the Final Leg..

To view the video, click on the arrow at the lower left corner of the screen.

Well, we're finally getting to post the video of our last leg of our summer road trip. For those who've been following, we've been through Canada, Illinois and Wisconsin. This final portion traces our trip from Madison, Wisconsin to Chesapeake, Virginia, where Lee's youngest daughter, Chrissy lives with her husband, Todd, and three boys, Sam, Dylan and Ty. Dylan wasn't with us for the particular days we were there, but as you'll see we got to spend some time with Sam and Ty.

Ty is our youngest grandson, having celebrated his 1 month birthday while we were there. Grandma got to hold her precious grandson for the first time! And there isn't a day she doesn't wish she could go right back and do it again!

We hope you enjoy our boys. We certainly had a wonderful time, and hope you'll continue to pray with us for the boys.

Thank you again for your continued interest and prayers. Drop us a line and let us know how you like the blog.

God bless & keep you in His arms!

Lee & Doug

Trippin' ... part 2

To view the video, click on the arrow at the bottom left of the viewing screen.

It's been about a week since we last updated you. In that time, Lee taught first and second graders at "Summerama", which is our version of Vacation Bible School. On Friday night, we presented some puppets and ventriloquism at the closing program.

Today we bring you part two of our summer road trip. In this video, we head north to Poynette, Wisconsin, where Lee's oldest daughter, Jenny, lives with her husband Jon and sons Austin and JP.

Jenny is also the proud owner of 10 horses - champions all! In this past week, Jenny showed her horses at the World Quarter Horse Championships in Memphis, TN and brought home two third place champions IN THE WORLD! Eat your heart out, Beijing - we got our champions right here!

While we were at I-Fest, Jenny's son, Austin, was diagnosed with third stage Lyme's disease. Upon our arrival in Wisconsin, our first order of the day was to pick him up at the hospital and bring him home. We're happy to say that in the last few weeks, Austin has improved greatly, and we're thankful for all the prayers and concern of our friends and family.

If you enjoy the pictures, let us know. Drop a comment. Thank you for your continued interest and prayers. Keep checking back with us - part three is yet to come.

God bless and keep you all!

in His arms,

Lee & Doug

Trippin'...

To see the video, click on the little arrow at the lower left corner of the blank screen.

Dear Faithful Friends!

You've been so patient! Thank you for your kind words of encouragement - and for letting us know that you've been praying for us!

We've finally got pictures of our trip - and here's part 1: Canada and I-Fest (parts 2 & 3: Jenny's and Chrissy's are coming up next). We hope you enjoy it!

I-Fest was a wonderful time of blessing, refreshing and filling! God did some amazing things that week! We hope you'll pray for the things we learned and the people we've pictured. They're dear friends and fellow servants - and as we came to claim throughout the week: "We're all in this TOGETHER!"

Check out our pictures and post a comment or question by clicking on the "comment" button below. We'd love to hear what you think.

In His arms, 

Lee & Doug

Back in the Eastern Time Zone!

Well, in the last two days, we've traveled over 1000 miles, including six states, five state capitals, and four mountain ranges!

We can only say what a wonderful experience it has been to take in the beauty of our country. You can see in the photos how beautiful it is! We'd have shown you more, but you know, when you see something THIS beautiful, and you're listening to Phillips, Craig & Dean praise music, you don't stop to take pictures - you take in the moment. We had a lot of "moments" today.

best of all, we made it to Chesapeake, VA, the home of Lee's daughter Chrissy, and our one month old grandson, Ty Jackson Puopolo! Lee got to hold him for the first time tonight! What a joy for Gramma Lee!

We're planning to spend the next two days here before returning home on Sunday. Pray with us that we have a good and profitable visit with Ty and his older brother, Sam, who's 5 now.

Thanks for your prayers all along the way. We plan to give you more detailed reports on I-Fest when we get home, but in the mean time, internet access has been hit-or-miss along the way. Thanks for your patience.

God bless you, and thank you for following our progress along the way.

In His arms,

Lee & Doug

P.S. remind us to tell you about the REAL "Dream Team" at I-Fest - the WONDERFUL conference assistants!

Finally made it!

Well, we made it back into the country without a hitch. We stopped at the border so that Christine could obtain a temporary green card, but that was a minor blip on the radar screen. In practically no time at all, we were moving right along.

