A Full Weekend

I have roughly two hours to get something posted today.  Maybe I'll resort to a lazy way of organizing this post--by numbering the things I want to write about.  That way I need to pay less attention to flow, transitions, etc.  

1.  Today for the very first time ever I vocalized agreement with the sermon right there in the middle of our quiet church service, while the sermon was being delivered.  My vocalization was actually pretty quiet, so I don't think anyone was scandalized by it.   David preached, and he touched on several themes that I have been waiting for several years to hear about from the pulpit.  I could have cried with relief that so many things that I have been feeling in my bones, at least since 2016, could actually garner a hearing when uttered by someone with the gravitas of our retired bishop.  At centramishmennonite.org you can hear it for yourself.  Look for the Livestream link in the upper right corner of the home screen.  The part that I'm especially referring to was in the last part of the sermon.  

2.  Tonight Ryan Korver spoke to a big crowd at the Pleasantview Activity Center.  He is in the area to visit his grandparents and other relatives.  He and his family and 13 others were taken hostage by a gang in Haiti and were held for 60 days--from mid-October to mid-December 2021.  They escaped at the end of that time under cover of darkness, with their captors nearby, apparently distracted or preoccupied since they had a direct line of vision to their escape route.   Ryan and the others with him attribute their deliverance to a series of miracles.  Here's the link if you would like to hear the account.  

I'll take just a bit of time here to explain something that was referenced but not elaborated on in tonight's presentation.  Ryan referred to his grandparent's courage in refusing to give permission to have a grandson of theirs aborted.  That grandson is Ryan's first cousin.  His name is Grant Bontrager.  He opened the meeting tonight with a brief meditation and prayer.  I feel free to tell the story here because Grant himself has told the story publicly at various times, and it has been printed in one or more media outlets.  

Eldon and Mary Ellen Bontrager are the grandparents.  Their daughter Carolyn owns and operates Carolyn's Essenhaus (restaurant) in Arlington.  Ryan's mother is Carolyn's sister.  At the time of his birth, Ryan's parents lived in Kansas but moved to Wisconsin later.  

The elder Bontragers had a family of eight children, several of whom were severely  multiply handicapped--all daughters.  They cared for each of the children in their own home for many years, but at some point those with handicaps were placed in a state institution. All of them required total care (they could not speak, sit up unsupported, or walk), and care just couldn't be managed at home anymore.  

The unthinkable happened to one of these daughters while she was in state care.  She was impregnated by an employee of the institution.  Dire predictions were made about the likelihood of this baby being born with severe handicaps, and abortion was recommended.  Long story short, abortion did not happen and the baby arrived tiny but healthy some months later.  He was immediately taken into the home of the child's birth uncle's family.  From a 4 lb. 6 oz. start in life he has grown to a 6 ft. 4 in. stature, and is now happily married.  

The memory of his grandparents' courage gave Ryan direction and resolve to lead out in planning an escape.

Both of the elder Bontragers have declining health.  I'm ever-so-glad though that they have lived long enough to see their own perseverance and good life choices impacting the lives of their children's children--to the third and fourth generation, as Scripture puts it.  

3.  Yesterday a large fire broke out in the eastern part of our country.  It was driven by powerful, shifting winds.  Details are still quite sketchy, but several homesteads were completely destroyed in the blaze, several people suffered burns, and two people are still missing and presumed dead.  Search and rescue operations are underway.  The fire chief who spoke today said "this one was a lot worse" than the fire five years ago that destroyed 12 homes north of Hutchinson--the Highlands fire.  This one is known as the Cottonwood Complex Fire.  

This afternoon we've had some sleet and snow.  While I don't think it's enough to squelch the hot spots that are still present, it's certainly to be preferred over the extremely dry conditions we had yesterday.  At 10:00 this morning, the fire chief said the fire is not contained, and those who were evacuated from the 12-square-mile area (or 12,000 acres) that burned have not been allowed back in.  

This was not a forest fire, but a grassland fire, in sand hill terrain.  Nevertheless, mixed into the tall dry grasses are redcedar trees and sand-hill plums, along with some taller cottonwoods and possibly elms.  All these provide plenty of fuel to produce a formidable and destructive blaze. Here's a link to the update at 10:00 this morning.

Later update:  One body has been recovered, and the other missing person has been found safe. 

4.   Hope Ministries organized a ladies' retreat for Friday evening and Saturday.  I didn't attend, but my sister Linda did.  I know that people came from other states to be here.

5.  The final figures for the fundraiser to help with the hospital bill came to over $70,000.00 plus.  

6.  LaVerne turned 70 last week, entitling him to full retirement as one of our pastors.  That leaves only David among the four who were in my class in school. He has a July birthday.  

Today while I was finishing up studying in preparation for teaching a Sunday School class, I noted that Jacob did again what he had done several times before.  He built an altar to mark a special event, in this case, having bought land and settled permanently in a new location.  I wondered idly why we didn't mark the retirement of our pastors with more ceremony.  I'm not big on celebrations of all kinds, but I do think our ministers' service may deserve more recognition than we've been giving it. 

7.  One more link.  I haven't had time to read all of it, but I love that there's a recent "Anabaptist Viewpoint" paper on the topic of The Christian and Nationalism.