Mission Week 2010 - The Mission Won't Stop

What satan has meant for evil, God means for good! No matter what happens our famiily is resolved; we will follow Christ by leading people to Jesus. Another opportunity to lead people to Jesus is taking place this
July 27- August 5...

Mission Week 2010 at Western Hills Church is just around the corner! This is a ministry that is close to our family's heart... especially Dad. Last year the Lord used Mission Week to spark a vision that has turned into The Mission at Western Hills Church. There were forty-seven registered salvation decisions at Mission Week last year. Since that week, there has been an additional 174 salvation decisions and 80 baptisms through The Mission projects at Western Hills! That equals well over 200 salvation decisions in less than one year! God is moving in the hearts of the people at Western Hills and using us to lead people to a personal relationship with Him.

Mission Week’s Mission Statement:
Reaching the community surrounding Western Hills Church with the gospel of Jesus Christ through acts of service, ministry to youth and children, and serving public officials.

These videos recap the events that happened during Mission Week 2009. I want to encourage you to take a few minutes and watch these videos so you can become more familiar with The Mission at Western Hills.


Mission Week 2009 – Week 1 Video


This video is a recap of Mission Week 2009's week one activities. The video includes sharing the gospel, work projects, back-to-school bash, the beginning of the Palma house project, and a weather miracle.


Mission Week 2009 – Week 2 Video


This video continues recaping Mission Week 2009 events. Video includes basketball camps, prayer meetings, school supply give-a-way, medical clinics, and finishing the Palma home.


Mission Week 2010 is open to anyone who is interested in reaching the lost and loving them to Jesus. There are several events taking place this year. Click here to view several PDF documents containing details on Mission Week 2010. To print volunteer registration forms for this event, please visit http://www.westernhillschurch.com/. You can also look for Mission Week 2010 as an event on facebook.

Thank you for your continued prayers for Dad. We will give another update in the near future. Most of all, thank you for praying for this event as we continue The Mission to reach the lost. We hope you will join us; whether by joining Western Hills or by simply reaching your neighbor who needs Jesus.

Who will you win in 2010?

Evil Serpent Now Where it Belongs!

While weed eating Thursday night Brandon accidentally chopped a snake that was UNDER OUR HOUSE!!! Ok, you have to understand, I am a country girl. I love good hard outdoor work. Killing bugs and spiders doesn’t bother me. Dirt? Bring it on. But snakes? Put me near a snake and I will squeel like a little girl and might even end up in a fetal position in a safe place.

(ok, fine. this is just how my imagination saw the snake but still...)

Actually, correction, I would try to find a safe place but it would be pointless because with snakes there is no safe place! So, now I must walk around with my eyes on guard searching for the nasty creatures. And I can’t just look down either. No, no, no my experience has found snakes to also be lurking above me. I walk with heavy feet hoping to scare the things before I see them. Now that I think about it that might not be the best idea. Cuz if I see one and then it disappears before it is killed…pandemonium. This happened once when I was a little girl. Early one morning mom walked in the bathroom to find a snake on the floor. Dad was already gone and no one else was up so she quickly went to get the phone to call 911. No just kidding, but help was needed! Papa Tuter was the one who got the blessed call. Besides where we lived Papa’s response time was much faster than 911’s even with him still being asleep upon the incoming of the call. By this time I was awake but the trouble had only begun. Mom, when calling for help, let that blasted snake out of her sight for just a moment, but that is all it took. I think the snake probably felt the hostility toward him and capitalized on mom’s error. That’s all it takes with snakes. One tiny error in judgment and boom you are now the preyed not the predator. Dad was already at work that morning but mom insisted he come home and find that snake! Mom and I bonded in a special way that morning while we huddled up on the kitchen table, feet and all, waiting for dad to save us. After the thirty minute drive home from the city dad patiently coaxed us down from our perch. Dad didn’t go back to work that day but instead went through who knows how many bottles of caulk sealing every hole in our house just to mom’s likings. Problem was dad did his job well. (Mom made sure of it!) But that snack hadn’t made a dash toward nature. Oh, no he went behind enemy lines! And now he had no way back out. One month later. Yes, ONE MONTH. I was going to pick up some toys that were on the floor in mom’s room but right before I did a slight movement caught her eye. The snack was underneath a night stand in her room. This time there was no error in judgment. Fortunately dad was home so I ran to get him. To the rescue he came. The snake would not see another sunrise.

