was shot or the Michael Phelps 8 gold medal SI cover, just a super special DLmail.

Last night Rogy was given the night off, our attorney was practicing in Mexico, and Jeannine was lost, running in circles, so we were treated to Rachel on stage. The poor girl was born with the gift of near perfect articulation and inflection and it works. She delivered the message of "What if" this week. What if Christmas WAS all about presents? To so many it is. We had limited small group time, but what I saw seemed really effective. The kids did rethink the present thing and most admitted that yes, it really is about Jesus and spending time with families. It was a good night and it finished promptly, rather it finished way early. Soon you'll be able to click here and hear Tim Reist's concise message from mainstage about finding purpose.

I will email more info later this week to you all about our plan for next Saturday night, it isn't a regular program. I plan to see Kevin & Monica, Tim and maybe Zach...I can't remember. Not a new thing for me.

Thanks for serving. More to come.

Road trip to Randy 12/5/2008

So maybe my trip to see Randy and the entire Shafer family with Scott Farris yesterday wasn't totally like the roadtrips of my youth. Other than the miles, it wasn't anything like them at all. So much better.

Thank you Randy, Beth, Jenn, Ian and Emma.

Pictures are included of course, Randy sitting with his front porch behind him, the woods in the back yard, the plants on the deck that will need to come in before winter arrives, Randy sandwich with Scott and Rick, the family pics (those smiles!)...thousands and thousands of unwritten words in these pics.

GI Jane from Jan. 20, 2005

Pam might vaguely remember this moment. She left the darkness of her room for a few minutes for a haircut...an extreme hair makeover of sorts.

Cha cha cha cha changes

The second round of chemo for Pam came on Wednesday the 19th. That was the same day that her hair really started coming out. Pam decided that she had control over one thing, and that was her hair. It was coming off when she decided it would.

Her chemo treatment once again threw her down. She hadn't slept since Sunday night and last night the trend continued. So with this round she got to be wide awake for all of the nausea. She spent the entire night throwing up. At least her headache was not quite as severe this time. At 4:30am today (Thursday) she finally fell asleep. She slept until 4:30pm when she got out of bed just long enough to have the kids shave her head.

Under Tierney's guidance, the kids cut their mom's hair. It was a good move on Pam's part as this was so much better than just emerging from her room suddenly bald and shocking them. She went for an intermediate baldness by going for a GI Jane cut. As it continues to come out she will have to decide to go all the way down to avoid a mangy look. Of course we will photograph that to share as well. This is a well documented case of cancer.

The photos of the haircut speak for themselves. The first photos show the once long, dark, curly hair still seeming to be firmly planted in Pam's head as she sat for her second chemo treatment. Emory and Flo were there to help out. It is not the most fun place to go, but Pam is a faithful little soldier going in and taking her medicine without complaining. She knows God is walking her through this and
she will use this experience to strengthen her faith.
Rick

Chemo Barbie from Jan. 6, 2005

I love Flat Top Grill. We stopped going there after Jan. 6, 2005 however. I miss it. Pam gets sick just driving by it. Another chemo side effect...aversions. Flat Top Grill, ice, smoothies in particular and cold drinks in general, and a bunch of other stuff have disappeared from Pam's diet since the first day of chemotherapy. The following email documents the day that Pam's confidence that she was going to get through cancer and chemotherapy without too much trouble completely disappeared. It was also the day that her memory began being erased and Chemo Barbie arrived on the scene. This email also contained a rare photo of Pam, wet hair, no makeup...don't know how this was ever allowed, but I like it.


Chemo Barbie Email Thursday 1/6/2005


Pam is the classic chemo patient...sick. We went to her first chemo treatment yesterday (Wednesday) at 9am. They gave her three pre-chemo drugs then the two actual chemo drugs. We left the office more than 5 hours later, a little after 2pm. Flat Top Grill is close to the cancer center so we went there for a late lunch with Emory and Flo hoping to get some food into Pam. For those who haven't been there, you write your name on a little wooden paddle that goes into your bowl of food, then the server knows which bowl to return to which person. I noticed Pam was a little drunk from the drugs. She wasn't remembering much of anything. I think she forgot her name. But what's her dad's (Emory) excuse? The server arrived and asked for Rick. Then Flo. Then Bob (?). By default, I thought, Pam got her bowl without her name being spoken. Then I looked at her paddle and she had written Chemo Barbie. She doesn't remember doing that.


Since then she has been down, literally. The effects of the chemo are supposed to show up 24-48 hours after the treatment. She passed out the first time at Flat Top. By 5:30pm they were full blown obvious. An incredible headache was accompanied by incredible sickness. The nausea is unrelenting. By today at 3pm, she was told to go back to the oncologist to be hydrated. She sucked down some IV nausea meds and two bags of saline. We got home around 6pm and it was back to bed for Pam with all the lights out. The headache won't break. They told her not to try to eat or drink anything as they want the vomitting to stop. Small amounts of water are even a problem. Chemotherapy is very glamorous. I wonder why it hasn't caught on as a recreational drug?


