Greetings from a much cooler Indiana. When Madonna went to the kitchen to make her coffee this morning, it was only 50 outside. But, we have blue skies and it is warming up some, but we still need sweaters when we go outside.
The time seems to be going by quickly and we will be returning to Honduras in about two weeks. We did get a call through to Gilma, Madonna’s nurse and things are going well in Las Brisas, but she did have some said news. Mari, our neighbor’s daughter died of AIds not long after we left. Please pray for the children she left behind and her parents, Tomas and Miriam as they will have three grandchildren now to look after. We are thankful that Mari was a Christian and had been attending Church faithfully.
We have been blessed as we visit our supporting Churches and our DVD with the pictures of families of our congregation has been well received as many say it is good to put the faces with the names we have mentioned so much. We have two more congregations to visit before we return to Honduras.
We had a nice surprise on August 31st when we walked into church at Normanda on our free Sunday to see Ziden and Helen Nutt who had come from Missouri. What a wonderful surprise!! Some members of the congregation gave us money, so we were able to take them out to eat and we had a good visit catching up on friends from our days in Rhodesia. We have a special bond as I delivered their son, Tom at Mashoko on August 16th, 1962. Then on August 16th, 1979, I delivered Caleb Plettner to Steve and Ann Plettner. I called both of them on their birthdays. Tom and Marla have three daughters and Caleb and Susie have four sons.
We have enjoyed a meal with Bruce Webster, the widower of Donna Webster who went with Madonna to Zimbabwe in 2010; a meal with Vera Mushrush and Marianne Underwood from around Pendleton, Ind.; a visit with Bev Cameon and her son, Bruce; a meal with John and Polly Mullen and Ed McKinney; Ed and his wife, Becky, now live in Hawaii and John and Polly are from Lafayette.; Lynn and Sally Johnson, Mike and Vonora Bishop and Jim Frasure from Bloomington–We met them and enjoyed a meal at an Indian restaurant; another meal in Anderson, Ind. with Vera again, Emrys and Usha Rees, missionaries from South India; and Linda and Roy Norville from Pendleton, Ind. Roy has had two heart attacks and two strokes, so please pray for him. This week we will drive to Greenwood, Indiana and have a meal with Charles and Louise Gearhart. Madonna has known Louise since the 70’s. We are doing a lot of visiting, resting, reading, eating and watching football and baseball on TV.
Danny now has a hospital bed and has been able to sleep better than in his chair and his bedsores are clearing up and Marilyn said it was easier to give him a bath than in the bathroom on the toilet. We try to visit Madonna’s sister, Marianna and her cousin, Phyllis, each week.
Please pray for Dr. Denny Pruett, the doctor with whom Madonna worked at Mashoko in the 60’s. He has cancer of the esophagus and weill be going through chemo and radiation therapy. Marcia Kay Thomson, long time missionary from Zimbabwe passed away in the evening of September 21. Our forwarding agent’s husband had a mild stroke, but recovered quickly and is doing well, but their son, Michael needs your prayers as he suffers from a bad lung problem. We are so thankful for our good health.
This will be our last update from Indiana. We are looking forward to returning home to Las Brisas.
We continue to be thankful for Danny and Marilyn sharing their home with us. We are blessed. Love, John and Madonna