We arrived safely at Olivet a little before 5:30 NY time (gotta get used to the 1 hour time difference), and hit the ground running. From the moment we got out of the car, friends surrounded us and it was like we'd never left!

One of the neat things about I-Fest is that it has such a deep impact on our lives spiritually, that the people we see here become part of that impact. It's more than just a re-union, it's like coming home from a long vacation.

Lots of smiles & hugs today. We had a staff meeting this evening, after which Lee ran a meeting of the Conference Assistants (she's in charge of them, you know...), and we got off to a good start.

Well, it's late now, and WAY past our bed times! We're going to turn in, but please come back and check again tomorrow. We'll do our best to be faithful with our reports if you're faithful in your praying!

Until tomorrow, God bless & keep you!!

in His arms,

Lee & Doug

on the road again...

Well, by the grace of God, and with the prayerful support of so many dear friends, we donned our brand new "Everlasting Arms Ministries" hats, and headed for I-Fest.

I-Fest is the International Festival of Christian Puppetry and Ventriloquism, sponsored by One Way Street, Inc., and held at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Illinois.

The top photo shows how we look in our new hats (you should see the new Logo shirts we got!), and that's pretty much what our day was about... driving, praying, talking, praying, reading, praying, word processing, more driving, and more praying.

We usually set out on a Saturday for this festival, and we would normally drive from East Rutherford to western Ohio (Toledo), where we would stay the night before finishing the trip on Sunday. However, we received a call 2 days before departing, asking us to leave the country! Well, literally, yes, but not the way it sounds.

Friends of ours in Canada have a mal-functioning car, so we were asked if we could re-route ourselves to include a stop in Ontario to pick them up and bring them to I-Fest. We love the Morelys, and didn't hesitate to grab the opportunity bring them. So, we literally left the country. As a matter of fact, as we're writing this note, we're praying that the same driver's licenses that got us INTO Canada, will be sufficient to get us OUT. God knows - and He's in charge. Pray for packing space, please!

The second photo - the one that looks so pretty - is the park across the street from their house. We got to take a walk through the park and spend some time with Christine Morely, as Paul stayed home to "warm up the barbie". God is SO good! We not only had a wonderful dinner together, but the fellowship is SWEET! We'll send more pictures as they become available.

We have friends who are praying us through every day on this trip. If you'd like to get our daily emails, please send us your address through the web site, and we'll add you in.

But, even if you don't get the emails, please continue to pray! God does GREAT things when His people pray!

Thank you for your continued love and support. We'll see you again soon - - hopefully tomorrow.

In His arms,

Lee & Doug

The crazy, hazy days..

With one week to go, you'd think that all we could think about is I-Fest. Well, we do think about it every day, but there's SO much more going on, that we no longer say "think outside the box", instead we say, "think outside your mind!" So, these days we're out of our minds!

In our personal lives, yesterday was a big day for us. It started with breakfast with our Holly, Doug's youngest daughter. She just finished her junior year at Montclair State College, and is planning a full summer with several missions efforts in mind. The first is a trip to the Bahamas with "Touch The World" ministries based here in New Jersey. She'll be a ministry leader on a trip to help children's camps and kids in need in this Caribbean island. While she's had a lot of experience working with beach missions on the Jersey Shore, this time she'll be responsible for leading teens she doesn't know through work projects and kids' counseling. Please pray for her. We'll try to link you in to the work she's doing. At the same time we're at I-Fest, she'll be in the Bahamas, but the link will provide daily updates of the work she'll be doing.

Once we finished breakfast and had a time of prayer with Holly, we moved on over to "the Pines", where we moved Mom and Dad into their new housing arrangements. It seems we're moving them a lot lately, that's true. But thank our Heavenly Father that they moved to a place just one year ago that could accommodate all their needs. The two things we want you to notice in the pictures: 1) the quilt that contains squares made by families at Rutherford Bible Chapel is now hung on the wall for everyone to see, and 2) Dad is able to get the YES channel in his new room, and he's comfortably watching his beloved Yankees!

Mom has returned to the independent care apartment they shared together when they moved to Whiting, and Dad has moved to a smaller, dependent room in the assisted care facilities known as "Georgetown". This will enable the medical and social staff to attend to him more regularly, because his room is now closer to the nurse's station and because he is totally dependent on them. Mom will not be his primary care-giver. There's no doubt that she has been "over the top" these last few months, and it's taking a toll on her. She doesn't get the rest she needs and it has been an intense pressure on her. So, the aides will now step in and keep their eye on him, care for him and attend to his medical needs. It will be a difficult adjustment for both of them, so please keep them in your prayers.

