42- Home Again, Home Again…

42- Home Again,

Home Again…

Dan was very worried about me, and we were both concerned about our baby, due in six weeks. I was exhausted and half sick, as you can see in the picture, as I laid my body down in the airport during our layover at JFK after our flight from Zurich. On to Los Angeles, and a happy reunion with my parents and my sisters.

Tired mama at JFK, resting my weary bones!

The three of us at my parents (Timmy is hiding) — The three of us at my parents’ house (Timmy is hiding). It was always SO GOOD to be HOME!

My parents were so relieved that we were finally back on US soil. I’m sure my mom fixed my favorite foods, and everyone joined us in being concerned about my barely protruding belly and minuscule weight gain (14 pounds at this point, if I remember correctly). After a several days of family love, excellent food–and my mom’s prodding to eat hearty, and resting up, we returned to Reno, staying with Dan’s Gramma Fern for several days until we found a home.

April 4, 1979 Fears today. Little faith. I read Psalm 31, and then I faced my problem: feeling inadequacy as a parent, fear that I cannot give the love that our baby will need. We learned in our pre-natal class last night about some birth defects and genetic problems. My conclusion—we are all defective in our genetic makeup because of Adam’s sin. Everyone who ever existed is defective. Everyone, but our Lord Jesus. And someday we will all be like Him. In the meantime HE IS THE LOVE we need to accept each other as we are. He is the love I need to accept myself as I am. He is the love I need to accept baby Lemaire, just exactly as God has created him/her. If there are physical or mental deficiencies, we will be okay. By faith I married an imperfect man, (and look what love has blossomed)—and he married me! What faith. And by faith we conceived a child that we really wanted and assuredly the Lord will provide the bonds of love that will be a blessing to the three of us.

Happy happy little family — Our happy happy little family. Timothy means ‘honoring God’ and Micah means ‘who is like unto the Lord. Our good friend, Chas Sulita, from Bible School had shared with us using Micah as the middle name.

Timothy Micah Lemaire was born April 28, 1979, weighing in at 7 pounds 14 ounces! I had prayed that he would not be premature so that when people counted the months they would know he was a nine-month baby and that we had not fooled around before we got married. It was really important to me, because of my history of promiscuity. Thank You, Jesus! We had to leave Timmy in the hospital NICU (on IV antibiotics) for three days for jaundice and a suspected infection. That was SO hard. The three of us were soon reunited and snug in our little brick house on Cheney Street. Our mothers, who came to be called GG and Bebo, each came for a visit in those first few weeks, and Dan’s other grandmother, Mumbo, gave us a baby shower inviting Dan’s college friends. Dottie’s shower included friends from church and JoAnn’s shower included my teaching friends. It was humbling to receive SO MUCH! Dan bought us a small apartment-sized washing machine, and I washed the cloth diapers and hung them and everything else on the clothesline in the back yard.

41- Precious Goodbyes from Precious Friends

March 6, 1979

Yesterday we received a letter from Dan’s ex-boss, Dale, that the job is still Dan’s (interesting jobs that please Dan), along with the freedom to also be involved in ministry. Thank You!

Two days ago Mr. Moore suggested Sue take us in the van all the way to Zurich on Friday! Thank You Jesus! (rather than part way and a train the rest of the way)

Yesterday I called my parents and was greeted with cheerfulness. Thank You Jesus!

Our friends gave us a baby-shower-goodbye-SURPRISE party! God humbles us in various ways.

**In reality, there were 100 happy faces!**

May we never forget the sea of loving faces. Chas: I learned about Christian marriage. Ed: they listened. Abraham (Kenya): they loved the simple-minded (which he was NOT). Kathy Jansen: they listened and told me the right thing even if I did not want to hear it. Terri: G’s example of not having to be in the middle, but content to pray. Angel: they helped. Sue: we cried together. Tom: not separated by age from them. Daniel: example. Notes, candy boxes, baby cover-up. Principal and his wife Anita: baby sweater. VP Herb and Penny: a very cute German baby outfit. Speeches. Hugs. Tears.

May the love shown to us here rejoice our hearts forever. May God’s grace enable us to be available to these dear ones as we have boldly offered ourselves (for visits). May they know it was Jesus between us, and many prayers, never enough, but many prayers of intercession.

Thank You, God our Father for the unspeakable great gift of Jesus Christ.

