Shocking I know I haven't blogged 11 months but I did wan to post my christmas letter her for all to see. Please enjoy. I am sorry but it would not allow me to post the photos that went along with the letter. If you really want to see the whole letter picutres in all send me an email wallfam@live.com and I will email you a copy. God Bless and Enjoy. Melissa
WALL FAMILY NEWS! Greetings from Maine. It’s Christmas time again and we wanted to write and share with you all the wonderful things God has done in our lives over the past year. It will be Christ-mas in July for our family when Baby #5 is due. We are thrilled God has chosen to give us again with another baby. We were blessed with a family trip to Toronto to visit Dan’s Sister and Husband, We went to NY, MA, NH, RI and Melissa took a trip to NC and SC for a cousins wedding. We also had our annual week at the lake, visit from Dan’s par-ents and visitors from around the world.
For Dan’s birthday we went to In Nov. Dan awoke in the night to the worst pain he had ever felt in his life. I was away in NH so he called Jeremy who rushed him to the ER. He was diagnosed with Kidney stones and sent home to pass them. Within 18 hours they had passed and he was back to work the next day. I, Melissa got diagnosed I am no longer retired from the Pampered Chef. I have done more parties this year then ever before. I did my Annual Giveaway party and had a record attendance of 55+ people. It was a full house that night but fun.“ I have come that you may have life and have it more abundantly.”John 10:10 Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Dan, Melissa and Family. May this Christmas season bring you closer to Jesus for He said The 4 Little Wall’s Corner! Alicia turned 6 in April. She is in 4-H. She has started reading very well. She is always happy and loves to help and do chores. She is the most excited about the new baby and is hoping for twins Eli is now 8. He too is ac-tively involved in 4-H. This year he entered a Blueberry Pie making contest and won first prize and $25. He loves chopping firewood, and just being outdoors. He is counting the days to when he can hunt his first deer. Faith has grown into a young woman. She turned 10 this year. She has taken up sewing, and she won first place at the fair for a pillow. She also has made, a stuffed animal and blanket She was voted to be 4-H president. She is learning the role of leader-ship and working with others. Emma will turn 4 in January. She loves anything girl- purses, dolls and dresses. Currently we are working with her to stop sucking her thumb. She wears Our kids, along with the Bur- Remember Jesus is the Reason for the Season. WE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU OR BETTER YET COME VISIT!HONE # 207-426-9672MAIL: WALLFAM@LIVE.COMAN AND MELISSA WALLYMAN RD P E
D
145 W CLINTON, ME 04927
In January Dan decided to start a new business selling firewood. He enjoys working with wood, spending time out-doors and meeting new people. He does this as a side business to his Construction. Merry Christmas!
Shocking I know I haven't blogged 11 months but I did wan to post my christmas letter her for all to see. Please enjoy. I am sorry but it would not allow me to post the photos that went along with the letter. If you really want to see the whole letter picutres in all send me an email wallfam@live.com and I will email you a copy. God Bless and Enjoy. Melissa
WALL FAMILY NEWS! Greetings from Maine. It’s Christmas time again and we wanted to write and share with you all the wonderful things God has done in our lives over the past year. It will be Christ-mas in July for our family when Baby #5 is due. We are thrilled God has chosen to give us again with another baby. We were blessed with a family trip to Toronto to visit Dan’s Sister and Husband, We went to NY, MA, NH, RI and Melissa took a trip to NC and SC for a cousins wedding. We also had our annual week at the lake, visit from Dan’s par-ents and visitors from around the world.
For Dan’s birthday we went to In Nov. Dan awoke in the night to the worst pain he had ever felt in his life. I was away in NH so he called Jeremy who rushed him to the ER. He was diagnosed with Kidney stones and sent home to pass them. Within 18 hours they had passed and he was back to work the next day. I, Melissa got diagnosed I am no longer retired from the Pampered Chef. I have done more parties this year then ever before. I did my Annual Giveaway party and had a record attendance of 55+ people. It was a full house that night but fun.“ I have come that you may have life and have it more abundantly.”John 10:10 Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Dan, Melissa and Family. May this Christmas season bring you closer to Jesus for He said The 4 Little Wall’s Corner! Alicia turned 6 in April. She is in 4-H. She has started reading very well. She is always happy and loves to help and do chores. She is the most excited about the new baby and is hoping for twins Eli is now 8. He too is ac-tively involved in 4-H. This year he entered a Blueberry Pie making contest and won first prize and $25. He loves chopping firewood, and just being outdoors. He is counting the days to when he can hunt his first deer. Faith has grown into a young woman. She turned 10 this year. She has taken up sewing, and she won first place at the fair for a pillow. She also has made, a stuffed animal and blanket She was voted to be 4-H president. She is learning the role of leader-ship and working with others. Emma will turn 4 in January. She loves anything girl- purses, dolls and dresses. Currently we are working with her to stop sucking her thumb. She wears Our kids, along with the Bur- Remember Jesus is the Reason for the Season. WE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU OR BETTER YET COME VISIT!HONE # 207-426-9672MAIL: WALLFAM@LIVE.COMAN AND MELISSA WALLYMAN RD P E
D
145 W CLINTON, ME 04927
In January Dan decided to start a new business selling firewood. He enjoys working with wood, spending time out-doors and meeting new people. He does this as a side business to his Construction. Merry Christmas!
