2/03/10 - Sorrow and Joy

Mike's Dad went to be with Jesus this morning after entering the hospital last Thursday with bilateral pneumonia (fluid in both lungs). He was a good man who had Jesus in his heart and read the Bible every day.

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." - John 14:6



One of Mike's fondest memories of his Dad is the times when he would come home from work and get down and wrestle and play with his kids on the floor. And sometimes he would bring home a candy bar for each of his four children.

We are praising God for many things: that Mike's Dad got to see all the pictures of the boys and was so excited for us, that we weren't in Ethiopia traveling this week, that his condition didn't linger for days, that the doctors and nurses and all hospital staff were wonderful, that both of our work places have been beyond compassionate and understanding, that Dad Vagnoni is no longer in any pain, and that God is always good.


There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. - Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

And today was also our time for the paperwork nightmare to come to an end. At approximately 3pm CST, we received a call from Susan in our congresswoman's office - National Visa Center (NVC) had received our paperwork and was scanning it and uploading it into the system. All that happens now is our travel coordinator at America World will email the Embassy in Ethiopia for verification and we are good to go!

What a day!

This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. - Psalm 118:24