Dad's health is improving these days as he is now getting personalized therapy to get his hip back up to "par". We noticed that he is walking better with a walker, and getting himself in and out of the wheelchair to his easy chair and dining chairs. He won't be doing the marathon this fall, but we're thankful for his improved condition and good attitude. Please continue to pray for him.

Lastly, we're getting ready for the International Festival of Puppetry and Ventriloquism, "I-Fest" for short. It's held from July 7-12 on the campus of Olivet Nazarene University in Kankakee, Illinois. You can check on the posts from last year to learn more about it, but we want to focus on our work for this year.

Lee will be in charge of all the Conference Assistants, along with Susan Schmidt, the head of all events at One Way Street. The CA's, as we call them, are exactly that - helpers in all things - for the good of the conference. They assist the staff and faculty in making I-Fest a blessing to all who come. This week, please pray specifically for the devotions she's planning for daily spiritual direction and focus for the CAs.

Doug will be teaching 9 classes on everything from Copyright concerns to Ventriloquist Ethics. Both Lee & Doug will be teaching a class together on "setting the stage" for vents. It's a busy teaching schedule, not to mention that he is also the coordinator for the three ventriloquism competitions scheduled to take place throughout the week. He's also a participant in a new session, featuring improvisation from selected staff members. His concern is that through all of this, his focus will remain on the Lord, and all things will work to His glory.

We'll keep you posted on all things Nearpass in days to come, so c'mon back, there's more where this came from!

Thank you for your continued support and prayer. God is good - ALL THE TIME!

until we meet again, we are

gathering the children in His arms,

Lee & Doug

ain't it GRAND...?

...parents, that is!  Yes, we're grandparents AGAIN! Praise the Lord!

Lee's daughter Chrissy gave birth last Wednesday (June 18) to a beautiful baby boy, Ty Jackson Puopolo, 19.5 inches, 8 pounds! Chrissy and her husband Todd, Sam (age 5), Dylan (age 4), Petey the dog and a cat we love, but just can't name - are all doing well! They reside in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Please join us in praying for this precious child and his family. 

You might also want to pray for Lee who isn't able to hold her grandson NOW!

We'll keep you posted with new pictures and details, details, details!

Thanks for your prayers!

in His arms,

Lee & Doug

Right Back Atcha!

We are WELL aware that we don't update you folks nearly often enough... and we apologize. Truth be known, we're not that much ahead of you in knowing what's coming down the road! Changes happen quickly, and with those changes comes homework. And as every good parent knows, homework takes time.

With that in mind, we want to thank those of you who have added your comments to our blog. The idea of a blog is to interact. We tell you what God is doing here, and you tell us how that impacts you. Some of you have done that. When we've posted about Mom & Dad, many friends have written to share their thoughts and love. We appreciate that tremendously. Perhaps, though the most surprising (and humbling) response has been the impact of what we've come to call "the article." 

As you've seen here, the Newark Star Ledger ran a wonderful write-up on Doug and his puppet ministry at the end of April of this year. We are STILL hearing of the impact that article has had... 8 weeks later! Three people we don't know have recognized Doug on the sidewalks of Newark, stopped him ("Hey! Aren't you the puppet guy?!") and told him how much they enjoyed the article. Most have commented on how thrilled they were to have read his clear testimony in the article. Just yesterday, we ran into old friends of Doug's we haven't seen in years, and true to form, they read "the article". We're SO thrilled to hear how God used that to touch people's lives all over the state of New Jersey! ... and beyond.

One person sent us a comment and (Jack Wilson, are you listening?!) left a note that ventriloquist Wally Jones and Tommy (or as Doug calls him, "the dummy who lead me to Jesus"), was his uncle! Wow! Living relatives! Jack referred to his time growing up, and having Tommy come with Uncle Wally on family visits. It's truly a joy for us to be a blessing back to the family who blessed Doug so many years ago. 