I was out picking some raspberries this morning and was missing Marie. Then I realized I never posted her eulogy... so to honor Marie, here it is... We held a memorial service at the church and then a week later, buried her. The children gathered wildflowers for her. She would have loved that!!
It was March of 1979. I had just strapped two toddlers and a new baby into the car to head for the grocery store. When I stopped at the end of the drive, I noticed a woman walking towards me. I rolled down the window to greet her. Marie had just moved in to the Gables boarding home next door. I was being neighborly, but she was about to change our lives forever.
Marie was born in Sheridan, Maine on June 7, 1919. She would have been 90 in three days. A sister, born before Marie, had died at age three. She had five older brothers, making her the baby of the family. “My mother never wanted me,” she would often recall with deep sadness. Marie was institutionalized as a child and spent the rest of her life moving from one institution to another.
Memories of her short time with her family haunted her all her life. She could never forget the abuse and lack of love. It even made her suicidal at times. More than once we had to stop her from walking down the road because she wanted to jump off a bridge. We knew her for 30 years and in all that time no relative ever contacted her. The only people in her life were people who were paid to care for her… until that day in March of 1979.
She started coming for visits. Then, she asked if there were things she could do for me. She loved it when I left dishes to be washed, clothes to be folded, or dusting to be done. Every home school mom should have a Marie. During strawberry season, she liked to go and help us pick for the farm stand… but she could eat at least as many as she could put in the box.
She would talk for months about her birthday. I remember the first one we shared with her. I invited the Gable ladies over and surprised Marie with a cake, balloons, and gifts. She was so overcome, she could not stop crying. “This is the first birthday party I’ve ever had,” she said, sobbing. I never did a party like that for her again. It was way too emotional for her and brought back too many painful memories.
“It’s not a family unless there are babies and pets,” she often would remind me. And she meant it. She loved both dearly. Even though the birthday party didn’t work out, she loved coming for Christmas and other family holidays. We were always amazed at how well she could remember names of relatives she saw only once a year. “I pray for them all by name every night,” she would often remind me. And she meant it.
She was never married and she never had a baby, but she had lots of pets over the years. Real ones like birds, turtles, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils, and fish….and stuffed animals that she carefully displayed on her bed every day.
“Never buy an elephant unless the trunk is up,” she would always remind me when she knew I was going on a mission trip. “I’m told it’s bad luck if the trunk isn’t up.” That was her way of reminding me not to forget to bring back something for her when I traveled. Plants were another of her favorites and I have a couple that she gave me.
How do I explain her wit? Just when you think she’s not even paying attention, she would come out with some very funny (and perceptive) one liners. She had her own standup comedy.
She never liked her name. She wanted to be called Mary. She told me she got her name changed, but I thought she was making it up. She made up stories sometimes after seeing something on TV or hearing something that the staff would read out of the newspaper. I could never call her Mary – she was a Marie. Imagine my surprise when I went through some of her papers and discovered that she really did get a name change in 1995.
I could never get her last name right either. I say DUbay, but the proper pronunciation is DUbee. Bill Tuttle got it right. He befriended her when he visited his aunt at Woodlawn. He called her Scooby Dooby – and she loved that.
Marie was raised as a Catholic. Of course, as she became part of our family we wanted her to go to church with us. In the beginning she felt she had to get permission from the priest. Sometimes they would say yes, but when the priest said no, she would not come.
Every Christmas I would take her shopping so she could buy socks for her priests, Bob and Pastor Wayne. I said many times that as long as Marie was alive, Bob and Pastor Wayne would never need to buy socks. Eventually all the priests died or moved away and I didn’t hear any more about the Catholic priests.
I was always concerned about her salvation and would speak about Jesus many times. She had the understanding of a child when it came to Spiritual things. She said she loved Jesus, but I was never sure if she understood that He was her only way to heaven. I tried to talk about it in many ways. She agreed with everything we talked about.
