Category Archives: Children

Nelson’s journal 4/18/22  

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Nelson is feeling better about what has been diagnosed as a thyroid problem, assuming that it’s gradually healing. Little Will is doing better with his eating and sleeping, too, and Nelson’s pastoring ministry has ended honorably. Things are looking up.

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April 18, 2022    

Finished things up at Little Red Church for good yesterday for the Easter Service. We had about 90 people including the Kokua Crew, so it was a pretty good sized group. Bob Duffer brought the word, and the Micronesians stood up front. I prayed for them to usher in their season at the place [The Little Red Church]. Hard to believe they’ve had the property the whole time and didn’t do this sooner.

My Thyroid issue seems to be calming down and my levels are lower, at least they feel lower. I have hardly any energy and no more rapid heart rate. I wonder what my fate is with this whole thing. Will it go back to normal?

I always liked my metabolism and normal mode of operation. It’s hard not to take a couple naps per day on days like this. I just feel so lethargic.

The baby Will is growing and doing really good being just over a month old now. We’ve gotten better at feeding and sleeping him, so that’s encouraging. Still gets up a couple times in the night, but we don’t mind.

It’s hard being in ministry. Just today, I asked a guy to leave the Hale Ola property who sort of just came out of nowhere as a self-proclaimed fix-it man, asking for all these favors and making the Kokua Crew nervous.

People get mixed up about what YWAM is and think that because they were once here, they can just show up and pick up where they left off. I felt sorry for him, being an old guy and all, no doubt a Christian, but a dinosaur who doesn’t fit into the world of today.

Not that I really do either.

But a guy like that who flies in and wanders around begging for favors is about as close to homeless as you can get, without actually being that. I’m sure it’s not the first time he got asked to leave a place for similar behavior. He also invited himself to stand up in front of our group at devotions and share, and I let him do it. Poor guy.

I’m grateful for how things went to close the church down and pass it along to the next people. I’m glad it was a church moving in instead of just us closing it. Thank you for the 6 years I was there. I pray for direction going forward in another season or tenure at another church or whatever you have Lord. I pray we can see what it is you have and not miss it.

I’m thankful for our son and how healthy he is. I’m thankful for the light he is in our lives and how you didn’t have us deal with not having children, which it looked for a while like it was a possibility.

I pray for our Summer plans to travel in a camper and see more of the country as a family. I pray for the right RV, something we can resell or use later. Thank you that you haven’t given us riches so far to distract us from you and serving here. Thank you that we are still able to do it.

I pray for our Kokua Crew and their lives, that they would be protected from lies and comparison. I pray for Judy’s speech tomorrow and that her words would have an impact on the girls especially.

I pray for continuing upward progress in my health and with the Thyroid problem that came out of nowhere. I pray that you would heal me completely and that I wouldn’t need meds going forward or surgery or anything permanent. You can do it.

I pray for eventually a pill-free life without meds and just a healthy routine of good food and exercise. Thank you that this has kept me at home with time to spend on our little guy and being together as we get started [as a family]. You are so good to us, giving us insured health care here in Hawaii. What a blessing. Amen.

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“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.” (Colossians 3:15)

Nelson’s journal 4/13/22  

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As time passes, change always comes, and Nelson is analyzing where he and his little family stand with the changes now happening—with his pastorate, his health, and his baby’s discontent. He’s also making plans for their future, trying to hear God’s counsel accurately. Over it all hangs a dark cloud of poor health for him, though doctors have assured him it’s just a thyroid malfunction that will eventually disappear.

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April 13, 2022    

Derek sat at our table yesterday and told me to read the gospels with the perspective of authority. How much did Jesus submit to what the authorities said in his time? When the government says you can’t sing in church, do you obey that?

How would Jesus and Paul have responded to that command in their day? The ones who were jailed and killed for disobeying the rules of the day? What would they have done? So I started in Matthew today. I am to the point where Jesus was tempted in chapter 4.

