Life With THIS Family: February 2008

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Grandma Eder

Virginia L. (Daily) Eder

Oct. 25, 1920-Feb. 24, 2008
Virginia Eder was born, raised and educated in Everett, WA. She first attended Everett's First Baptist Church at the age of 13. She accepted the Lord as her Savior in 1934. Always active in the church, she became their first secretary in 1938. For the most of the next 38 years she continued serving First Baptist as their secretary.
Virginia was an avid sportswoman. She loved to ski and was one of the founders of the Everett Ski Club. In 1940, on a blind date, she met the love of her life, Frank Eder. Frank was also a sports enthusiast, but his choice was rock climbing. Virginia became a rock climber. They married in 1942 in Everett's First Baptist Church.
Soon after their marriage, Frank was sent to the Aleutians with the Corps of Engineers. He was then sent to Seattle, WA, where Virginia joined him. Their first son, John, was born in Seattle. After moving back to Everett their other three children, William, Mark and Laurie, were born.
Virginia was very active in her church, singing in the choir, participating in Circle, and being a deaconess. Along with her beloved Frank, they were among the founders of the church's Clipper Class and S.A.M. (Senior Adult Ministries.)
Virginia and Frank were great travelers and have been in 38 countries. They loved to camp and have hiked many peaks in the Cascade Mountains.
Virginia is survived by loving family members, Frank, her husband of 66 years; children, John (Linda), of Wenatchee, WA, and their three children, David, Kristi and Darren, William, of Caldwell, Idaho and daughter, Nicole, Mark (Karen), of Poulsbo, WA, and children, Aaron and Amy, Lauri (Guy) and their two children, Tanya and Ashley, of Everett, WA.
Virginia was preceded in death by her brothers, William and Jack Daily.A memorial service will be held at 3:00 p.m., Friday, March 7, at Everett's First Baptist Church.

Monday, February 25, 2008

Homecoming

My grandma, Virginia, went Home last night. My dad called me just after 8:00 to tell me the news. I went to bed after midnight still crying for my (our) loss. I hadn't seen Grandma in about a year and a half, but I loved her greatly. I still do. I thought about her as I tried to fall asleep and about the great party that must be going on in Heaven to welcome her Home. I imagine that it's still going on right now. I'm sure there are hundreds, if not thousands, of people there who knew her and loved her and were touched by her life and her love. I recently read 90 Minutes in Heaven by Don Piper and the part where he explains his experience in Heaven is inspiring, to say the least. I had to read that part again this morning...here's part of it.

90 Minutes in Heaven

By Don Piper

When I died, I didn't flow through a long, dark tunnel. I had no sense of fading away or coming back. I never felt my body being transported into the light. I heard no voices calling to me or anything else. A light enveloped me, with a brilliance beyond earthly comprehension. In my next moment of awareness, I was standing in heaven. Joy pulsated through me as I looked around, and at that moment I became aware of a large crowd of people. They stood in front of a brilliant, ornate gate. I have no idea how far away they were; such things as distance didn't matter. As the crowd rushed toward me, I didn't see Jesus, but I did see people I had known. As they surged toward me, I knew instantly that all of them had died during my lifetime. Their presence seemed absolutely natural.

