26 Oct October 25 Update on Hermmy

Recent scenes from Hermmy’s life. (Click to enlarge)

Joan Sider (right), New Hope Church, Toronto, Ontario

Joan Sider sent this update on Hermmy on Thursday, October 25. Hermmy, a Haitian girl, was brought to Canada by the UB churches of Canada so that she could undergo an operation to repair a hole in her heart. That operation occurred October 10, and she came “home” to Joan’s place on Monday, October 15.

Can you believe it was only two weeks yesterday that Hermmy had her operation? I find that nearly impossible to grasp. The progress she is making is phenomenal.

We went shopping Tuesday afternoon, and after coming out with a few bags of groceries, Hermmy grabbed one of the bags and carried it to the car. There was no prompting on my part to do so. She smiled broadly as she did it. She knows that she is getting strength that she’s not had before. I kidded her that the next shopping day, she’d have to carry two bags.

Her greatest joy comes from watching movies on either my laptop or the iPad as the pics will show.

Wednesday was another library day. Hermmy is getting used to this trip–returning and picking up more DVDs.

Today (Thursday), I was able to teach for the morning. It was good to get back in the classroom. When I came home, I broke the news to Hermmy that this was going to be a shower and hair washing day. As expected, this was not welcome news. However, I am happy to say that all is well, and believe it or not, I put her hair into a pony tail–looks a little off, but she wasn’t unhappy. She didn’t seem to have the energy yet to do anything with her own hair.

Food continues to be an area where we aren’t having the greatest success. Swiss Chalet rice is the only rice she has enjoyed, scrambled eggs with ketchup, chicken noodle soup, popcorn and FudgeeO chocolate cookies are her favourites. Pineapple and orange juices and water are her favourite beverages.

As I write this, we are watching the last of the third season’s Emily of New Moon. This is the activity we do just before Hermmy’s bedtime.

Thanks again for the words of encouragement that many of you are sending our way. We know you are praying for us, and it is greatly appreciated. We’re continuing to ask God for Hermmy’s healing outside and particularly inside.

23 Oct Blue Rock UB: Softball Dynasty?

Blue Rock’s winning softball team.

Greg Helman (right), senior pastor, Blue Rock UB church (Waynesboro, Pa.)

The softball team at Blue Rock UB church (Waynesboro, Pa.) has only lost 1 regular season game in the last 2 years. This year we won our division and then the tournament championship.

This is a co-ed league that requires people to attend church in order to play. Blue Rock has used it to reach out to a number of young people, and in fact has seen salvation and baptisms amongst the team members. Also, 2 couples got married during the season.

The team is coached by Jim Bakner and Brian Bitner. At age 52, I’m still playing the outfield regularly.

23 Oct A Week of Updates on Dan Paternoster

Dan Paternoster, serving as a greeter at the 2011 US National Conference.

We’ve not updated you on Dan Paternoster in a while. Dan, a veterinarian from Fowlerville, Mich., was hit by a car on August 28 while he was riding his bike. He has been a member of the Executive Leadership Team since 2001. Dan’s wife, Nancy, posts regular updates about Dan. Here are some from the past week.

Monday, October 15. These are Dan’s words tonight. His eyes still do not allow him to see well enough to use the computer yet, so I’m typing for him. “I thank people for their interest. I thank the Lord for all the people who’ve helped me. And I look forward to being a help and blessing to people again. Right now I’m looking to the Lord for healing from the accident and the cancer.”

Wednesday, October 17. Dan’s progress has been very quick lately, although he still feels it is slow. Problem is, he doesn’t know where he started at less than 2 months ago. Yesterday he walked on a low balance beam as well as having some therapy in the pool. His left eye is improving slowly, but he still sees double much of the time.

Today we’re venturing out to the Gerald Ford Presidential Museum in the afternoon WITHOUT THE WHEELCHAIR! We may have many rest breaks during our time there. This is a test for both of us to see how we do in the real world again.

Thursday, October 18. We’re both tired after yesterday’s outing, but we survived quite well. Today we were given a release date of October 30th. Yay! Dan is happy that the feeding tube will be removed next week and the bladder stent the week after. All this just before we return home. Then on to some outpatient rehabilitation therapy.