I feel better after getting this out. I think it has helped in my coping process as you can clearly see I have been scarred by such snake experiences. I don’t wonder for a minute why in the garden of Eden the devil became the serpent. The creatures are just that..devilish.

And don’t give me that “it isn’t poisonous” or “it will eat bugs and mice”. It doesn’t help. (Refer to paragraph one.)

Sleep Tight but with one eye open!

(actual snake)

Rachael

Random Thought: What if that was the momma and there are babies under our house? OR what if that was the baby and now there is a really mad momma?!! AHHHH!!!!!

Let's get up to date! by Rachael

Dad, let’s get you up to date! :)

April 9th (before the accident) you helped us lay do some lawn work including laying sod. You should be pleased to know we managed, with the help of others who watered for us a few times after the accident, to keep the sod alive and well! The girls love having a place to play! Thanks for the help!

The day of the accident more than 200 people came through the waiting area to give us their prayers love and support.. We hosted a prayer meeting in the chapel and we waited. Friends brought dinner for us. The Ruckel’s kept the girls so I didn’t have to worry about anything. It’s good to have friends. In the days that followed, we had more food than we could eat, more love than we deserved, and more willing ready hands to help in any way we needed. I am glad to be a part of the body of Christ!

April 22nd was Elizabeth’s 3rd birthday! I know, I can hardly believe it too! I feel like she is 5 not 3. She acts so grown up. All of our hearts were at the hospital and none of us really wanted to venture out. For Elizabeth a party isn’t the location it is the people, presents, cake and ice cream and we had it all. Visiting hours were closed from 6:30-8:00 each morning and evening so we had the party during that time. It worked out great. Originally I had found a place outside on the OU grounds to host the party but the chances of rain were too high and it was really windy so Grandma found a quite secluded lobby. It was perfect and Lizzy had a great time! Amanda Sauer made the cake for me. We like decorating cakes together and I figured cake making was one thing I could take off my to do list. Of course, Amanda was more than willing and she did a FANTASTIC job making Elizabeth a Dora cake! I couldn't tell her thank you enough times! Lizzy still talks about it! Her bithday was good for us. It was good to have a reason to find our happy.

One week to the day after the accident we had a big training for all of the Character Focus Conferences. It went really well and then conference season swept us up. And just as fast as it had come it was over. The Lord did some awesome things! Brandon really stepped up dad… you would have been proud to see it. I think he is keeping something from us because he can mulit-task. (GASP!) Certainly it wasn’t all him though. Many people filled in the gaps and together with the Lord blessing the conferences were a success. The Ruckel’s volunteered and worked so many hard hours and long nights. They really, really helped; as did many others.

In May we celebrated Mother’s day. Justin got the Chicken Pox so we waited until a later date to celebrate. We all went to eat at Outback Steakhouse…you bought. :) Thank You, it was very good.


Lauren’s Birthday was also in May as well as Britt and Lauren’s 1st wedding anniversary! We didn’t do anything together as a family but her and Britt went to Dallas for a little get-a-way.

Oh, yeah guess what!?! They blew up the old cowboy’s stadium! I know! Look up ‘Texas Stadium Implosion’ on youtube and you can see it. Go Cowboys! I’m glad we can watch football together again this year. Elizabeth sees anything with OU on it and she says “look mom, Boomer Sooner!”. However, we need to make sure to get the OU message through loud and clear. There are people that I trusted with my children who taught them “Go Pokes”!!! At the breakfast table randomly Elizabeth says “look mom, this is how we do ‘Go Pokes’”. I look over and she has both hands in the gun position. “Do you want to do it?” she asks “No, Elizabeth I don’t want to do it! Boomer Sooner!” I replied. Even Katherine does it! I trust you and Brandon will fix this problem.