40- Leery of Reading the Word

February 8, 1979

Problem: Fear about reading the Word, in studying, and in doing devotions—that I will be led astray. Lack of full trust and dependence on the Holy Spirit—my heart says: remember what happened before and how far you got into a lie (when I believed as a new Christian that God was telling me that I was going to marry a particular person and I was derailed….)

Lord, I just want to hear from you... — Lord, I just want to hear from you…

Realization: I did not have awareness then in my first few months of being a new believer of my deceitful heart. I was immature. I did not know the difference between my voice building me up and the spirit of the evil one (I will be God, I will be lifted up) and the spirit of submission to the almighty Lord, the spirit of humility.

Application: Joshua 6:1-20 God gave a promise. God gave instructions. God expected obedience and God would give victory. OBEDIENCE isn’t an OPTION. Trust and obey. For me: the promise of a child who is a reward [The fruit of the womb is His reward. Ps 127:3] –and is who is blessed. Walk by faith. Trust Him. Obey Him. ‘Don’t shout’ means to me: don’t complain, murmur, worry aloud, doubt aloud. Take your woes to Daddy and your heart should be abundant with faith in Him.

39- A Demanding Week for a Lady in her 7th Month

39- A Demanding Week for a Lady in her Seventh Month

Our Bible school’s annual evangelistic outreach to a German city 85 miles away was a real challenge for me.

February 6, 1979 Situation: Hard week in Dettingen, with no milk, but eggs and cheese, long hours, three days of door-to-door evangelism (handing out tracts, witnessing when people showed an interest) with so many staircases to climb.

We had 4 days of no door-to-door. We visited several churches to give our testimonies and invite people to accept the Lord. We stayed with a German-speaking family and a pregnant woman who was very depressed. We met a pastor who was concerned with my welfare as a pregnant lady. Enid (an RN) was concerned for my condition and health (which always causes the old Georgann to look inside for a reason to say “poor me”)—-in other words, lots of stretching. Then Sunday night diarrhea and vomiting and it was a miracle of prayer and mercy from God that I made the three-hour bus trip home without being sick or giving in to the flesh. AMEN

Back at the dorm, slept all day Monday and most of Tuesday while others went to lectures.

Going through my mind: I want to go home in February as we initially planned. Then in pity trips. But, by God’s grace, not a word to Dan. Satan even suggested suicide or falling on purpose to get attention to my plight. Praise God I knew it was him and rejected him. God has been seeing me through.

Revelation: Then Judy Johnson called and told the story of Dennis Gains getting beat up in the Lord’s service of picking up three hitchhikers, and God began speaking to me through 1 Peter 4:12,13,16,19 about what trials and testings are really all about. I got perspective.

Application: It seems that my lovely Lord allows man’s words and various circumstances to come, then come my own doubts and weaknesses, along with Satan’s encouragement to fear and do something drastic. There’s so much lying against believing in God and His goodness, His character of love, His past faithfulness. How can God win against all that? Because He’s God. Because we turn by His grace and seek Him.

Now I can write to Dennis.

38- Appealing to the Father

January 2, 1979 Since I went to the doctor two weeks ago, I have been counting contractions daily because he said six means trouble. Oh how anxious and fearful I have become. Rejoice always, be anxious for nothing, pray with thanksgiving, AND HIS PEACE WILL KEEP YOU. Philippians 4:4-7 (paraphrased)

Later: I am overcome! Slipped into the pit. Where does responsibility get practical for our baby? Do we become parents now and go home to prepare a place? Or do we continue in our role as Bible students and trust God for preparing a place? Also I am frustrated and so bored with the food. And there is more…it all makes me double-minded and easily tossed about. Continue reading “38- Appealing to the Father” →

34 – A Required Separation!

We arrived in Friedrichshafen several days before the term began, expecting that we could stay at the school. We wanted to set up housekeeping and become familiar with the village while Dan practiced his high school German on the shopkeepers. I guess we hadn’t read the small print. There was no provision for early arrivals because the facility was in constant use for conferences and was not available to the students until the first day of the term.

The first night, I became very seriously ill, from the flu, food poisoning or too much greasy pizza. I can still remember our fears about our baby’s well being as we rode nervously in a taxi, driven by a man that would not be hurried, from our small pension to the hospital in the middle of the night. Continue reading “34 – A Required Separation!” →