Sunday, October 21. Dan is continuing to get better and knows that it is true now when someone tells him so. We ask for continued prayer for his left eye to move properly and his vision to be restored to normal. Dan needs patience, as he has another 5 weeks before x-rays will be done on his neck and back to determine if his braces can be removed.

Tuesday, October 23. On Tuesday or Wednesday of this week, I’ll be touring 2 rehab facilities for outpatient care for Dan. Please pray that the best choice for his further care would be obvious to all involved.

18 Oct October 17 Update on Hermmy

Hermmy watched a DVD of the August convention at the Delmas 33 church in Haiti. She sang along and (right) looked at a French Bible as a speaker addressed the crowd. (click to enlarge)

Audrey Fiederlein showed Hermmy how to knit…only to discover that Hermmy already knew how to do this quite well.

Joan Sider sent this update on Hermmy on October 17. Hermmy, a Haitian girl, was brought to Canada by the UB churches of Canada so that she could undergo an operation to repair a hole in her heart. That operation occurred October 10, and she came “home” to Joan’s place on Monday, October 15.

Joan Sider (right), New Hope Church, Toronto, Ontario

Hermmy has all her bandages off, and her wounds are healing nicely. She is eating well, and we’ve been able to cut her medicines down.

She fills her days with watching Barbie movies and playing games on the iPad, watching other DVDs, and watching TV’s treehouse and toon channels. We fit walking in there, too.

Hermmy had a happy time talking to her family on the phone last night. Her face was like a lightbulb the whole time. I believe she was speaking to all her family members–dad, mom, and sisters. Since she was using my phone, I didn’t get a pic of this delightful time.

Audrey Fiederlein was here today and she brought many meals for Hermmy and myself. Audrey also brought a DVD of the August convention at the Delmas 33 church in Haiti. Hermmy enjoyed singing along and listening to something from home. I enjoyed seeing people that I’ve met while there. Audrey brought some more cards from the ladies in New Dundee–each were able to write something in French for Hermmy to read. We have a jigsaw puzzle out on the dining room table, so hopefully we’ll be able to do some work on that–if I can keep my cats from scattering the pieces.

Note: Cards can be sent to Hermmy at this address:

Joan Sider
#405-15 La Rose Avenue
Weston, ON  M9P 1A7
Canada

17 Oct Three Churches Withdraw During 2012

Bishop Phil Whipple, in his October 2012 report to the Executive Leadership Team, noted that three churches have withdrawn from the denomination during 2012:

• Lighthouse Community Church in Williamston, Mich. This was a church plant, spearheaded by the Fowlerville UB church (Fowlerville, Mich.), which started in 1998. Their most recent annual report, from 2010, showed an average attendance of 81.
• Rugby UB church in Hope, Ind. This church, the southern-most UB church in Indiana (south of Indianapolis), was founded in 1896. The most recent annual report they submitted, in 2008, showed an attendance of 16 people.
• NorthPointe Church in Toledo, Ohio. This congregation is a continuation of the former Harvest Lane UB church, which began in 1954. The most recent annual report this church submitted, back in 2008, showed an attendance of 500, but the current number may be around 300.

16 Oct 16 Recent Baptisms at Mill Chapel

Mill Chapel (Reedsville, W. Va.) recently baptized an additional four people in a hot tub. Prior to that, they had baptized 12 people. Pastor Marshall Woods (right) and associate pastor Mike Charlton performed most of the baptisms. In another case, John Wyatt baptized his two sons.

Also, Mill Chapel promoted “National Back to Church Sunday” on September 16. Though they average 170 in attendance, that day the attendance hit 240.

16 Oct Six Awards (So Far) for Matt McKeown’s Song

In October 2011, Matt McKeown (right), associate pastor of First UB in Holly Hill, Fla., wrote a song for the city of Palm Coast for their marketing campaign called “Discover Palm Coast: Find your Florida.” The campaign was launched in February 2012, and the song was put with an accompanying video showing life in Palm Coast.