Jack tells us that these days, Tommy is in a museum in Kentucky, enjoying his restful years with other "dummy" friends. If that is, in fact, the Vent Haven Museum, as we suspect, then Tommy sits among some well known and highly respected figures (the technical name for a "dummy" is "ventriloquial figure", or simply "figure" among us "vents"). Each summer, ventriloquists from all over the world gather for a week-long get-together conference for the purpose of socializing and honing their skills. This summer, Terry Fator (pictured above with DigDag & Doug), winner of America's Got Talent, and currently the highest paid vent in Las Vegas ($100 million dollars over 5 years) is planning to come back to Vent Haven for a chance to meet, greet and thank them all for their support. Doug, of course, has never been to Vent Haven due to vacation time restraints, but he's thrilled to know that Tommy is there. 

If you, like Jack, would like to connect with us, we'd love to hear from you. Please feel free to click on the "comment" button below and leave us a note. We promise to read it!  

Most of all, if you're reading this blog via a link to our website, please visit the "contact" page, and send us a note that has your email address. Sometimes we like to write back, but don't know where to reach you. In this day and age of digital wonders, we'd prefer to drop a quick, "Thanks for the blessing" note than to know you as a "phantom of the keyboard". You are such a blessing to us!! We hope we can be a blessing back atcha!

Thanks for checking in... we'll be writing more in the next few weeks as we prepare for a lot of activity between Mom & Dad, the wonderful world of Christian puppetry, and kids, kids, kids!

Gathering the children in His arms....

Doug & Lee

Mom and Dad are now settled into their new home in “Georgetown”, the assisted care living division of the Pines at Whiting. Their phone number is still the same, their address is still the same, except now you can add “Georgetown, room 1190”.

On Tuesday, April 22, Lee went to help Helen plan and organize her furniture and boxes for the move. By the grace of God, Ed and Lois Gray had been planning to be on campus for another meeting, and Lois stopped in to visit. Lois & Lee put their heads together and not only helped pack things up, but laid out plans for the new room!

On Wednesday, the maintenance crew showed up and began to move furniture, and by noon, Helen & Walter were in their new room!

Yes, that’s the short version, but we’re thankful for the way the Lord covered EVERY detail.

The status on Dad’s condition is that he’s confined to a wheelchair. Although he feels strong enough to help himself, he runs the risk of falling. Mom can help with some of his daily duties, but for things that involve lifting and guiding him in and out of apparatus, he needs professional care.

He got a clean bill of health from the surgeon (that’s her with Mom & Dad in the picture) who performed his partial hip replacement, but he needs to strengthen his muscles.

Part of the problem seems to be that he has a low blood pressure, and the exertion of effort to walk and exercise causes him to be light-headed, resulting several times in his passing out.

Please pray for Mom as she tries to help him, but pray for Dad, that he’ll have grace to get through the circumstances he doesn’t always understand or like.

It’ll take a little while for both of them to get used to the new facilities, but we’re praying that God will see them through this one day at a time.

If you’d like to call them, their number is still the same. If you don’t know it, just drop us a line through this blog or the web site (go to the “contact” section, and send us a message). Both of them will likely be happy to talk with you, and as we’ve found, Dad often still sounds like the old “Walter”.

Most of all keep praying for them. In the 60’s, Doug wore a button that said, “PBPGINFWMY”. In english, that would be, “Please Be Patient. God Is Not Finished With Me Yet!”

Stay in touch and feel free to post your comments here on the blog. We’re always happy to hear from our friends.

Lee & Doug

God Works in Mysterious Ways...

God works in mysterious ways! At least we can’t always figure Him out. That’s why we have to trust Him!

Just about a year ago, Doug was in the middle of Barnes and Noble’s bookstore, when he got a phone call asking him to go to Dubai, UAE to train Christian children’s workers. WOW! training Christian children’s workers in the Middle East?!

Those who’ve been reading this blog know that that trip took place last October. Look down through the entries - you’ll find his account.

While in Dubai, Doug was sought by the Newark Star Ledger newspaper for an article that was to feature the popularity of ventriloquism in entertainment today. The Star Ledger is NJ’s largest daily paper and the 19th largest “local” paper in the nation. Doug was going to be the “gospel” vent in the article. Some of the top names in ventriloquism were interviewed and the article was scheduled for the last weekend in November, ’07. It sounded like a wonderful opportunity.