The summer has come and we are in full summer activity mode. Lots of swimming! I always make sure Katherine has her life jacket on before we even get to the back yard because I’m pretty sure she would just go straight in. By the end of the summer she will know how to get to the top of the water and to the side by herself because if not the odds of her drowning are way to high. Elizabeth on the other hand is very cautious. She stands in the “I’m getting ready to jump in from the side” pose for what seems like forever. The other day Brandon worked with her for over an hour before she finally overcame her fear and jumped to him. Since then though everyday she says she wants to swim and although you can see her reservations she will trust Brandon and jump to him. Her main concern is that she doesn’t wasn’t to go under. Katherine does not share that concern…at all.

It takes Liz a long time to work up the courage to jump to daddy but each time we swim she gets better!

Katherine just chillin'!

And of course since the accident Mom has been driving your truck. She painted it pink and got a zebra print cover for the steering wheel. No, just kidding. We would never mess with your truck! You have taught us well. I even got to drive your truck for a while because we did the Garage Sale and I needed to haul stuff. I had it for about a week. I liked driving your truck. I could hear your voice in the truck when I was getting on the highway…”move over chicken lips, I am bigger than you are.” Hehe.

I’m glad you are reading this dad. We are all really grateful you are still here. What a testimony of the goodness of the Lord we all have. I have never seen the righteous forsaken. In death or life we will say blessed be the name of the Lord. I pray often for all those who have read the blog throughout this accident. Life is short and you may not have tomorrow to get to know Jesus. Get to know Him today! Don’t wait!

Rachael

Update 6-25 by Rachael

Daily Dad continues to improve. The therapists are working him hard and he is rising to the challenge! He is trying hard to build back some muscle. It is amazing how such a strong man can become so weak in such a short time. We are grateful he is still strong at heart and the muscle lost can be regained.


Dad’s brain injury is getting much, much better. He has fabulous long term memory and his short term memory is doing very well also. He knows the answers to our questions as well as the therapists and has even resumed giving instruction on how to do this or that. I love it that we can ask Dad questions again.  I can’t tell you how many times during the last few months we have wondered about something and said to ourselves “Dad would know”.

Unfortunately Dad still will not be able to put any weight on his legs for a few more weeks. This will present a whole new set of challenges and rewards for Dad, but will certainly be accompanied by super hard work and I would speculate a great deal of pain.

Justin is doing super well! His fingers are great and healing just fine, and just this last week he has been able to resume walking on his foot without the boot. One of the most exciting things for him is the ability to resume his mowing business. He has some great friends who have carried the load while he has been out, but he is ready to keep saving for a car! This Tuesday is Justin’s 15th birthday!! Whoo-hoo!

So with Justin doing great and Dad doing well with continued improvement this blog will begin to serve two purposes: Give you updates on Dad and give Dad updates on us. He should be receiving an iPad in the next few days and is excited to be able to “get out” through the world wide web. We will continue to update on Dad as change happens. Please continue to pray for healing, strength, grace, wisdom, and peace. Please continue checking the blog as often as you’d like so you will know how to pray. We are so glad to have you with us on this journey.


Gratefully,
Rachael

Character Week 2010

This is a highlight video we played at Western Hills Church a few weeks ago to share the results from Character Week 2010. There were 171 different children in attendance this year! 121 of those children were visitors (mostly from the community around us). Fifteen children rededicated their lives to the Lord and there were 16 FIRST TIME SALVATION DECISIONS! God is moving at Western Hills Church! Praise the Lord!

Oh yeah, and we added up the total registered salvation decisions as a result of The Mission at Western Hills Church since August 2009... 177 total decisions! God is doing some amazing things! If you are interested in joining The Mission at WHC, visit http://www.westernhillschurch.com/ for contact information.

Thanks for your continued prayers for Dad. Dad has had several good days in a row! We plan to post another update this weekend.