We ask and thank you for your prayers. Seems like we have been asking for them for months now...actually we have. This stage of cancer has proven to be less fun than we were warned. Pray for our kids now as they haven't been able to have their mom much lately. I think I am just as much fun as ever though, so they have that going for them. Some people think I look tired and stressed, but that is impossible.


Pam has a list of about 90 people she wants to write thank you notes to and she is feeling guilty that she hasn't gotten it done. So if you are one of the many who have sent us gifts, served us, taken care of our kids, fed us, prayed with us, etc., know that we are thankful, just not quite capable of putting it in writing as proper manners dictate. Someday.


Pam was able to serve with me in church last Saturday. It was her first appearance since the first Saturday in November. She was able to explain to the kids what has gone on and prepare them for the chemo stage (and the physical changes that are coming). Once again we gathered around her and prayed and at least 6 or 7 of the kids voluntarily prayed beautiful, meaningful prayers. Very spiritually mature 10 and 11 year olds. We are so thankful for our faith and all of those God has placed around us.


Rick

Finale from Feb. 27, 2005

I thought the adventure was over when Pam's chemotherapy regimen was shortened from 8 treaments over 4 months to 4 over 2 (this happened when it became very evident that this protocol treatment and Pam were not compatible). Little did I know that the effects of the chemo would continue to haunt Pam for a very long time, so I closed out my regular updates for the most part and Pam drifted into obscurity to wage a more private battle with what she was left with. It hasn't been fun, but the last four years have been very special. The update below contains some bald pics of Pam. I hope she doesn't mind, she didn't back then, but she was in la-la-land at the time. More potential trouble for me...

Email update from 2/27/2005

Hopefully the last word




This should be the last time you hear from the Lingenfelter family, medically speaking. After adding a half gallon (4 units?) of blood to Pam, she was released from the hospital. That was around 9:30pm last night. There was no internal bleeding as they first freaked us out with upon arrival in the ER Thursday night. Just a nasty dose of chemo 8 days earlier that worked it's magic and killed off a lot of Pam's blood supply. If her chemo has worked it's way out, this new blood should keep her feeling better until her body once again begins producing new hemoglobin.
We don't plan on having to go back as the chemo regimen is over. Pam has made some new friends on the oncology floor at the hospital, but she won't be longing to have any more sleepovers there. Pam had a friend stay with her Friday night, so I could go home and try to sleep off my flu. Somewhere between 11pm Friday night and 8am Saturday morning they had a party. Remember, Pam gets drugs in the hospital. When I opened the door to the room Saturday morning the first thing I saw was a Domino's Pizza box on the floor. Munchies? Seems that around 1am, with the sleeping drugs not working, Pam ordered up a pizza. Whoops! She went to the hospital in her jammies. No money. Her friend Deb was moneyless as well. Somehow they "sort of" paid for it. It was probably the only pizza delivered to the cancer floor all night.

Friday, after the first two units of blood were given, but before Pam really started feeling better, the kids came to visit. No matter how bad she feels, Pam always cranks out a great smile. By Saturday night, with the full half gallon of blood, Pam's color had recovered from the awful gray of last week. She was actually feeling better and ready to be home.

Below is a picture of the binders containing the encouraging letters, cards and emails. The card binder is ten inches thick, and the printed emails number into the hundreds. The gifts, meals, babysitting, Pamsitting, housecleaning, laundry, errand running and above all prayers have meant more than we can ever express. My hope is that we are not unique, that everyone who is sick and needs help is supported as much as we have been. But I know they aren't, and that is sad. It is hard enough getting through with a ton of help, but alone it must be unbelievable. All I can say is if you encounter any major illness, let people know so they can pray for and serve you. That is what we as Christians do, we serve. And sometimes we need to be served.

I am droning on as I usually do, but at least this is officially the last Pam update. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Rick

Chemisery from Feb. 3, 2005

I have decided to post some of the updates I gave on Pam when she went through cancer the first time four years ago. I am posting them in no particular order. Pam's memory once chemo started in Jan. of 05 was virtually erased, except for the bad stuff. Actually much of the details of Pam's life during 05 and 06 are at best vague memories to her now. Some of what I am posting, if she reads this, will be news to her. I could be in trouble.

Email 2/3/2005 Pam News

First of all, I hadn't planned on sending another update so soon, so if getting these emails is driving you nuts, just block me, I won't be offended. Pam will be crushed, but I won't mind.

Secondly, if you are getting this it is likely bad news. Bad news is almost always more interesting than good, just watch TV news, it is all bad and we all watch.

Finally, I send these updates because people seem to honestly care about what is going on. I get asked all the time how Pam is doing. She is so encouraged as people respond. Everyone should have the support our family has received. I will be sending a photo soon that graphically illustrates this. You have that to look forward to.

Bear with me on this email, it is getting harder and harder to make cancer information entertaining and humorous. Especially when it is Pam's cancer. Cancer takes on new meaning when it is you or your family. I have a much greater appreciation for many, many people nowadays.