The interview went well, and Doug was free to speak the gospel, and interweave his faith in the answers he gave. The journalist was positive and encouraging - even to the point of coming to Rutherford Bible Chapel Sunday School to catch DigDag in action. Photos were shot, emails were answered and the facts were all checked and confirmed.

Just a few days before publication, the journalist informed us that the article would indeed be printed, but that Doug would not be featured - he should have an article all his own!

That article then became part of a series called “I am New Jersey”, highlighting people who have “made a difference in the state of New Jersey” according to the paper.

All along, the one thing that remained our concern was that the Lord would be lifted up. As Doug Horley, one of our Dubai friends, wrote in his popular kids’ chorus, “We want to see Jesus lifted high - a banner that flies across the land.”

Well, the article has finally been published, and we’re including a link here for you to read it for yourself. Just click your mouse on the blue line, and you'll be linked to the article. In the printed paper, it was a full page and a half! So, when God says, “Wait, I want ALL the world to see...” then we guess that’s what He means!

Please enjoy the article, and praise God with us!

http://blog.nj.com/iamnj/2008/04/doug_nearpass.html

Lee & Doug

Movin' on up...

Back in the early 60's, Mom had two placards on the wall of her "work area" in the basement. One was a picture of a bunch of cave men sitting around a campfire with the caption, "Next week we gotta get organized!" The other was a bunch of colonials gathered in what appeared to be Freedom Hall in Philadelphia with the caption, "OK! Now that we're organized, what're we gonna do?!"

Well, now that we're organized, we have plans and options!

Yesterday we met with Dad's medical staff and support team. It seems that he's now ready to move on! His progress has been good, and he's ready to progress out of Hamilton Place. We're so thankful for the many prayers of faithful friends like you, who've been praying for his recovery. He's not up to the level of mobility that he was a month ago, but then again, he's not likely to attain that level. But praise the Lord, he's made good progress and has reached a level of mobility that can be maintained outside of the constant medical care at Hamilton.

The question remains now: Where should he go? The level of assistance he needs is still a bit more than Mom can provide, yet, not enough to keep him in a medical facility. Right now, we'd appreciate your prayers - especially through the next week or so, as we weigh the options before us. The Lord has given us a wonderful, caring staff of professionals who are assisting and counseling Mom and Dad through this period of decision, but we know that He has also given His Spirit to guide, direct and lead. We pray that as we listen to the facts presented to us, we'll be sensitive to the Spirit's hand as He guides us along, and the result will be best for Mom and Dad together.

Right now, the information we have is too tentative to post, so we ask that you bear with us in love when we seem vague in our explanations, here on the blog. We'll let you know what we can as soon as we're able.

In the mean time, both Mom and Dad want to thank you for your many prayers, notes and comments of care. It's a joy to know that the "family" reaches so far!

Keep checking back here for more details. We'll post 'em as we get 'em!

May the Lord bless each of you and keep His arms tight around you!

In His arms,

Lee & Doug

Flying here and there....

Last weekend (March 28 & 29) we took a trip to Minneapolis, Minnesota for the Twin Cities Regional Puppetry Festival with One Way Street, Inc. where Lee was responsible for handling the sales of all the ministry resources you see pictured, and Doug taught classes in basic ventriloquism, creating unique voices and developing puppet characters. In addition, Doug judged a puppetry competition, MC’ed a creative ministries competition, and delivered the closing challenge to the participants.

Actually, our trip started on Friday, when we were chauffeured to the airort by our dear friend Chloe Burke. Chloe is 4 years old, so she brought her mom, Lori, to drive. We introduced her to “Peepers” which turn your hand into a puppet, and a new friend was born! What a joy to be cared for by these loving friends. Lori is in our small group at church, and works with Lee on Kingdom Kids.

The Minneapolis area seems to be a pocket full of creative people. This festival always seems to have people who are particularly interested in good puppetry and good ministry. We renewed some friendships with creative friends we’ve known over the years, such as Bram Jarvis, the creator of the blacklight fish puppets we used last summer at VBS (see blog entry for August, ’07).

We also got to spend some time with Lisa Laird, an excellent ventriloquist from Orange City, Iowa. Lisa and her husband Alan, head the “Laird Legacy” of outstanding puppeteers and vents. I’ll get their website for you - you really should look them up. Lisa won a gold medal in the Creative Ministries competition, and taught a class on making “foam ball” puppets (We’re tellin ya - - ya gotta look up their site!).