Normally, Marie was very polite and decent, but if she got mad at something or someone she could swear – and occasionally tell an off colored story, or sing an off colored song. I would be quick to remind her that this kind of behavior hurt God’s ears – and mine. She understood – at least until the next time she got mad. She never got mad at me. I continued to pray that God would give her a full understanding of salvation, but I was never quite sure until...
one day when Pastor Wayne visited her and her roommate, Theresa. He shared the Gospel with them. Theresa prayed for salvation and to Pastor’s surprise, Marie prayed right along with her. I really think something different happened in her life that day. She couldn’t wait to tell me about what she had done. There was a difference in her. She would speak about that day many times after that. She would readily tell everyone, “I’m protestant now.” which I believe was her way of expressing her born again experience.
“Every morning I wake up singing hymns,” she often told me after that day. God knew that I had doubts about her soul, and I believe He used these hymns to offer evidence of the transformation within her. She loved to play those hymns on her harmonica and accordion every chance she could. She loved music, and she loved playing with Pastor Wayne and his guitar.
Marie loved to stay busy… tending her plants, her pets and doing hand work. She loved to crochet, knit and do cross stitch. I’ve brought some of her work today.
She loved to dress up. She carefully picked out the right color headbands and jewelry to match. She loved pocketbooks, too.
Wherever Marie went, she was low maintenance and loved by everyone. She was an “I’d rather do it myself” kind of girl. It was usually a good thing until she wouldn’t ask for help at times when she should. She was never demanding. That’s why it was hard to understand when the Gables suddenly moved her to Winthrop and put her in a nursing home. She had loved at the Gables for 21 years – longer than she had ever lived anywhere else.
Before this happened, I had often wondered how you could adopt an adult. We had always wanted to make Marie our own. After she was suddenly moved away from us, I discovered the guardianship program. It took a long year and a half to get her out of that home and closer to us once again, but in the end Bob and I became her official guardians and she was ours. Nothing could happen to her and no decisions could be made on her behalf unless we approved.
It also meant that we got the calls in the middle of the night if she had to be rushed to the hospital. If possible, I would drop everything and rush to her side… not only to sign papers, but, more importantly, to let her know she was not alone.
Her times in the hospital lit up so many lives. Everyone loved her, no matter what institution she was in. She’d tell the doctors how nice lookin’ they were, and would entertain nurses with her laugh. “I wish we could record her laugh,” they would often tell me. Oh that laugh. Sometimes she couldn’t stop. When it happened in church the girls would look at me like, “Mom! Isn’t there something you can do?” The opposite of her uncontrollable laughter was her uncontrollable crying. I would much rather hear her laugh.
The day we appeared in court for the guardianship decree, I picked up Marie so she would witness the official signing. As we drove toward the courthouse, I noticed that Marie was very quiet.
“Are you okay, Marie?”
“Yes. “
“You seem so quiet. Are you afraid? “A long pause.
“Maybe a little. “
“But why? This is a happy day for all of us. You’re going to become a part of our family. “
She stared straight ahead and didn’t respond. I explained that the judge was someone that we knew and it would be okay. Another long pause.
“You mean, he’s not like Judge Judy?” It cracked me up. “She’s mean to people,” she said firmly. I assured her that Judge Mitchell would not be mean. From that day forward she would tell friend and stranger, “She’s my guardeen.”
When you work with people like Marie, you have to be careful what you do with them. If you do it once, they come to expect it. Their expectations become unrealistic at times. How do you get them to understand how busy a mom’s life is or what her interruptions and distractions and responsibilities are like? So, be careful what you promise and you better plan to be on time. They count on it, and things become ritual very quickly.
For Marie, her expectations were always Sunday church, then lunch at our house and then to Wal-mart for shopping and Dunkin Donuts – make that a chocolate sugared one with a Diet Pepsi. And, no matter how full I was from lunch, I had to have something, too. She did not like any deviations from that ritual, no matter how fun they could be. Sometimes in the summer I’d try to talk her into a Gifford’s ice cream instead. “Nope, I got a bad cone there once,” she would say. But, she was making it up.
Thank goodness for the Estes who would often pitch hit for us if we were away and could not pick her up for church. Marie always loved her time with them, but I could tell she didn’t want to act too happy about it just in case it might become a permanent thing. She was never 100% secure in her relationship with us. I think she always feared we would abandon her at some point. Little did she know how Shari yearned to take her in and care for her in their family setting.
In spite of her insecurities, she did share us with some of her friends from the homes. Sandy Pooler was one of those friends. She started attending church with Marie, and became a close friend of mine. When she died suddenly at the age of 57, her estate was the seed money that made this building possible. We probably wouldn’t be sitting here today if it wasn’t for our Marie.
Theresa was another friend that started coming to church with Marie. In fact, Marie and I didn’t do anything without Theresa. We even did girl overnights together at the farm. They loved to help me get ready for big family events. They were a huge help and tons of fun.
