Helping Jim and Elsa

Here's the less-serious news first:

The repairman finally came this afternoon to fix my dripping water heater. A few turns of a pair of pliers later and the dripping stopped. So far, so good.

Mark's parents and sister have been in town for the past week, and yesterday I went with them to Bremerhaven. They had wanted to make the trip, but Karen couldn't go because she had German class, so they recruited me to help Mark with navigation and translating. All in all it was a fun day that provided a break from the seriousness of the past few weeks. I'll try to post a few pictures soon.

And now the more-solemn news:

Sunday afternoon, Mark and Sergej took the Lord's Supper to Jim. He hasn't been at church in a few weeks, and as of this point we don't know when he'll be able to attend services again. Mark said the fellowship seemed to be good for Jim, so several men are going to take turns sharing Communion with him each Sunday.

Then Sunday evening, I went to the Springers' house with a small group of people to sing for Jim. It was the first time I'd seen him in three weeks. He seemed really tired, and his voice was weak, but he was glad to see us and enjoyed the singing. After we sang the German version of "It is Well with My Soul," Jim got a bit emotional and said, "That's been one of my favorite songs for over 50 years." Several of us had had trouble getting through the hymn as it was, but after Jim's comment I really had to fight back the tears.

In all honesty, Jim did not look good. His abdomen was distended, and he was really pale. The gravity of the situation became quite apparent to me after the visit on Sunday. The Springers' daughter, Karin, arrived in town on Saturday evening, and I know her presence has been a tremendous blessing for both Jim and Elsa.

Jim is uncomfortable right now but doesn't seem to be in pain. I've told Elsa that I want to help in any way I can, and beginning tomorrow I'm going to take care of some "secretarial" work for them. Just about everyone in the congregation is banding together to help support Jim and Elsa in different ways, and I know that's what it's going to take for all of us to get through this.

Please continue to pray for the Springers and for the congregation. We all appreciate your petitions to the Father, and I know they're being heard. Gott mit Euch!