Who I Saw in Heaven

They rushed toward me, and every person was smiling, shouting, and praising God. Although no one said so, intuitively I knew they were my celestial welcoming committee. It was as if they had all gathered just outside heaven's gate, waiting for me. The first person I recognized was Joe Kulbeth, my grandfather. He looked exactly as I remembered him, with his shock of white hair and what I called a big banana nose. He stopped momentarily and stood in front of me. A grin covered his face. I have no idea why my grandfather was the first person I saw. He wasn't one of the great spiritual guides of my life, although he certainly influenced me positively in that way. After being hugged by my grandfather, I don't remember who was second or third. The crowd surrounded me. Some hugged me and a few kissed my cheek, while others pumped my hand. Never had I felt more loved. I wasn't conscious of anything I'd left behind and felt no regrets about leaving family or possessions. It was as if God had removed anything negative from my consciousness, and I could only rejoice at being together with these wonderful people. They looked exactly as I once knew them—although they were more radiant and joyful than they'd ever been on earth. My great-grandmother, Hattie Mann, was Native American. As a child I saw her only after she had developed osteoporosis. Her head and shoulders were bent forward, giving her a humped appearance. The other thing that stands out in my memory is that she had false teeth—which she didn't wear often. Yet when she smiled at me in heaven, her teeth sparkled. I knew they were her own, and when she smiled, it was the most beautiful smile I had ever seen. Then I noticed something else—she wasn't slumped over. She stood strong and upright, and the wrinkles had been erased from her face. I have no idea what age she was. As I stared at her beaming face, I sensed that age has no meaning in heaven. All of the people I encountered were the same age they had been the last time I had seen them—except that all the ravages of living on earth had vanished. Even now, years later, I can sometimes close my eyes and see those perfect countenances. Just being with them was a holy moment and remains a treasured hope.

I'd Never Felt So Loved...

When I first stood in heaven, they were still in front of me and came rushing toward me. They embraced me, and no matter which direction I looked, I saw someone I had loved and who had loved me. They surrounded me, moving around so that everyone had a chance to welcome me into heaven. I felt loved—more loved than ever before in my life. They didn't say they loved me. I don’t remember what words they spoke. When they gazed at me, I knew what the Bible means by perfect love. It emanated from every person who surrounded me. I stared at them, and as I did I felt as if I absorbed their love for me. At some point, I looked around and the sight overwhelmed me. Coming out from the gate—a short distance ahead—was a brilliance that was brighter than the light that surrounded us, utterly luminous. In trying to describe the scene, words are totally inadequate, because human words can't express the feeling of awe and wonder at what I beheld. The best I can describe it is that we began to move toward that light. No one said it was time to do so, and yet we all started forward at the same time. As I stared ahead, everything seemed to grow taller—like a gentle hill that kept going upward and never stopped. I had expected to see some darkness behind the gate, but as far ahead as I could see, there was absolutely nothing but intense, radiant light. By contrast, the powerful light I had encountered when I met my friends and loved ones paled into darkness as the radiance and iridescence in front of me increased. It was as if each step I took intensified the glowing luminosity. I didn't know how it could get more dazzling, but it did. I wasn’t blinded, but I was amazed that the luster and intensity continually increased. Strange as it seems, as brilliant as everything was, each time I stepped forward, the splendor increased. The farther I walked, the brighter the light. The light engulfed me, and I had the sense that I was being ushered into the presence of God. Although our earthly eyes must gradually adjust to light or darkness, my heavenly eyes saw with absolute ease. In heaven, each of our senses is immeasurably heightened to take it all in. And what a sensory celebration! A holy awe came over me as I stepped forward. I had no idea what lay ahead, but I sensed that with each step I took, it would grow more wondrous.

(Me again) Grandma is whole again. She is painfree. She is with Jesus. Hallelujah!

John 11:25 - 26 "Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die."

Philippians 3:20 - 21 "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself."

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Belarus

Hopefully if you're reading this, you've received my emails telling about the wonderful things God did while I was in Belarus. This will be more like a journal of our trip. So, we'll start at the beginning. This is the New Bethany team right before we loaded onto the church bus to head for the airport. We had all said our goodbyes to our families. Off we go!

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send?

And who will go for us?"

And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" Isaiah 6:8

It was past lunch-time by the time we arrived at the airport and had gone through security. After arriving at our gate, Dan (and Souy) watched our luggage while everyone else went to get some food.

Here's Ellen and me eating our lunch from Panda Express...so yummy!

I really enjoyed spending time with Ellen this week and getting to know her better!

Greg and Ronnie playing with Greg's new camera.