My mother-in-law has often said that “people die the way they live.” That was true of our Marie. As she was rapidly declining, Wayne and Linda came. Wayne read Scriptures and she never took her eyes off him as he read. (Of course, part of that was her crush that she had on him.) Then we began to sing hymns to her. She was too weak to say the words by then, but she was singing along with us. I know it was bringing her a lot of comfort and happiness to sing them. She would need it for the 48 hours that she became restless and could not sleep. True to her character, she never complained during the five days I spent with her as she readied for heaven.
Those five days were an answer to my prayers. I had asked God many times to allow me to be with her when the end came. I did not want her to go through it without us. In His grace and mercy, she knew I had come and would be with her until the end. How good is our God.
Her priceless worth became so evident through the response of the staff at Woodlawn. In those final days, staff from all departments made their way into her room to see how she was doing or to say their good byes. Most had tears in their eyes as they left.
One nurse had been out on a three week medical leave when someone called to tell her Marie was dying. She came right over. All these gestures touched us deeply. The end came softly. She opened her eyes and then, was gone. When it was over, many came to her room to commend us for our care for Marie.
It was hard for us to explain to them what she meant in our lives. It was not a burden to care for Marie… it was a privilege. It wasn’t that we had to do it; it was that we got to. God used Marie to teach us a lot about “the least of these” that He wrote about in Matthew.
“…that the works of God might be displayed in his life” was how Jesus put it when describing another special needs person, born blind, in John 9:3. “…that the works of God might be displayed in Marie’s life,” Jesus is showing us now.
Because she was significant to God she became significant to us. And no one loved us more than Marie.
The Psalmists tell us that God gives the desolate a home to live in… that He is the Father of orphans…it is He who upholds them and He that lifts up those who are bowed down. He used Marie to show us how true those words are.
I wish that we could do better for the Marie’s of this world. There are many more like her. I’ve met some of them. Governments and “for-profit” institutions are not equipped to do the job well. I think God’s people can do it better, and it’s my prayer that it will be done, somehow, somewhere and sometime soon.
Thank you for coming and sharing these memories with us. Thank you for your love to us and to Marie – for all your prayers – all your hugs – your laughs. It means so much to us. It meant so much to her – it meant everything to her. Please take time to look at the scrapbook of her life. And enjoy her favorite foods with us following the service.
Introduce Megan and the accordion… the Old Rugged Cross
I wanted to hear her accordion one more time…
That something turned out to be a rifle that shoots caps. It also included some Mountain Dew for supper and a trip to McDonald’s to play on the gym for awhile. Don’t tell their parents but it was 11 when we finally shut off the new DVD from Eli (Beverly Hillbillies) and I went to bed.
Around 5 AM I heard some thumping going on downstairs. “It can’t be the boys up this early,” I thought. Half asleep I went downstairs to find they were not only awake, they hadn’t gone to sleep. Whose idea was it to get that Mountain Dew anyway?
I tucked them all in and when I awoke again at 7 they were sound asleep. When the birthday boy woke up he had a sore throat and didn’t look so good. I was getting ready to take him home, but he decided to wait it out and see if he got better.
After breakfast Eli and Isaac headed to the cellar to stack some wood for me. I’m hoping to get some spray foam on the walls down there, so they helped move the wood away from the walls. They did a great job for little men.
Kaleb is our first grandchild that Dad never met. He had been gone only 43 days when Jeremy called at 4:15 that morning. Crysten had stayed overnight at Foshay’s and promised she would keep her cell phone nearby, but I couldn’t reach her.
I got over there around 5 and just laid on the couch waiting for things to kick into gear. Megan and Carissa woke up around 7 and I fed them breakfast before Aunt Melissa came over and took them to her house.
Mom had sent over a beef stew that we enjoyed with Jen, Crysten, Ethan and the midwives, Donna and Heather. Heather had been up all night delivering a baby and wanted to go home for awhile. She stayed until about supper time and returned around 7. Melissa brought the girls over for a couple of visits in the afternoon. Would Kaleb ever get here?
Loralei finally got into the birthing tub, but it and the hard work made her very hot. She wanted the door opened. We ended up delivering Kaleb with blankets and jackets on.
As soon as Kaleb arrived, 8:13 PM, his sisters came running over. He was having trouble breathing. We think he swallowed some myconium. Loralei was exhausted, but that didn’t stop her from getting in the shower ASAP. For that night, Kaleb’s breathing was very shallow and irregular. We prayed he was getting enough oxygen to his brain. Heather even pondered taking him to the hospital. The next day his breathing was perfect and his lungs clear of mucus. We were very grateful to God for that. Time has confirmed that we had no reason to fear any brain damage.
