Our hearts broke for our dear friends Merlin and Stephanie Smith along with their awesome kids Lonnie and Bethany over the past three weeks. Stpehanie's Dad, Mr. Joe, passed away this past week. Hospice had been called in and they, along with Stephanie and the family, had been ministering to him for the past three weeks. On Saturday September 5th, while we were in West Virginia with our family, Merlin called to say that it was just a matter of time until he would pass away (hospice said it would be about 48hrs). I shed many tears that day for their family and our hearts sank when we recieved the call on Monday evening.
On Tuesday Merlin called and asked if I would speak at the funeral, I was humbled. It was an honor to speak at the funeral both in remembrance of Mr. Joe and to proclaim the Gospel he had embraced only one year before his death. I treasured my time with Mr. Joe and I truly cherish his family. It was a privilege to get to know him and proclaim the Gospel to him during our time together. It's an honor to share life with the Smith's, eventhough now it is at a distance.
While there the kids were able to love on Lonnie and Bethany and I was quite proud to see them embrace them as they did. Our kids truly look up to them both and they are great role models in that they both dearly love Christ and show that love to our children.
Thank you Merlin and Stephanie for the honor of speaking at the funeral and your hospitality in the midst of grief. Thank you to our friends that we saw on Saturday for your love of our family as well.
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