Samuel says, "Praise the
Lord"
4-14-02 Samuel says, "Praise the Lord"
Friends and Family,
"O Lord, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I
rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying
down; you are familiar with all my ways." Psalm 139:1-3 NIV
Worship Services, led by the family, were held in the waiting room on Cindy's
floor this morning. Emily quoted the above passage from memory. How comforted we
are that God knows where the Wombles are today! He knows when they will return
to the States. He knows when they get up and when they lie down. He knows every
aspect of their medical conditions. He knows and understands every hurt in their
hearts. He knows the weariness of their bodies. He knows their fears. He
knows...and He is in control. They are in His Care...and we trust they are safe
there.
Grandpa Rees and Luke taught from the story of Jonah this morning. Luke shared
the story and Grandpa did the preaching. Remember the story? God told Jonah to
go to Ninevah to preach, to tell the people to get right with him, to repent.
But Jonah didn't go. Instead, he ran away and tried to hide from God's call. He
boarded a boat heading for Tarshish. God sent a terrible storm...and, to make a
long, but exciting story brief...Jonah ended up in the belly of a great fish.
You can read the whole story in the Old Testament book of Jonah.
Jonah did survive, and did go to Ninevah and preach. There was a great revival
in Ninevah, and God used Jonah in a great way to lead men to Himself.
Some lessons? When God calls you, you go. As the passage quoted above, God has
searched you and known you. He knows where you are physically, emotionally and
spiritually. You cannot hide from God's Face. So go. Go to Ninevah or to
wherever else God has called you. Preach or do whatever else God has called you
to do. Don't end up in the "belly of a fish" before you decide to hear Him
speak. Listen now. Hear him now. Obey Him now.
My Friend, there is no safer place to be than in the center of God's Will. That
does not mean things will not go wrong, life will not throw difficulties your
way or that you will not endure affliction..what it means is God will be there
with you, holding you up, guiding you, leading you just as a shepherd leads his
little lamb.
"The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green
pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he
leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art
with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me
in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth
over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I
will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever." Psalm 23 KJV
Is the Lord your Shepherd? Are you letting Him lead you? Are you following Him
where He has called you? One thing our family has been able to "stand on" during
this entire ordeal is Jeff and Cindy were RIGHT where they were supposed to be
on Sunday, March 17, four weeks ago today. Yes, "harm" did come their way, but
you should see the multitude of miracles surrounding those five allowing them to
survive the attack and be alive today. God was there and He kept them.
And...God has kept and held them through it all. He has been ever so Faithful.
His Mercy has endured. His Love has refreshed and sustained them. His People
have created wedges of prayer protection and encouragement around them. Jeff and
Cindy have His Peace about the whole situation. Are they sad? Yes. Are they in
pain? Yes. But are they "singing His Praises loudly in a foreign land"? Yes!
Yes! Yes! To quote Cindy in our last conversation, "God is good....ALL the
time."
Out of the mouth of babes...this afternoon as Samuel was dozing off to sleep, he
said, without any prompting, "Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Praise the
Lord." He just kept repeating it. You know what? Praise the LORD!!! This little
guy has been with Jesus. He has experienced the Touch of the Almighty's Hand. He
knows Who has healed him. He knows WHO has helped him get through the long
nights. He is choosing while lying on his bed drifting off to sleep to "Praise
the Lord." Are you?
We have no answers as to why this had to happen. We know that has been a
difficult question for many of you. Our answer as you have asked is God knows.
You know, our hearts have been broken right along with all of yours. We have
ridden the same emotional roller coaster as the good news and the bad news has
come our way. This has not been an easy ride. But WE TRUST GOD, and have refused
to be discouraged. We have chosen "to never deny in darkness what we believed in
the light."
