Got this from Leah:
Billy is healing at a remarkable rate, though sometimes not fast enough for Billy. His injuries and recovery have have left his throat muscles weak and thus far he hasn’t be able to swallow foods. St. Marys did a swallow test when Billy arrived and he was given exercises to do to help strengthen those muscles. The therapists had hoped to do another test this week; however, Billy’s progress has not been as quick as they -or he -would like and so the therapists are saying that they won’t do another test for 3 weeks. Please pray that Billy will be able to progress with strengthening these muscles. He is wanting fried chicken and mashed potatoes! Overall Billy is doing well, but his recovery is taking longer than he would like.
The realtor is holding an open house for the Townsend home on the 22nd. Pray that the family that God has chosen will be there and that the sale will go through quickly. The Pattys are also selling their 2005 Class C RV and would like prayer for that to be a quick sale.
Gina asked they we pray for Terry’s (her cousin) girlfirend. She is to have surgery on her knee. She had another request for Judy (she couldn’t remember the last name) who has thyroid cancer.
I’ll forgive anyone that wants to skip this paragraph, but I want to share with you that my Grandmother passed away yesterday, about a month shy of 102 years old. What an amazing woman she was! She was not a deep thinker, and never had any fancy things, but she was always the first one to step forward and do what needed doing. She worked in a bomber plant during WWII, was a 4H leader for an astounding 50 years, served for many years as an election judge, worked at the county fair for 60+ years, and still found time to put up hundreds of jars per year of canned goods. I spent large chunks of my summers with my grandparents, and there was seldom a day we didn’t visit two or three neighbors and NEVER A TIME that we didn’t take along a jar of jelly, green beans, pickled beets, honey (my Grandpa became a beekeeper late in life — a great story in its own right; ask me sometime if you care to hear it), or at least a sack of squash or turnips. I saw in Granny Baker — everyone in the east Tulsa County community of Lynn Lane knew her as “Granny Baker” from the time she was in her 40s, even folks 20 years older than her — what it meant to love not just with the heart, but with both hands as well. She touched countless lives in her lifetime, as far as I know ALL for the better. She “ran the good race”, all the way to the finish line, and is now enjoying her reward. Our sadness at missing her pales compared to our joy at having known her.
Remember, love “always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” 1 Corinthians 13:7-8 Thank you for loving Billy and persevering in your hope and prayer for him. Please pray for us as we drive to Oklahoma.
-Joe
