Funny Story, Family Update, and Salvation Army Distress

Funny Story: I guess I'll start with the funny story since, well, everyone needs to laugh. This is just another "day in the life". There is a definite reason why I used that title for this blog. There are so many stories we have to tell...about interactions with people, visitations, etc. This story is a nursing home visit story. A retired officer in our division heard that an oldtime soldier from one of his corps appointment was just moved into a nursing home in our city. He asked if one of us could go visit her, because of her failing health. It ended up being passed off to me because of vacations and other meetings. I put it off all week (about 3 weeks ago) until late on Friday afternoon. I arrived at the nursing home around 3 p.m. She was asleep when I got there. I sat and prayed for a bit and then started chatting with her roommate and her son. I prayed with them and left after about 45 minutes. This past weekend I saw the retired officer and mentioned to him that I made the visit. He thanked me and informed me that the soldier was promoted to glory 3 weeks ago. I cringed and asked him what day it was. He said, "sometime in the P.M. on friday of that week". Yes, that same day I was there...so, yeah, I'm not sure if I was praying over a dead woman or not or if I prayed her into Glory! This experiance doesn't exactly lessen my dislike for nursing home visits.

Distress: No, I'm not in complete distress, spiritually or physically. I guess I'll start just by saying that a well known, and highly regarded Divisional Commander has tendered his resignation effective Oct. 1st. He is currently a DC in the UK, but has had positions in the U.S. as well. He has written books on Holiness and taught many Bible Studies and classes as well. Okay, so if you don't know yet, it's Chick Yuill. He is resigning due to "a conflict of consceince". Along with reading his books and studies, I did have the pleasure of meeting he and his wife. We talked for a couple hours about The Salvation Army and it's mission and their calling. My wife and I were cadets at the time and just recently married, so it was a great conversation. I still treasure the insight. In an e-mail he sent out, he very blatantly asked for prayer, so please pray for he and his wife.

Family Update: Well, Kayla is talking up a storm now!!! We had her down at Boston Children's Hospital for a new evaluation at the beginning of August. The doctors that performed the eval. confirmed what we had suspected and prayed about. Kayla does not have autism. She was given a diagnosis of Selective Mutism with high anxiety, and Oromotor apraxia. And basically she has the first because of the second. She was prescribed a small dose of a medicine the doctor thought would help and starting saying words to us by the end of the first day on the medicine!!! She has even started talking in school to a couple of the teachers she is most comfortable with. Watching her transition from a non-verbal "autistic" child to a happy,playful little girl has been beyond words! God is trully amazing!! It makes me wonder though. The current statistics say that in the U.S. 1 in 166 children have some form of autism. But Kayla would be in those stats. With a re-evaluation with doctors who knew what they were doing a change was made and she no longer is diagnosed with autism. How many children are suffering with severe anxiety, or something else, and been classified with autism...when a little medicine could literally change their and their families lives???