And...what we do know right here in the midst of the darkness is our God is
being glorified, and that is, has been and will be our continued prayer. The
purpose of the Wombles life, of all of our lives, is to bring glory to the
Father. That purpose is being fulfilled day by day and minute by minute in the
Womble's lives as people are being drawn closer to God as a result of this
tragedy. God is being glorified and their life is counting for all eternity. We
don't need to understand why any of this happened. God knows...that is all we
need to know.
Cindy
Cindy has an infection in her upper leg. She had to be placed on IV antibiotics
today. Please be in prayer for the infection to come under control quickly and
that she would not have a reaction to the antibiotics. She needs your prayers!!!
She was able to join the family for worship services today. Due to the IV being
set up and the complication of the infection, it did not look like Cindy was
going to make the services. The family was rather discouraged, especially Cindy.
So her Korean nurse put her into a wheel chair and took her to the room.
Cindy arrived as they were singing "I've got so much, so much, so much to be
thankful for. I've got my Daddy to be thankful for. I've got my sister to be
thankful for. I've got my brothers to be thankful for....I've got my Mommy to be
thankful for." They were all overjoyed Mommy was there to sing and worship with
them!! The nurse stayed at the services to take care of Cindy. The family sang
"Jesus Loves Me." When they were finished, the nurse sang "Jesus Loves Me" for
them in Korean while they signed it for her. What a blessing! God has placed His
Children all around to care for the Wombles. Another special memory for the
family to carry back to the States with them....
Samuel
We had a tremendous burden lifted for the family today with regard to Samuel. As
he arrived at Church this morning, he saw his Daddy for the first time of the
day. Remember, "bald" Daddy? Samuel burst out laughing, a real belly laughing
kind of laugh. Hope the rest of us are able to show a little more
self-restraint! :) Of course, that was the best outburst Jeff has heard in a
long, long time.
The family has been very concerned about Samuel's lack of showing emotion. Today
was a release for everyone. Pray for Samuel. He has a lot of emotions to work
through when he returns to the States. Pray for those working with him to have
wisdom and to use counsel from above. Physically, Samuel continues to grow
stronger daily. God is healing him...
Helping Hands
Frankie shared the passage 1 Peter 4:12-19 with us today. She said they are
"rejoicing" in the trials they have been through. It has been an incredible
experience to be in His Presence and walk in His Grace. The passage ends, "So
then, those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their
faithful Creator and continue to do good." Please pray for all the
caregivers and for the Womble family. Pray for God's sustaining Touch to help
them to "continue to do good" for as long as the marathon lasts...
Frankie said it is beautiful there. They are blessed each day as they ride to
and from the hospital to revel in the glory of God's creation. In the midst of
the turmoil, God has sent blooms and blossoms and flowers and green, lots and
lots of green. To those of us from Texas, "we can only imagine." We are counting
on lots of pictures when they return. :)
Return Home
Please pray for the myriad of details being coordinated to return the Wombles to
the States. It is the belief of all who have been working with them that the
greatest measure that can be taken to aid in their recovery is to get them on
United States soil. They NEED to come home. Please be in prayer for this to
happen quickly and without incident. Please pray that the medical releases for
Cindy and Samuel to be transferred to State hospitals will occur quickly.
Cindy's infection needs to be brought under control and we need a good CAT scan
on Samuel. We have asked the CAT scan be performed tomorrow. Please PRAY it will
take place. Thank you...
"It is the cry of our heart to follow You
It is the cry of our heart to be close to You
It is the cry of our heart to follow...all of the days of our lives..."
Praising the Lord,
Nick and Donna Nickerson
Contacting the Wombles:
We have set up a board for you to post messages to Cindy and Jeff, Rees and
Frankie, Susan, Emily and Luke, and Samuel at hbm4him.org. You may access the
board directly at hbm4him.org/WombleNews/index.htm, then select "Post a message"
in the left dialogue box. You may also send notes of encouragement to Wombles
c/o Nickersons, 809 E. Bloomingdale Ave., # 408, Brandon, Florida 33511.