I got up with Will to maybe feed him and put him back to bed, but I swaddled him without the food and he went right back. It’s funny how flailing arms keep him up and running. Thank you for that, Lord.

On another topic, I am not an inclusive person and I don’t tend to want a lot of staff around me, people to motivate, referee, and manage. People who have been in YWAM long enough to not take instruction anymore. Maybe I’m one of them.

 

I don’t go to meetings I probably should attend, but I do have a 1 month old baby who needs me, so I use that as a pass for now. Our last service at Little Red is this Sunday’s Easter service. Most of the Kokua Crew will go at 6am. The last hurrah.

I told Tim I wasn’t going to be an electrician anymore. He was super cool about it. I dreaded that conversation, but it was just a simple text.

My Thyroid issue is pretty steady and bad. Sometimes i think it’s improving. Then It’s like now, and I can hardly motivate myself to do a simple thing. Annso is at small group right now, and I’m watching Will. He’s a tough little guy, but he’s sleeping, which makes my life easier while she’s gone.

I hope the Thyroid clears up, because apparently it was a blast of the hormone that brought on an attack or something. I don’t need meds or an operation to straighten it out. I pray that, Lord. You can do anything. Sometimes I imagine being like I was before, no pain, no fatigue, being able to run and swim again, feeling good with energy. It would be amazing, and I wouldn’t take my health for granted again.

It’s easy to somehow take credit for things like money or health when you have them, but when they’re gone, you realize you’re a fragile little man walking the earth for a short time, and not many of the things we focus on matter, and lots of what we take for granted or don’t pay attention to, does matter.

What matters? The way we treat people, whether we love them, how much time we spend, not how much money we make or how seriously people take us. It’s hard not to get caught up in that stuff and miss the main stuff, but we can try.

My season as a pastor is over for now. God, you are merciful the way you went about it. The time at Little Red was so unique. It never turned into anything big or multiplied, but we did our best.

I’m so thankful for the Summer to leave the island and travel and camp out across the country like we are planning. I’m thankful for Annso, who wants to do it, and a little guy who we can take along. Our first family vacation. I couldn’t be more stoked for the time. We’re looking at 13 weeks.

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“If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” (James 4:15)

Nelson’s journal 4/8/22  

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Baby Will’s struggle with some kind of stomach upset is still dominating everything in Nelson and Ann Sophie’s lives. All three are upset by the constant crying and inability to help him. At the same time, there are big decisions needing to be made in their ministry, including personnel changes, and Nelson is under pressure to make them.

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April 8, 2022 

Been struggling a bit with the division between Kokua Crew and being a new father. There’s tons of ‘urgent’ stuff at Hale Ola, but this morning, instead of a staff meeting and working about getting everyone to campus, I spent the time in a chair holding Will, trying to calm him down, which eventually worked.

I think I’ll stay away from the feeding thing. It’s always the same. Right when I get out the bottle, he goes ballistic. It used to work, but now, just having him lay there, even crying, is better than fighting with him. He falls asleep eventually. It’s the more peaceful option.

Speaking of peaceful options, I want to protect the integrity of the Kokua Crew program more than I want to make people happy. I pray for the strength to do that, Lord. If you want me to change it, I will. If you want me to speak the hard truth to certain people, I will.

How can I address the current problems without causing offense, Lord? Courage and strength. I did it before, I can do it again, even though it’s painful and I hate delivering bad news. Thank you for the opportunity, and I know that with that comes responsibility.

I pray for [family members] who experienced loss yesterday. I pray that their family would be stronger for it in the end, rather than weaker. I pray for wisdom to know if I have a part in this at all. I pray for wisdom to know if we have a future in the Midwest, and if we should make any sort or move in advance.

I pray for wisdom to buy the right Toyota camper for the trip this summer to see the Ark with Mom and the whole gang. I pray for wisdom to know and courage to do.

Wisdom to know and courage to do.

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The Lord says, “I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you.” (Psalm 41:10)