This particular festival started in “recovery mode”, as a clerical error had sent all of the resources that were to be sold at our resource table (Lee’s domain) to Pittsburgh, instead of Minneapolis. A midnight run requiring the driving skills of KJ Schmidt and Dale VonSeggen brought the materials to Minneapolis by Friday, but eliminated the time required to set up the stage for Friday night’s theme performance. Ahhhh - the simplicity of ventriloquism! Doug stepped in with a vent performance reflecting the theme, “Planned with a Purpose”, using the simpler set up of a vent stand and a 9 foot grand piano!

Regional festivals begin at supper time on Friday nights and go at 110 mph until they roll to a stop at about the same time on Saturday. They offer anywhere from 5 to 8 classes for each of the three workshop periods, and still have time for three performances, devotions and shopping for new resources.

After the festival, the staff packed and cleaned up all that was left, and headed out for dinner. A stop at the Mall of America proved that retail in the US is thriving! 2 hour waits for a table!! We opted to leave, and headed back to the Chili’s by our hotel. A delightful dinner later, we were all tired, and headed back to our rooms for the night. It’s hard to imagine we’ve only been here since Friday!

As we’re writing this post, we’re 35,000 feet above the US - somewhere over one of the Great Lakes, and the ice floes are fascinating. By tomorrow, we’ll be back to our daily chores and business. next weekend it happens all over again, as Lee heads to Virginia to see Chrissy, Todd, Sam and Dylan, and Doug heads to Brooksville, Florida for the Tampa Bay Area regional Puppetry Festival. Maybe we should just get our mail delivered to the baggage claim at Newark Airport!

Thanks for checking in - we’ll have more news for you shortly!

God be with you, and thanks for all your prayers and cares.

In His arms,

Doug and Lee

Something Special for Easter

Everyone dresses up for Easter, so we dressed up Dad and took him "out" for dinner!

Actually, Lee prepared a fantastic meal in East Rutherford, loaded it into laundry baskets, packed it in the car and headed off for Whiting. We brought the works - ham, cheesey potatoes, asparagus, carrots - you name it! What a wonderful meal - and wonderful company.

Heather and Holly met us at Mom & Dad's apartment, and we all went together to retrieve Dad from Hamilton Place and bring him back to his apartment for the day. We had a grand time!

You can see from the photos that everyone was happy to be together. In a throwback to their youth, Heather & Holly gave Grandpa a set of squirt guns to keep him busy with the staff!

Today we went back down to meet with the Doctors, therapists and staff who are attending to Dad to get an appraisal of how he's doing. Good news! He's coming along well!

The therapist says he's progressing well, the doctor says he's right on schedule as far as recovering from the surgery, and everyone is pleased with his progress. According to them, he'll be there at least "a couple more weeks", but everyone sees him regaining the use of his legs and hip, and returning to the apartment with Mom.

In the mean time, please pray for patience and grace as he continues the physical therapy, and for continued recovery at his current rate.

Praise the Lord for his development so far, and for a wonderful staff at Hamilton Place, who, even though they're tired and often on their last "thread", they maintain a cheerful disposition and caring attitude.

If you have any questions, or if you'd like to make a comment, please feel free to click on the "comment" button and leave your thoughts.

We (Lee and Doug) are preparing this week to travel to Minneapolis this weekend (March 28-30) for a puppet festival with One Way Street. We'll be back later this week with more word on that.

In the mean time, thanks for stopping by and most of all for joining with us in prayer. God bless and keep you!!

Lee and Doug

BFF

That's what popular society today calls "Best Friends Forever"... and that's the best way to describe the friendship Dad has enjoyed with his friend and spirirutal brother, Henri Larrieu. They met when they were seven years old, and now they're eighty eight.. and still counting. When they were kids, they went to Deerfoot Lodge and that's where God took hold of their hearts, and together, they committed their lives to serving Him. After over 50 years of eldership and every kind of ministry leadership, their bond remains strong.

Yesterday (Saturday, March 15), Henri was able to visit Dad through the courtesy of his grandson, Matt Pizzulli. What a joy it was to watch to watch these BFF's fellowship! Thanks, Matt, for bringing your Grandpa down... sacrificing a whole day for your grandpa to see Walter again. That's a ministry unto the Lord!

