Transition

Jerry had removed the two keys from my keychain, and now I taped them onto a paper where I lettered the words, NURSERY and CHURCH OFFICE. I slipped the keys into the folder that was positioned on the desk that had been Jerry’s. It was for the new pastor. At 1:30 on Tuesday, September 28th, 2010 we closed the church door behind us and got into our loaded-down car. I was crying.

Bittersweet. It’s a compound word that has been bandied about for weeks now since we knew for sure that another family would be taking our place at Christ Alive Worship Center. It’s been a wild ride, these 3 and 1/2 years since we began the planting of a church here in Lake Havasu; an unforgettable time, remarkable, exhausting, unexpected, “gut-wrenching,” and fulfilling.

We were highly honored at the final services on Friday evening and Sunday morning, with the Arizona District Superintendent Gary Hogan preaching on Friday, and our youngest son, Andrew, preaching on Sunday morning.  All our children were there, and each of them spoke at one time or another during the weekend services. Most touching were those Lake Havasu persons who, touched by our pitiful efforts, have been won to God, and whose lives have been drastically changed. Three such men who spoke briefly are shown here; David Rowe, Kevin Brown, and Eric Grey. PLEASE pray for all the new people in Lake Havasu. They are so precious, so fragile, so needy.

…and so Jerry and I have transitioned once more into a new phase of our lives. A new pastor and his family are in place in Lake Havasu, Rev. and Mrs. Steven McDaniel. We’ve emptied and parked our motor home, and are now enjoying our home in Crestline, Ca. I feel sad. I feel happy. It is a bittersweet time.