Treatment #3 was yesterday. You would think it would be getting easier. Think again. The treatment was from noon to 5pm. They slowed down the introduction of the toxins in hopes that the side effects would be lessened. By 9:45pm last night (Wednesday) the expected nausea/vomitting began. At least I didn't hear much about the headache this time. The vomitting never stopped. It worsened all through the sleepless night. We are talking literally here, she threw up (or heaved for a while) at least 6 times an hour. That doesn't leave much time for sleeping.

By 3:45am today (Thursday), she couldn't take anymore. Her body was aching and she could no longer control many of the things we all take for granted. She hadn't had anything to eat or drink since the required ice chips at 1pm Wednesday (the ice keeps the sores in her mouth caused by the chemo from erupting). Anyway, we woke her oncologist up at 3:45am and asked him what to do. He said wait for his office to open at 8am or go to the ER now, our choice (thanks!?). Here is where Pam and I differ. I always choose the option that says wait. In my mind, in 4 hours she would likely be better. That is what I would choose if it were me (recall my wise move a year ago, waiting for the heart attack to go away, man I am stupid). Pam was voting for the ER. I was stalling, then her body, that had lost most normal functions, spoke to me independent of Pam herself. How? It had not been producing much more than spit during the most recent heaves, but it suddenly produced a load of electric yellow sryup, right into the 4 cup measuring cup she uses as she is too weak to get to the bathroom. (Sorry for the graphic description, but everyone wants to know this stuff, really). Wala! I changed my vote from WAIT to GO.

My experience has always been that as soon as you get to the hospital, your symptoms are gone and you are going to ace all the tests. Pam got there at 4:15am and proceeded to flunk every test she was given. Her body kept finding unusual things to throw up in the ER. They were taking her very seriously. Let me tell you, I have never seen my beautiful wife look worse. I actually teared up. I don't remember crying since I was like 4 years old. While in the ER, her failed tests were indicating that her body had some major life threatening issues that required admission. So she has been there ever since, with interesting bags of fluids being pumped into her and more tests being administerd. Don't know when she gets to come home, but I assume tomorrow. I managed to make it to tonight without sleeping since Wednesday morning. The hospital will take better care of Pam than I can tonight. Last night I realized I could never be a doctor. I glaze over and don't know what to do. My instinct of waiting for it to get better is not all that helpful in real emergencies. I have also found that there is very little you can do to comfort someone in Pam's condition last night. The oncologist told her today that she is in yet another small percentage group of people who have her chemo reactions (1 in 10). Treatment #4 will be administered in the hospital with a mandatory post-chemo admission.

Tonight we had a blessing as across the hall from Pam was our friend Kendra Fowler. Her brother has been admitted, his life on the line. Pam has nothing but time to pray right now. So she is praying for Harold, as Kendra continues to pray for Pam. You know, in Pam's clear times/healthy times, she is totally focused on ministry ideas and opportunities. Amazing. She has been encouraging many and serving God while her body has been busy coloring and blending fluids for public display.


Rick

PS - cancer and it's treatment deserve the reputation it carries...uh oh, Erin just checked my heart and didn't hear anything, that can't be good. Better wait this out and see if it is beating tomorrow morning, when I have to go back to the hospital anyway

DLmail 12/01/2008 τριάντα τρία

I think I was in my early forties when I stopped believing in Bigfoot. I managed to put that fear away (put it in a mental lockbox with the terror filled thoughts of the childcatcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and the monkeys from the Wizard of Oz, then threw the imaginary key away). Then along comes this dude from the Treehouse. I hadn't thought of Sasquatch at all last Saturday until Mr. Messin plops down to listen to Rogy. Dang I have issues.

Now I couldn't concentrate much on what Rick was saying, but at some point he pulled out the drama team and recaptured my attention along with a roomful of eager listeners. It is the most wonderful time of the year. These kids just love the Christmas season and we have some incredibly talented Discoveryland graduates available to help Mr. Rick deliver some of the Christmas message. Rick did a great job with the teaching for the second week in a row. Keith Lindgren is back on the scene in his role as Factory programmer/worship guy and worked the crowd like few guys from Henry can.

This coming Saturday we will continue the "What If" series with What if Christmas was all about presents? Our memory verse is "This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world." 1 John 4:9. Our Bible story is the Birth of Jesus, Luke 2:1-20. Click here for the small group leader material. Click here if you missed Cal's mainstage message and want to catch it. Pray for all these kids so that they will understand the actual meaning of Christmas. Pray for more gifted leaders to step up to serve with us (we are just three for this coming weekend until I find someone who will join us).

τριάντα τρία...you wonder what this means I suppose. Jesus lived to be τριάντα τρία...yes, that is Greek for thirty three...pat yourself on the back if you already knew that. Now, go get a life if you are such a GrEEK scholar that you knew the Greek words for 33. Anywho, it is well known by me that Kevin Stewart really admires Jesus, loves Him as a matter of fact, and is now τριάντα τρία (33), just like Jesus was. Happy belated XXXIIIrd birthday Kevin, you are greatly appreciated young"not-so-much-anymore" man.