Kaleb has always been old for his age. He loves to be just like his dad and is a good worker. He loves to be kept busy doing meaningful things. That’s why he was disappointed that he couldn’t help with the wood today. (Of course, he’ll miss the pay that went with it, too.) Happy Birthday, Kaleb.
Not much time to write but wanted to send along some photos and prayer requests.
Since this is prayer meeting night for most of you back in the states, we wanted to give you some things you can be specifically praying about.
In Rejon: There are 3 girls that are being abused by their father. There is no remedy for this except the transforming power of God. There are no social agencies to deal with the safety of these girls.
Today the team starts a new project in that village. Pray it will be a door open for the gospel.
Dr. Sarah is accompanying a Mayan Indian mother and daughter into Guatemala city to see a heart specialist. We don’t think this family is saved, but they have been very responsive to the efforts made on behalf of her daughter.
Yesterday Ed preached at a rehab center for men. When Luis translated the invitation, several men made a profession of faith. Pray for good understanding in their hearts and for fruit that remains.
Pray for Pastor Rodwell and Hilda working with the desperate poor in the Ixcan. Tomorrow they make the 15 hour trek up there on very bad roads. They are grandparents, so it is a challenge for them. When they get there Hilda will be working with women and Rodwell will be training pastors. Their son, Gerber, works with the youth.
Pray for our ladies’ luncheon tomorrow that it will be a real encouragement to the missionary ladies we will be serving. We’re planning a seafood alfredo with Maine lobster, Maine shrimp and scallops.
We are sensing all your prayers on our behalf. God is at work in our hearts here. Thank you so much. We are especially thankful for good health. Susan for the team.
This was Fuego this morning. We can hear the booms when it goes off like this.
This is Elayna with some her friends from the Proximos Pasos girl's school
I wanted to send you an update before we leave for our trip on Saturday. God has been good to see us through some distractions and about $18,000 of fundraising. Today we tweaked more packing and will carry about 750 pounds of donated items. We have enough money to pay all our bills with a little left over in case we find some special needs on the field (and we always do.)
This could not be done without a lot of support from many people. Some have mentored us, helped me get ready as team leader, supplied transportation to airports and team meetings, supplied precious Spanish Bibles (and other great supplies), and many other ways of helping us reach our destination.
The Apostle Paul expressed it best “Not that I(we) seek the gift, but I(we) seek the fruit that abounds to your account. Indeed I(we) have all and abound. I(we) am full.”
For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. (Phil 4:17-18; Heb 6:10) God will count it as righteousness in their name.
For inquiring minds who want to know, here is our itinerary and what our daily schedule will look like. Prayer is the foundation of everything we do and we covet your prayers for us. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ... Pray that I(we) may proclaim it clearly, as I(we) should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Col 4:3-5
We will try to update you as we are able to during the trip. God bless, Susan for the team.
Saturday February 14
2:00 AM Assemble at Blount Farm:
4:00 AM Check in Delta Airlines counter
5:38 AM Depart Portland for Atlanta flight # 5656
9:00 AM Arrive Atlanta
10:05 AM Depart Atlanta for Guatemala City flight # 343
12:58 PM Arrive Guatemala City – move watches two hours ahead
Friday February 27 2:08 PM Depart Guatemala City for Atlanta on Flight # 342 6:35 PM Arrive Atlanta 8:00 PM Depart Atlanta for Portland on Flight # 5556 10:23 PM Arrive Portland
Typical Daily Schedule
6:15 Wake up, Dress
6:45 Music Worship
7:00 Personal Worship
7:25 Discussion
8:00 Breakfast and Group Discussion
8:45 Leave for ministry sites
4:00 Return to mission house for free time.
