Hooding ceremony at Baccalaureate service

“Congratulations upon completion of your five year adventurous journey. Certainly it is a job well done.  You have ‘fought the good fight.’ You have finished well. May the Lord continue to use you more than ever before for His glory. So glad to share the journey with you!  Looking forward to all that God has for us in the future.”

Annie has been faithfully working away at this degree as we pastored the church, taught at Faith Seminary, and dealt with lots of important family issues.It was during her studies that both my parents became ill.  My mother struggled with cancer for over two years.  Annie stayed by her side and ministered to her till the end when my mother finally passed away.  Soon after, my father had kidney failure and had a long struggle with dialysis and treatments.  Annie spent lots of time at the hospital with him too.  Later he moved in with my brother Charlie when he and his wife took up much of the responsibility of taking care of him.  My father finally passed away and went to be with the Lord.  Also during the last five years, I had severe complications with my lower disks and had several situations where I was bed-ridden up to three months.  During these times, Annie dutifully took up the entire load of the household.  What a load to bear!  Yet she held on and kept up with all her responsibilities including being a good mother to two teenage children.Another important responsibility that she worked on was the children’s ministry of our church, Lifetime Vineyard.  Sunday School, VBS, and all other special events went on smoothly under her direction.  And oh, yes, Inner Healing and Deliverance sessions were not put aside either.  Her passion to see people delivered and live full lives for Christ kept her in that path too.  She has also spent lots of time one on with people personally and over the phone with many of the people of the church.Finally, it was during the same time that I was working on my studies at the University of South Africa.  Although much of my work was done by distance, that meant lots of my time spent with books as well, along with several weeks  in Bangalore and a few months in Kottayam working on my dissertation.  She took on a full load during all these times.  Now, she has completed the Ph.D. with flying colors…3.936 GPA…wow.  I am very proud of you my dear!
Try this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6pbT7QMFTs

Two years and three months after my mother passed away, my father has joined her. Pappa passed away on 17 June 2009 at 7am. He was moved out of the ICU on the 16th since there was nothing else the doctors could do for him. He had gotten to the point where there was no more response when he is called. After he was moved to the room, we tried to make him as comfortable as possible. Since the neurologist had told me that he may still have his hearing, I called Charlie and asked him to bring some CD’s with old songs that he likes, and the audio Bible in Malayalam. We played that in the room throughout the day, in hopes that he would be able to hear. He had said many times that since his eyesight is poor now, he cannot read the Bible anymore. That was a great loss for him…not to be able to read the Bible. I had always tried to get him to listen to the audio Bible, but he always said, “yes, but its not the same as reading it for yourself.”

During the night, I was in the hospital room with Pappa. Since his breathing was heavy, I followed his breathing throughout the night. I woke up many times and would listen carefully for the sound of his breathing. Finally, in the morning at 7am, he breathed his last, to be with his Lord that he loved so much.

In 1998, when my wife spoke with my mother about the death of both of her parents, Mummy recited this verse: “Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations” Psalm 90:1. It is good to know that our parents served and trusted God and passed on that faith to us. That gives us hope to transfer the same faith on to the next generation.

Thanks to all who prayed for us during this difficult time. I know that it was the prayers of so many that helped us to gain strength in God. Thanks for the many emails, sms, and blog comments that were left (including chat that I did not reply). Thank you.

This “report” was written when my father was hospitalized after a fall which caused a concussion in his head…
Currently, my father is in critical condition. There seems to be no change in his situation. It seems that the convulsions that he experienced may have done further damage to his brain, especially the left part of the brain. This has affected the right side of his body, and its movements. Nevertheless, his whole body seems to lack any movement. When we call him, he only opens his eyes, and nothing more.
The Nephrologist and Neurologist are working together on a solution (a Cardiologist is also involved), but if by this weekend, the situation does not improve, there is nothing more that could be done for him. At that point, he may be moved to a regular room from the ICU for Palliative care. A special thanks to all who are praying for us at this difficult time. Pray especially for us that we will be able to make wise decisions at the appropriate time. Also, do not feel compelled to call us on the phone…an email (or a comment on this blog) notifying us that you are praying for us is sufficient. Again, thanks for backing us up with your prayers.

The operation went well. I spoke to the doctor just a minute ago. He said that at least 90% of the clotted blood has been removed. The bleeding was not in the brain, just within the skull. The rest of the blood that is left will be drained out gradually, and if necessary, they will need to go in again and remove more. He is responding well, but still weak from the surgery. His response is not fully normal, but that will take some time. There were various complicating factors such as his age, kidney problems, diabetes, blood pressure, and other items. The doctors were not able to give him general anesthesia, so only local anesthesia was given. He is still in the ICU. Let’s pray that he will recover quickly.

He needs to be hospitalized for at least two more weeks to get things settled. The irony is that he has been going to this same hospital three times per week for dialysis. The one hour plus drive there is quite a drain for him at his age and his condition. But this is the closest hospital with a full time Nephrologist on staff. Kerala, with 31.8 million people, has only 15 nephrologists for the entire state. That is quite an alarming situation, and that affects the care given to the patients. Most doctors leave the country and go abroad for work.

For the next month, the blood thinning medicines cannot be used for him, which makes his dialysis more difficult. They say that this may result in less quality of the purification of the blood that takes place through the dialysis.

Thanks again for your prayers.

So the waiting continues as the results of my dissertation will only come in March. As my work has been completed, Annie began her dissertation in January. She is planning to finish within two years. In the mean time, we were involved in several other exciting things.

On the 2^nd of January, we both taught at a seminar for Sunday School Teachers from a group of churches called PMG Church. All of the PMG churches from the Trivandrum, Kerala area gathered for this training event. As far as I can remember, this is a first for us doing some “team teaching” outside of our local church setting. Their response was good, and of course, we hope it benefited them.

During January 5-11, we had the convention and graduation at Faith Theological Seminary. The convention lasts for the entire week, and the graduation was on Friday morning, with 85 students graduating. It is great to have watched these students develop spiritually, theologically, and as individuals during their time here.

The following week, our friends from the Delhi Vineyard came and visited us. Our acquaintance goes back to our first week in Florida (1992) as we were about to begin planting the Sunrise Vineyard Christian Fellowship. They stayed with us in our home in Kerala and visited a few of the Carecells and spoke at the missionary chapel at Faith Theological Seminary. On Sunday, he spoke at the church in both of the services. Their stay and ministry among us was a blessing to us.

Nathan has his final exams for the 9^th standard, and Sharon will begin her exams next week. For Nathan, he will be going on to the 10^th after his exams. This school finishes the 9^th early so they can begin the classes for the next year early. Their plan is to get them prepared for some major examinations that come up after the 10^th grade.

Please pray that we will stay faithful to the call upon our lives. Thanks for your prayers for us as we endeavor to be faithful in the work God has entrusted to us.