Father's Day Blessing from Dad

Dad recorded a Father's Day encouragement and blessing to the fathers at Western Hills Church. This video was played in the service today - not a dry eye in the church. God is really working and Dad is improving. However, as you can see, there is still a lot more healing that needs to take place. Please continue to pray.

Sorry there haven't been many updates recently. We plan to post more this week, so check back often!

Happy Father's Day!

Dads Birthday

Today is Dad's birthday. He is having a tough day. His pain levels are
up and he is agrivated. Mom has asked for no visitors. She even asked
the kids to wait until tomorrow. Thanks for honoring this request and
thanks for your prayers.

Sent from my iPhone

Thanks,
-Brandon

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow!
Because He lives, all fear is gone!
Because I know, He holds the future!
Life IS worth the living just because He lives!!!!!
AMEN!

Therapy is underway and they are working Dad hard! Although the pain is ever present, Dad pushes on and we are seeing slow but sure progress.

On Wednesday I brought the girls up to see Dad for a short visit. This was Katherine’s first time to see him and Elizabeth’s second. They get so excited when I say we are going to see Papa! They both did well and Dad loved seeing them, too. He misses them so much and is looking forward to the day he can play with them again. I hope they will bring some joy to him that only grandchildren can bring. The next day, during one of Dad’s therapy sessions, he did not want to do it.
“Greg, what’s the goal?” Mom questioned
“To play in the yard with the girls.” Dad responded and on the therapy session went.

Friday Mom and Dad met the Psychologist. She was amazing and the Lord really orchestrated her working with the family. A day or two after the accident Mr. Compton spoke at a concert at Crossings Church. He shared about Dad and the accident, and a woman who attends Crossings was at that event. The Lord put our family on her heart. Now, weeks later we are at Jim Thorpe. They currently do not have a psychologist on staff, so we asked about bringing our own in. The man over the staff there said he had someone he would call to come see us. Today as Mom and Dad visited with her she put two and two together to discover Dad was the man she heard about so many weeks ago. The family the Lord had placed a burden on her heart for was now her patient. The blessing of the Lord is a person’s greatest asset! Praise the Lord! She was a huge blessing to Mom and Dad as well and we look forward to working with her through this process.

A couple days ago Dad had several hours that were just amazing! Brandon and I were fortunate enough to visit during that time. We had great conversation with him and even spoke about specific things. It was wonderful to have a glimpse of what could be in the future. Later in the afternoon Dad woke up again confused and agitated. This up and down progress is to be expected, but the glimpses of the “real Dad” seem to give bursts of energy that we, especially mom, find so encouraging and helpful to push on and face tomorrow.

Today the family all had lunch together at Jim Thorpe. To my surprise, Dad was in a wheel chair outside of his room. He was able to join us for a while and we all prayed together and sang Dennis Jernigan’s song “Thank You”. Dad says the best prayers! Each prayer is so passionate. He loves the Lord so much! While we sang, Dad would sing along and lift his hands in praise. Afterward he even spoke a few words thanking each of his children for doing their part and stepping up. He listed specific things. It was wonderful to hear from Dad. Our Dad. There is still a very long road to recovery but, wow, what I saw today…there just isn’t words. We are all so grateful for what the Lord is doing.

Thank You:
For all that You’ve done I will thank You
For all that You’re going to do
For all that You’ve promised and all that you are
Is all that has carried me through
Jesus I thank You!

Thank You for loving and setting my free!
Thank You for giving Your life just for me.
How I thank You! Jesus I thank You!
Gratefully thank You! Thank You!

The current prayer requests are:
Continued healing for Dad’s brain
Pain management; especially during therapy sessions
Strength for Mom and Grandma who tirelessly stay by Dad’s side each and every day
For the Lord to be glorified and for those who don’t know the peace and comfort He brings to enter into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ now! You may not have tomorrow.

Thank you all for your prayers and support. We are grateful for each prayer lifted on our family’s behalf.

Rachael