6:00 Dinner
7:00 Team activity
10:15 Prepare for tomorrow and for bed
10:30 Lights out
I'm still not able to do much blogging yet, so will copy the latest from Melissa's blog. Hope to get back in here soon. I bet your glad you were sitting down when you saw I had blogged. I know, my blogs are becoming fewer and farther between. What can I say, when life doesn’t have much to write. I don’t want to bore my readers. This past week has been emotionally straining for more ways then one but I knew I wanted to blog about it before it was faded memory in my mind. So where do I start, well what about 29 years ago. One day a lady stopped y my Mothers house. She said her name was Marie, she lived in the Gables boarding home next to our house. A quick friendship formed between Marie and our family. Marie was 60 years old at the time, no family and a ward of the state. What little details she shared with us of her life before we met her was riddled with sadness of abuse, neglect, abandonment and being shuffled from place to place because no one really wanted Marie. But once Marie came into our family she found a place were she was wanted. Marie loved babies and I was a newborn when she came. Marie would tell me countless stories of me being a baby, her taking care of me and me being difficult. One such story was me in my highchair thinking it was funny to throw my bowl on the floor repeatedly for Marie to pick up, laughing each time I did it. Oh how Marie would laugh every time she told me this story. I could tell you some funny stories about Marie but it would not be very honoring to her so I will keep it to myself. Through the years Marie lived at the Gables and we would visit her often, my mother took her shopping, to church and what ever else Marie wanted or needed to do. Marie loved Animals, she had her own private room at the Gables. She bought many a hamsters or bird. When ever one of them died we thought Marie would die right along with them she took it so hard. She loved to pray would pray faithful her prayers each night for the ones she loved. Marie grew up Catholic but in the last 10 years of her life she grew to love Pastor Wayne the Cornerstone church family that she informed us, “ Want to become a protestant.” Marie also loved to sew Embroidered pillow cases, They were so beautiful. She would sew them and sell them to the Staff at the homes were she lived. Marie made friends easily. One such friend was a lady named Sandy. She lived at the Gables also. I should write a whole other blog on her but she too became a friend of our family and our church. Then one day Marie was not at the Gables and the sad reality of being a ward of the state with no one to care for her became reality. Someone came to the Gables and tricked Marie into moving into her Nursing home. I can just see the owner of this home who just needed to fill beds saying to Marie. “Marie would like to come home and live with me!” Oh if Marie had only known that she would be leaving the Gables her home for 20 years to live in a home were there was 6 ladies per room, No privacy and people who didn’t care for Marie. She lost her life long collection of stuffed Animals, nick knacks, possessions and everything else she held dear. When my mother finally found Marie 45 minutes away in a home in Winthrop she vowed to be a voice for Marie so this would not happen again. My mother and father took legal action to become Maries guardians so anyone who wanted to do anything to Marie would have to get their approval first. It took a long time but my mother finally got Marie moved to another Nursing home in Sidney. My mother would faithfully pick Marie up for Church each Sunday, feed her lunch then take her to Wal-Mart and out for Ice Cream or Dunkin Doughnuts. You couldn’t skip any of these since they were the highlight of the week for Marie. Then Marie health started to fail, she got an infection in her foot and again she had to move from her home in Sidney to a nursing home in Skowhegan. My mother didn’t want Marie to live 45 minutes away again but they were the only ones who had a bed open . At first we were sure if this was the right place for Marie but as time went on Marie had won the hearts of the staff and she seemed to like her new home. I liked to call Marie the Energizer Bunny. She would fail in health and be on the brink of Death and bounce right back as if nothing had happen. On Monday my mother got the call and the DR said Marie would pass away in 24 to 48 hours. We all rushed to her bedside. Marie was very tired and weak. We tried to wake her up by talking to her and touching her but she was unresponsive. Wayne & Linda came a while later and we were all standing around her. Wayne was at the foot of the bed when all of the sudden without prompting, her eyes popped open and she looked right at Wayne and with a little cheery voice and big grin said "Hi"! She stayed awake for awhile and sang hymns with us and Wayne read her some scripture and prayed with her. She told us she loved Jesus! We praise God for giving us this special time with Marie. We thought her passing would be at any moment. Well again Marie is a fighter and night turned into day after day. My mother stayed by her side the entire time. Then on Friday afternoon I had just arrived and my mother and I were just catching up and my mother looked over and saw Marie was awake. “Melissa go over and talk with her.” She said. When I went close I could see Marie was not breathing. “I think she’s gone mom.” I said and then Marie breathed one last breath and her struggles on earth were over. So many of the staff came in and paid their last respects to Marie. They loved her so much. Throughout the week when Maries was dying they would come in a sit with her, talk with her and take loving care of her. She wasn’t just another patients to them. One lady nick named her Giggles. She did love to laugh. One of the nurses said to my mother and I “ I am so glad Marie had you guys.” Both my mother and I said in unison, “No we’re glad we had Marie.”