This is Joe & Alesia's 4-year-old son, Danik. Can you see what he's doing? That's right! He's stampin'!! Among some other things that Stampin' Up! donated for my trip, they sent me some kids ink pads, markers, and pencils. Add to that a stamp set or two and he's all set. Allie Grace now has some stamps of her own, too.

This is sweet little Allie Grace (almost 2) with Bobby.

Mary Beth, Souy, and myself at New Land church on Sunday morning. What a service! There was, literally, standing room only. I counted more than 40 people standing along the walls and that doesn't include the people who were standing in the back. The Lord is truly at work in Minsk.

This is Toni and Bobby (and me behind them) heading down for lunch after church.

Sunday after the church service, we were brought back to the school for lunch and then we interviewed hundreds of students so we could place them in the right classes. The interviews lasted from 2:00 until 7:00 pm.We taught from Primary English (who knew VERY little English, if any) thru Super-Advanced plus several Business English classes. I taught a Beginner class which was a step above Primary. This room was where we ate all our meals...and it seemed like we were eating all the time. We had breakfast and then taught our 10:00 class. Then we had lunch and went to our 2:00 class. We had dinner at 4:15 and then taught our 5:00 and 7:00 classes. Then we met again for snacks before heading home to bed. The weird thing is I was hungry and ready to eat after each class.

This is Oleg...I don't know all that he does, but I know he does ALOT! He takes care of all the registrations and he handled the advertising for the English courses. What I loved about Oleg was that no matter what was going on, no matter what time of day, he ALWAYS had a smile on his face.

So now we jump from Sunday to Friday. There truly was no time for picture taking during the week. It was announced on Wednesday that Friday was camera day. The students (and teachers) were encouraged to bring their cameras to take photos with their teachers. Jody had all the teachers get up on stage so the students could take a picture of all of us. Talk about paparazzi...I was seeing spots for several minutes after that.

This is Nadia, one our wonderful translators.

On Saturday we had a short time to walk around in Minsk and shop for souvenirs.

This is me on the bus as we headed to the city center.

This is Jody (on the left). He's the one who made all our travel arrangements and put the trip together for us. He also designed and wrote the curriculum that we used.

Our Associate Pastor, Ronnie, is on the right. He handled everything for the New Bethany team.

The weather was not too bad all week. There was a dusting of snow, but overall it wasn't any colder than our weather here. Especially given that we had snow just a few days before we left. But this day, the day we actually spent some time outside, was cold and windy and there was a misting of rain, which made it feel even colder.

This is either the center of Minsk or the center of Belarus.

I can't remember what Nadia told us.

On the right you can see the McDonalds where we ate dinner on Friday night after our classes were over. Sort of a celebration of all that had been accomplished. McDonalds tastes the same no matter where you are.

This is our 'photographer' Greg...he was so busy taking pictures that I don't think he was actually IN any.

Joe waving goodbye to us as we boarded the bus to head for the airport.

This is the group at the gate in Minsk. We all made it through security and then we had over an hour to wait for our plane to board. We took this opportunity to share some laughs...the photo of Greg, below, gave Mary Beth and I a very good (and much needed) chuckle. His glasses had broken sometime over the week so he took some of the yellow tape from his suitcase to 'fix' them. Too funny!

This is me (and Souy - who took this picture?!) on the plane from Minsk to Frankfurt. I'm not sure at what point I actually fell asleep. See the Kleenex on my lap? I cried for at least an hour. It was so hard to leave.

We flew from Minsk to Frankfurt to Washington D.C. to Atlanta. Our flight from DC to Atlanta had been cancelled (there's a story in itself) so we spent the night at the Hyatt and were put on a flight leaving at 8:45 the next morning. Here we are eating breakfast before our flight boarded.

This pretty well sums up how we were all feeling on the trip home...

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Happy Valentine's Day

Every year on Valentine's Day, our homeschool group visits a Senior Center. We sing songs and the kids have an opportunity to do some kind of solo - sing a song, play an instrument, tell a joke, etc. Here's our group today...