They stayed for dinner, and you can see what a spread we all had! The food is wonderful, and Dad's eating better, now that he's in familiar territory. It was good to see him up and out of the room... in his own clothes! Hospital gowns are not befitting him!

We plan to spend some of Easter Sunday with Mom & Dad, so we'll report more on that later, but until then, we wanted to get these pictures to you of Dad & Henri. We know that many of you know both brothers, and these would be an encouragement.

Thanks for "tuning in". We'll have new "episodes" to come.

In the mean time, your prayers are still valued and always appreciated. Mom wants us to let you know how much she appreciates your prayers and interest. Who'd have thought that just checking out a website could be a ministry to someone?!

God bless & keep you - - and get pads for your knees - - we still need them knelt in prayer!

Doug and Lee

Peeking Through the Key Hole...

This is Hamilton Place at The Pines at Whiting. It's the convalescent center of the campus. We thought you'd all be interested in seeing the place from the inside out, so for those who can't get to Whiting, here it is. The dining room is designed to make you feel like you're home, so that when you're released, you'll be better adapted to your home environment. The hallway is so nice, you feel like you're home! If you look aaallllll the way down the hall, you'll see a door, and if you go through that door, turn left and you'll find  Mom & Dad's apartment just a few doors down on the left. As for the third photo, ... well.... sometimes a king just likes to stay in his room and hold court!

We wanted to share with you some good news that we got this morning from the social worker at Hamilton Place: as for Dad's physical infirmities, they anticipate a full recovery, and he should be as healthy and strong as he was before this whole journey began. He's responding well to the physical therapy, and he's cooperating nicely with the nurses. Unfortunately, the Altzheimer's will still run it's course, and the best we can do is pray and work with doctors who will help put off the more advanced stages as long as possible. You can pray for us about that.

We anticipate a visit this weekend, so we hope to have more good news for you. Thanks for checking back - and for the loving comments some of you have posted. It's at times like this that The Family (of God) comes together and upholds each other. Thank you for your cares and prayers!

'til we meet again, God be with you and keep you strong and healthy, y'hear?!

Doug and Lee

Home again...

Well, we're glad to report that Walter is back at the Pines! Hooray!!!

He was transported yesterday (Tuesday), and got settled early in the afternoon. Mom, Carol and Heather (three generations, there) were there to greet him when he got back. He also received several "old" friend visitors as well as a giant "get well" card from the Kingdom Kids (ages 4 thru 7) at Rutherford Bible Chapel (Lee oversaw the creation of the card). It's nice to be welcomed!

Today he settles into his rigors of rehab. Therapy in the mornings, visitors in the afternoon. 

Pray for the therapists and the medical staff at Hamilton Place. They need to get him up and walking and using the new hip as much as possible... trying to get him back to his "normal" schedule, or at least as close as he can get. He seems to be doing well - - he walked about 15 feet on his own yesterday.

We all thank you for your continued prayers and cares. The outpouring of concern for Dad has been comforting and encouraging. Thank you so much!

Keep checking back - we'll try to get some new pictures for you, so you can see the happy camper in his natural environment. ha ha!

Thank you again. God bless & be with you!

Doug and Lee

Thanks for asking...

Well, there's good news, and there's... well, it's good news! Dad has been released to come home (back to the Pines) tomorrow morning. He's scheduled for a 10 - 10:30 run, but we're guessing that hospitals use clocks more as a suggestion than an actual time piece. Still, coming "home" is good news. He'll face a regimen of therapy for his hip, but he does so much better at the Pines.

The other good news is that the convalescent portion of the Pines, a.k.a. Hamilton Place, is on the same floor as their apartment. So, Mom won't be climbing stairs to visit him. All that's between them is a door with a combination lock - - and mom has the combo!

Thank you all for your prayers! Please continue to pray for Mom, Dad & the staff at Hamilton Place. God is good, but He's not done, yet!

Lee and Doug

Doctors and Nurses and beds, Oh My!

First, our thanks to everyone who has been praying for dad. Your prayers are deeply appreciated.

Dad got some good news today from the doctors: his gallbladder problem is chronic! Now, that sounds like a bad thing, but the way it translates to his current situation is this: no surgery needed at this point. Because the problem is chronic, and not life-threatening, it can be treated as an ongoing condition, using medications. The organ is working, it's just damaged. So, it's been decided to go back to plan A and get dad up and around, and get his hip moving, as they originally planned. They'll watch how his "innards" change once he gets back up on his feet and moving around again.