I bet your glad you were sitting down when you saw I had blogged. I know, my blogs are becoming fewer and farther between. What can I say, when life doesn’t have much to write. I don’t want to bore my readers. This past week has been emotionally straining for more ways then one but I knew I wanted to blog about it before it was faded memory in my mind. So where do I start, well what about 29 years ago. One day a lady stopped y my Mothers house. She said her name was Marie, she lived in the Gables boarding home next to our house. A quick friendship formed between Marie and our family. Marie was 60 years old at the time, no family and a ward of the state. What little details she shared with us of her life before we met her was riddled with sadness of abuse, neglect, abandonment and being shuffled from place to place because no one really wanted Marie. But once Marie came into our family she found a place were she was wanted. Marie loved babies and I was a newborn when she came. Marie would tell me countless stories of me being a baby, her taking care of me and me being difficult. One such story was me in my highchair thinking it was funny to throw my bowl on the floor repeatedly for Marie to pick up, laughing each time I did it. Oh how Marie would laugh every time she told me this story. I could tell you some funny stories about Marie but it would not be very honoring to her so I will keep it to myself. Through the years Marie lived at the Gables and we would visit her often, my mother took her shopping, to church and what ever else Marie wanted or needed to do. Marie loved Animals, she had her own private room at the Gables. She bought many a hamsters or bird. When ever one of them died we thought Marie would die right along with them she took it so hard. She loved to pray would pray faithful her prayers each night for the ones she loved. Marie grew up Catholic but in the last 10 years of her life she grew to love Pastor Wayne the Cornerstone church family that she informed us, “ Want to become a protestant.” Marie also loved to sew Embroidered pillow cases, They were so beautiful. She would sew them and sell them to the Staff at the homes were she lived. Marie made friends easily. One such friend was a lady named Sandy. She lived at the Gables also. I should write a whole other blog on her but she too became a friend of our family and our church. Then one day Marie was not at the Gables and the sad reality of being a ward of the state with no one to care for her became reality. Someone came to the Gables and tricked Marie into moving into her Nursing home. I can just see the owner of this home who just needed to fill beds saying to Marie. “Marie would like to come home and live with me!” Oh if Marie had only known that she would be leaving the Gables her home for 20 years to live in a home were there was 6 ladies per room, No privacy and people who didn’t care for Marie. She lost her life long collection of stuffed Animals, nick knacks, possessions and everything else she held dear. When my mother finally found Marie 45 minutes away in a home in Winthrop she vowed to be a voice for Marie so this would not happen again. My mother and father took legal action to become Maries guardians so anyone who wanted to do anything to Marie would have to get their approval first. It took a long time but my mother finally got Marie moved to another Nursing home in Sidney. My mother would faithfully pick Marie up for Church each Sunday, feed her lunch then take her to Wal-Mart and out for Ice Cream or Dunkin Doughnuts. You couldn’t skip any of these since they were the highlight of the week for Marie. Then Marie health started to fail, she got an infection in her foot and again she had to move from her home in Sidney to a nursing home in Skowhegan. My mother didn’t want Marie to live 45 minutes away again but they were the only ones who had a bed open . At first we were sure if this was the right place for Marie but as time went on Marie had won the hearts of the staff and she seemed to like her new home. I liked to call Marie the Energizer Bunny. She would fail in health and be on the brink of Death and bounce right back as if nothing had happen. On Monday my mother got the call and the DR said Marie would pass away in 24 to 48 hours. We all rushed to her bedside. Marie was very tired and weak. We tried to wake her up by talking to her and touching her but she was unresponsive. Wayne & Linda came a while later and we were all standing around her. Wayne was at the foot of the bed when all of the sudden without prompting, her eyes popped open and she looked right at Wayne and with a little cheery voice and big grin said "Hi"! She stayed awake for awhile and sang hymns with us and Wayne read her some scripture and prayed with her. She told us she loved Jesus! We praise God for giving us this special time with Marie. We thought her passing would be at any moment. Well again Marie is a fighter and night turned into day after day. My mother stayed by her side the entire time. Then on Friday afternoon I had just arrived and my mother and I were just catching up and my mother looked over and saw Marie was awake. “Melissa go over and talk with her.” She said. When I went close I could see Marie was not breathing. “I think she’s gone mom.” I said and then Marie breathed one last breath and her struggles on earth were over. So many of the staff came in and paid their last respects to Marie. They loved her so much. Throughout the week when Maries was dying they would come in a sit with her, talk with her and take loving care of her. She wasn’t just another patients to them. One lady nick named her Giggles. She did love to laugh. One of the nurses said to my mother and I “ I am so glad Marie had you guys.” Both my mother and I said in unison, “No we’re glad we had Marie.”
Merry Christmas from the 6 Wall’s.
So much has happened over the past year we want to share a little of our lives with you. In last year’s letter I (Melissa.) just had gallbladder surgery in hopes it would be the miracle cure for my chronic stomach issues and while I was recovering we were preparing to move to Guatemala for 6 months. We flew out to Guatemala on Dec 24th all 12 checked bags in tow along with a carry on for each of us. We had an overnight in NY City and much to our surprise the airline made us take all our luggage to our hotel. How do 2 adults and 4 small children carry 18 bags plus push a stroller with only 2 hands each? Dan is the miracle man and somehow managed to bring and fit all our bags in our little hotel room and back to the airport the following morning. We spent 6 months in Guatemala working with Fuego Christian college. Dan and I loved being involved with our 9 students lives, discipling them, doing ministry and falling in love with Guatemala and the great people of that country.