Since then, Matt’s song has won six national awards. Most recently, it received three awards from the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA). Here are the awards:

• First place: NATOA Promotion of a City/County
• First place: NATOA Visual Arts (Operating Budget Under $300,000)
• Second place: NATOA Public Service Announcement (Operating Budget Under $200,000)
• Bronze Telly Award: “Find Your Florida” (Non-broadcast production/Direct Marketing)
• Bronze Telly Award: “Find Your Florida” (Branded Content/Promotional Branding)
• Silver Communicator Award of Distinction: “Find Your Florida” (Promotional Branding)

16 Oct ROCKtoberfest in Findlay, Ohio

The ROCKtoberfest Tent (click to enlarge)

Inside the ROCKtoberfest Tent (click to enlarge)

Teddy Fairchild (right), senior pastor, The Rock (Findlay, Ohio)

The tent went up, the bouncy house went up, the food tables quickly found themselves piled high with goodies of every kind, but the temperatures just kept going down!

October 6 was a chilly night, but that did not stop the Rock Church from hosting its first fall festival. ROCKtoberfest kicked off with food, fun, and fellowship while the bands took their places for a night of entertaining and uplifting music. The lineup included:

• The Rock worship team.
• The bluegrass gospel band Living Water.
• Solo artists Jennie Walter, Elijah Cunningham, and Molly Pickett.

For a small little church with an average attendance of 60, we were excited to see God bring in 134 people to join the celebration! We are already looking forward to next year’s festival, but may change the name to get some warmer weather for the outdoor event! Mark your calendars for ROCKtember!

16 Oct Oct 15 Update on Hermmy

Right: By the time she met her surgeon, Hermmy’s smile had returned. Dr. Honjo was surprised, too, that she was going home. Left: Hermmy back at Joan’s place, on the couch with one of her prayer blankets.

Joan Sider (right), New Hope church (Toronto, Ontario)

Hermmy, a girl from Haiti, was brought to Canada by UBs there to have surgery to repair a hole in her heart. Here’s the original post. She is staying with Joan Sider. Here is an October 15 update from Joan.

Hermmy is home at my house! That has to be some kind of miracle in itself, eh?.

When I arrived at the hospital this morning, expecting to do the day and overnight shifts, I was greeted with the news that Hermmy was being discharged. She required an “echo” and the two remaining drainage tubes removed. Hermmy was pretty happy–until the tube removal time–then she was traumatized. It only took 5 minutes to do, but she needed about 30-40 minutes to recover, so upset was she. It took a while for that winning smile to appear–but it came.

Hermmy has had her first meds at home, and I have my alarm set for the 4-hour and 6-hour doses. This will happen for a couple days, and then we’ll be able to slacken off. I know she is not going to be happy when I remove one of the bandages over a drainage spot tomorrow and then the last two on Wednesday–but we’ll manage, and she’ll be okay and glad to have them off. It is the anticipated pain that starts the ball rolling.

Poor kid–she had no idea what was involved in having her heart fixed! But she already has noticed that she isn’t tired while walking or having to stop and rest while eating.

Her first post-op appointment back at Sick Kids is Monday, October 22–1 week from today.

15 Oct Ethan Conley Conquers the “Monster Inside Me”

In January 2010, we reported about Ethan Conley, an eight-year-old who came very close to dying. Ethan, the grandson of Chet Conley (right), associate pastor of First UB (Findlay, Ohio), Ethan, had developed Viral Myositis with Rhabdomyolysis, a virus that attacks the muscles.

Darwin Dunten, pastor of First UB, gave this update on October 15, 2012:

“We called the churches to pray for Ethan. God healed him. He is the only person in the world to have been healed of this disease after it had reached this severity.

Ethan Conley (left) with his uncle, Seth.

“Today, Ethan is playing football. He has been featured in the Journal of American Medicine. And now, on Friday, October 26, my associate pastor’s grandson will be featured on the Animal Planet’s  “Monster Inside Me.”

“He is a walking miracle. The prayers of our church and many others were part of this miracle. The Conley family only agreed to this show if they could give honor and glory to the Lord. I share this with you to let you know that miracles happen today.”

You can view a preview of the Discovery network show.