As for coming home, the original plan (previous to the gallbladder situation) was for dad to go back to the Pines for rehabilitation on or about Monday. Now that we're going back to that plan, it appears that Monday or Tuesday will see him return to the Pines (Hamilton Place), although we personally think that it's more Tuesday than Monday.

Until then, please pray for Mom and Dad, both. Dad's getting tired of being in a hospital - and seemingly of being in a bed all day. That means that Mom tries to keep him comfortable and not as irritated. Pray that the doctors will be attentive to him, so that his return home is not delayed.

Thank the Lord for the medical staff at SOCH, who have been so caring and watchful of him. We heard that at one point, they put him in a chair and wheeled him out to the nurse's station just so they could keep an eye on him.

We'll keep you updated on his latest condition as soon as we get word, ourselves. Once again, thank you for your fellowship and loving concern.

In His arms,
Lee & Doug

Long Time, No See

Through the years, Doug' parents, Helen and Walter Nearpass, have been a strong influence on his life. They encouraged him to learn God's Word in their home, and then to use his musical talents for God's glory through his college years and beyond.

This past year saw them sell the house in which Walter had lived for 80 years, and move to "The Pines at Whiting", a retirement community in Whiting, New Jersey. For those who did not hear, it was two weeks ago tonight that Walter, Doug's dad, began a medical roller coaster that has kept everyone who knows him in prayer. Fortunately, through it all, Walter has kept a joy in his heart and a smile on his face. When Lee saw him last night, she leaned in to him and whispered, "Don't forget - Jesus loves you, and keeps you in the palm of His hand," to which he looked back at her and replied, "I told you that years ago!"

Here's the chronology as Lee put it together:

On Saturday, Feb. 23rd, Walter fell in their walk-in closet at the Pines. He fell on his tail bone and bumped his head. He walked around some on that Saturday and the next day Sunday the 24th. He began to become disoriented later that day and by evening was hallucinating. Helen called the medical team and they took him by ambulance to Community Health Center in Toms River at 1 a.m. on the Monday the 25th where he was in the ER for 41 hours There he had a CAT scan and blood tests and it was determined that he had not had a stroke. They put a wrist band on him that said RISK FOR FALL. All day Monday, Doug and I and Helen stayed with Walter. He was hallucinating all day. We waited for a medical team to give us a diagnosis. At 10:30 p.m. on Monday the 25th, a crisis team dr. suggested we transfer him to St. Barnabas Behavioral Center in Toms River for further evaluation and tests. More waiting. On Tuesday evening at 6:30 p.m. Walter was tranferred to St. Barnabas. On that same day, Helen began taking antibiotics for bronchitis. Wednesday, the 27th, Heather, Doug and I visited Walter at St. Barnabas where they told us that the night before Walter had tried to get out of bed and fell on the floor. He claimed he was dizzy and just decided to lay on the floor! I think this is where he broke his hip. He had some pain in his left leg after that. As far as we know, this pain wasn't investigated. Walter was at St. Barnabas from that Tuesday, Wed., Thurs., Fri., Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Dimentia was the diagnosis. Monday evening, Holly, Doug and I visited Walter again. On Wednesday, March 5th, Doug and I successfully transferred Walter back to Hamilton Place at the Pines - the acute care facility, where he finally had a complete team of physicians and social workers examine him. On Thursday the 6th, he was complaining of leg pain. An x-ray was ordered and they found a fractured hip. Walter was transferred to Southern Ocean County Hospital and on Friday, March 7th he underwent a partial hip replacement successfully. Today, Saturday, the 8th of March, he was complaining of stomach pain. After an ultrasound, it has been determined that Walter has gall stones and a damaged gall bladder. We are presently in a holding pattern waiting for doctors to determine the next step. Carol, Doug's sister, and brother-in-law Dennis have arrived from Chicago. Helen is tired but back to good health We are all praising the Lord for his provision of excellent doctors and care teams now, and loving families everywhere praying.

The pictures above were taken on Wednesday, March 5, during Walter's brief stay at Hamilton Place at The Pines. Keep praying for Walter, then come back and check on his progress as we learn it ourselves. Thank you all for your continued care, interest and most of all, your prayers.

In His arms,

Lee & Doug