We learned quickly that we needed to learn Spanish if we wanted to get involved with the Guatemalan’s life, know their culture and live amongst them. Dan and I spent hours studying, Dan took a college Spanish course and I spoke with anyone and everyone I came in contact with. The kids were pretty sheltered living on the college campus where only English was spoken so after lots of prayer and consideration we decided to place the 3 oldest in school where they only spoke Spanish. The kids loved the time they had at school and cried on their last Day. I could write a book on our time in Guatemala and it is hard to write the highlights since everyday was a highlight for us. God blessed us with old and new friends, a great church we attended, lots of ministry opportunities, a small little house to call our home and views so breath taking of God’s creation from our door. If you want more details of our time there please check out my blog I wrote while there at . www.homeschoolblogger.com/wallfam
We are forever grateful to God, Fuego College and our church family for giving our family this lifetime opportunity to serve in Guatemala. Our family fell in love with Guatemala and pray the Lord will bring us back there again to serve. We are open to what ever God calls us to do.
Things at home in Maine have changed slightly. We decided to put in a new septic, well and driveway so we could separate our house from the Burbank’s. We now have our own “Wall St.” with a sign to prove it.
Dan spent lots of time golfing this summer, he even bought himself a new set of clubs. He goes when ever he gets the chance. He also has started teaching Foundations of the Faith Bible study at our home. Daniel Wall Construction is into it’s 10th year of business and we are thankful God has always provided for our family.
We celebrated our 10th anniversary in July. We spent months thinking about what we could do to celebrate and finally we chose on going to a Patriots game and an overnight. I had never been to a game before so it was exciting for me and Dan always loves going to any game. We enjoyed our time greatly. Thanks to my aunt who watched our kids while we were gone.
I keep busy with lots of different things. I retired from Pampered chef last year but have come out of retirement for some special occasions. I am home schooling the kids which I love. I got the kids involved with 4-H this year and they are loving it. While in Guatemala I wrote a blog mainly for my Dad because he asked me too, I had no idea how many people would faithfully read my blog. I had readers from all over the world including some of our student’s parents. I have never liked writing and English has always been a weak point for me yet some how people enjoyed the blog even with all the typo’s! When I think of writing things they always sound so good in my head and then when I go to put it on paper I get writers brain cramp and I can’t convey the wonderful thoughts I had in my head. God really stretched me with blogging. I personally would much rather talk out my thoughts then place them in writing.
In June Faith announced she wanted to save her money to buy an American Girl doll. I told her to come up with some creative ideas on how to raise the money and she became a little business woman. She painted rocks and sold them. (except for the time when her uncle said he would buy a rock if she paid him .10 and she did.) She helped me do a lawn sale and we sold all the junk we didn’t need. When she turned 9 in August for her birthday she asked for money, after saving for months she was finally able to buy herself an American Girl doll. After months of dreaming, working and saving she was able to buy Summer, her new doll. (see picture below.) She also got the chance to go with me se see Sarah Palin at a campaign rally.
Eli, who turned 7 in June, has started to read. All it took was one week at our church’s kids program where you learn Bible verses and Eli wanted to participate, so he sat down for hours a day learning how to read and memorize his verse and it has gone from there.
Alicia is now 5 and it just starting to read. She continues to be a bubbly happy go lucky little girl. She loves to help anyone she can. While in Guatemala she was given the opportunity to be in a Christian Music Video. She also was in her first wedding as a flower girl for her cousin Erika.
Emma is 2.5 and her biggest accomplishment this year is Potty training. There was a time when I never thought this would happen but after months of trying she finally caught on. She was our latest child to learn but then one day it clicked. She loves to dress up, babies and purses and will keep herself entertained for hours.
Well this is a very condensed version of our lives over the past year. If you want more details check out our blog . www.homeschoolblogger.com/wallfam
We pray God blesses you this Christmas season. Please don’t forget that Jesus is the reason for the season. Lets celebrate his birth. If you’re ever close to Clinton Maine come stop by. We would love to see you. With love from our house to yours .
Dan, Melissa, Faith, Eli, Alicia and Emma
We are still here, but not much time to write. It's been a happy stream of company lately with a great Christmas thrown in for good measure. Hopefully, I can get back to a regular writing schedule next week.
Michele and Randy and kids leave Friday morning. Today, Melissa is coming over for supper - tomorrow we have lunch with the Kevin Gowers and Thursday we have a farewell meal here with Chinese take out.
There is a stomach bug plaguing some. Thankfully it doesn't last long. So far, I have been spared.
Saw Marie yesterday and was very encouraged that she was back to her old self. We had a wonderful visit. I helped her write some Christmas cards and we made a bead necklace.
Sunday evening my pastor's wife lost her mother after a long battle with cancer. So, there is a lot going on. Happy New Year to all.