Nelson spends this journal entry in prayer, a man thankful that God is leading him.

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August 30, 2022

Lord, thank you that I am slowly feeling better. Now I can sit here and drink a cup of coffee and eat breakfast after Annso and Will wake up. Before, I couldn’t even choke it down. Breakfast tasted like sawdust no matter what it was I was eating.

I pray my neck pain would just go away on its own and that no medication would be required to get rid of it. Thank you that my MRI scan yesterday didn’t yield scary enough results to warrant a meeting with the docs or even the radiation they thought it might show. I’m so thankful for that.

Thank you that our little baby boy, Will, is so healthy, that we were able to get a passport for him already, that Annso’s citizenship process is going along smoothly for the most part, that it can lead to Ralph and Astrid getting Green Cards and being able to spend more time here.

You are leading us so well, and I’m thankful from the bottom of my heart for it. We really are not even working for it.

Never ever could I have arranged or done what you are doing here. Never ever could I have worked for it to get it. The verses from Exodus hold the truth. Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” (Exodus 14:13-14)

Sometimes God does it like that, and sometimes he wants us to fight ourselves. But as for fighting cancer and coming up with house down payments, this verse applies so much. 2 things: 1) Don’t be afraid, and 2) stand firm. If God says it, then you do it. He will fight for you.

He said that to us, and we are doing what he said. We sit here in this little apartment and stand firm. I have been afraid a handful of times, but mostly not. Thank you Lord for doing what you do so well. We are blessed to walk with you like this. I pray that others who see it happening will be inspired to take a risk and do the same.

I pray especially for non-believers. I pray the eyes of their hearts would be enlightened and they would know the grace you have called them to. I pray we can be a help to get people there.

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“From his fullness we have all received grace upon grace.” (John 1:16)

Despite Nelson’s deadly cancer, in this entry he’s focused on the future. And as always, he’s recounting the good things God’s done for him.

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August 30, 2022

I’m sitting in the dark at the kitchen table, writing daily like I have for the past bunch of mornings. The sun doesn’t come up until 6:30 am, which is nice. The Summer is coming to an end here in Minnesota, hard as that is to believe, but we are looking forward to the fall and eventually the winter.

It’s been so long since we’ve had variety in the seasons, living in Hawaii, but we made the most of it while we were there, and I’m glad for the time we had there.

It was super fun leading the Kokua Crew and the Grounds department, and even the Little Red Church. The season was unreal how it went—preaching several hundred sermons over 6 years and doing the rest of that stuff, baptizing so many Kokua Crew people, learning to swim like a pro, getting that sweet exercise routine down like I had it, and even hosting teams from Brentwood Baptist Church in the end.

Lord, you trusted us with so much. You gave us all those ministries to run. You expanded our tent borders over those years. Now we are here in Rochester, a place I would never have imagined we would be.

We are in the process of buying a house. We still have our fingers crossed, hoping there are no surprises with the financing or anything else, and that it all goes through. I pray, Lord, for your hand to move mountains like you do and for it all to work out over the next couple months.

Thank you for proving yourself to us over and over again. Here we are… YWAMers… and you have made it possible to buy a house with a healthy down payment and good enough credit. We will actually become landlords if everything goes right.

I pray I can meet those people today and get them to sign the leases I need them to sign. Thank you for the house, the location it’s in [1½ blocks from Mayo Clinic], and for the old man [house owner] and how nice he is, meeting with me, and how we are going through this with mutual understanding.

Thank you for your provision and showing us this house, how we just ran across it, how perfect it is for us. I pray for the courage to talk to all 3 tenants today, to tell the guy about moving out at the end of the year, something he needs to do anyway. And to tell the two women about signing their leases, so I can get the loan. Soften and prepare their hearts.

Thank you for the unity Annso and I have in this thing and how we like to be creative, making it really nice as we live there. You really do more that all we ask or imagine. I could never picture us doing what we are doing here and now.

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“Jesus spoke…I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness.” (Matthew 6:24)

When Nelson looks back over his life, he sees where God was highly active, coaxing him to come closer and to lean on him for help. The Lord strengthened him against temptation and taught him the proper way to look at personal sin.

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August 30, 2022

“They [the judgments of the Lord] are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb. By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward. But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then I will be blameless, innocent of great transgression.” (Psalm 19:10-13)

This is an old favorite of mine. The progression at the end is the best. It’s one of those things God showed me, and it helped me a lot in a different time of life. It helped me with temptation.

First comes the blindness of the human heart to its own sin, that there are faults we have but cannot see, which turn from hidden to intentional or willful sins.

Then at that point, they rule me, and I live for them, even defend and try to keep them at the cost of my own life. The perspective on sin changes from the hidden secret thoughts and patterns of the heart to a large outward sin that could ruin a person.

Sin starts small and gains momentum with time, until it’s large and out of control. That’s from the reading Annso and I are doing for today. Our daily march through the Bible lands us in the Psalms.

Something else I wanted to put down. This is from Linni [a sister]. “Happy Anniversary to you both! (We love remembering your wedding. I still can’t believe we got to go all the way back to Kona for it!) We are continually encouraged by how grateful you are and how filled with FAITH, even when things have been so hard. What you guys are going through is one of the most difficult things I can imagine, but you probably love each other more than ever now! We respect you both so much and hope we will be there for each other the way you are, when it’s our turn to face health issues. From what we see, you are walking this road with humility before God, growing in love for each other, and hoping for brighter days to come! Amazing! Such a powerful testimony. We love you guys and hope you’ve had a restful weekend. ❤ ”

What a sweet message. To have Linni and Ad looking up to us is pretty amazing. I never thought they would look up to me. When someone spells it out like that, it does seem pretty amazing to me, doing what we are doing. What she says is true. We do love each other more than ever I think. Hard to tell, but our love is different than it was before.

I think what Linni said is true. Going through this hard time, the hardest for both of us, has made us stronger, not weaker. Annso amazes me every day with how she is, how she watches little Will, how she waits on and thinks about me.

We are working to buy a house together with some rental units in it. I don’t even know why, but we feel like it’s the right time, even though most people would say it’s not.

The economy would say no, too, and that the values might tank out. Maybe so, but it’s a pretty low price, and the location is good, plus, the mortgage with the money from the renters makes the payment less than what we’re paying now in rent, so it’s a win in that department alone.

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“Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial.” (James 1:12)