Monday, January 4, 2010
monday Jan 4
Our precious Susan yesterday spent time with us telling us all goodbye. She is ready to go on to heaven and to see our Lord. The nurse came today and she is resting comfortably and we are doing everything to walk her this final way. The Lord is in control, as he has always been throughout Susan's life. She is ready for her final journey.
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Thank you so much for keeping us updated as we walk this journey with our precious friend, even from a distance. I will miss her so deeply on this earthly walk, but look forward to someday being together again in the presence of "the great cloud of witnesses" we read about in Hebrews. I know that Susan will be in heaven's balcony, cheering us on as we finish the race that is set before each of us.
ReplyDeletePrayers for you all. There is no real way to prepare for this. May you all find strength in our Heavenly Father and His precious Son. Susan is so blessed to have you all beside her. Thank you for keeping us updated.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your updates. It's been such a blessing to have a chance to know what's going on with Susan. We're praying this last leg of the race will be peaceful and easy for her. I'm so glad to know I'll see her again, that she will get to travel to the best of all destinations and be there to meet us when it's our turn. We love you dearly, Susan!
ReplyDeleteLove you Susan, and your heart for the Lord and your mission and all the wonderful stories and photos. You are a true gem and your crown shall reflect this.
ReplyDeleteYou are the home coming queen.
Susan - You who brought so much joy to my life and loved and accepted us just as we are ... you will never be forgotten. I will see you again my sister. Patsy
ReplyDeleteI never got to meet her in person but feel a kindred spirit with her - I hate it that she has to go now, but do want her to be at peace.
ReplyDeleteA friend for 30 years an inspiration for a lifetime. The true definition of the word Christian.I only pray that I can be half the witness that you are and will always be.
ReplyDeleteI wish you all great comfort and peace during this difficult time. Thank you for sharing such private moments with all of us. Susan has always been very generous and this has been no exception. I can't make myself say goodbye. I can picture her running across the the finish line into the arms of our Lord. I love you, Susan.
ReplyDeleteA true friend in Christ you are an admiration to me in the Lord I am grateful you were my friend 20 years.I pray as you walk this final journey you will be rejoicing into the arms of our Lord.I will miss you Susan and be there someday to greet you.
ReplyDeleteYour family is very special they are blessed.
I have never really met Susan, and I don't have any pictures to post, but I have seen Susan when she visited our church (Orchardview Church of God in Grand Rapids, MI). Susan is also a friend on my facebook. This is just so sad. When I read the Jan. 4 post, I started to cry for Susan. I just couldn't help it. Even though she is ready to go live with God, it is still sad. My prayers are with all of you.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad Susan was coherent to get to say good-byes to you all yesterday. I know those will be precious & treasured memories for each of you!!! It is evident how loved she is by all her family.
ReplyDeleteI will miss Susan's perspective on life, her humor, her adventures, her photos, on & on. And oh, how I wanted to get a 1st edition copy of "Missionary Stories You Won't Hear In Sunday School"!! Someone w/ a longer history of Susan's stories than I have may have to compile that yet.... :)
Susan, I know you will be welcomed into heaven w/ joyful triumph & "job well done" for a race well-run. And you'll be waiting there "with baited breasts" for those of us to come after! :)
I love you my dear friend.
Blessings on all of you that are part of Susan's family. My favorite memory of her is getting a bunch of us on a bus in Taipei, Taiwan to get to the night market...she thrives in other cultures and she'll thrive in the one she is about to enter.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for being a loving family to Susan and allowing God to guide you and give you the strength to walk as far with her as you can. Her picture albums are treasures.
I love you Sese!
ReplyDeletedavid
Susan, I will miss you, but tell Jesus hi and stir up even more prayers for the world! Cheer us on! We'll carry on the work ... and we'll carry on the laughter and joy! You've invested in eternity!! Sleep well, dear friend. Sleep well.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing this final journey with all of Susan's friends. The comments tell you that was loved and treasured by all who met her. Susan is who she is because you, dear family, are who you are. Thank you for your gentle spirit in sharing with all of us the tender moments in the last days. Susan, I love you and am thankful we will spend eternity together.
ReplyDeleteI will miss knowing that she is "taking care of China". This poem by Henry van Dyke helps me understand that the journey is not ending but just continuing.
ReplyDelete"I am standing upon the seashore,
A Ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the blue ocean.
She is the object of beauty and strength.
I stand and watch her until at length she hangs like a speck of white cloud just just where the sea and sky come to mingle with each other.
Then someone at my side says; 'There, she is gone!'
'Gone where?' Gone from my sight. That is all.
She is just as large in mast and hull and spar as she
was when she left my side and she is just as able to
bear her load of iving freight to her destined port.
Her dimished size is in me, not in her.
And just at the moment when someone at my side says,
'There, she is gone!'
There are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices ready
to take up the glad shout; 'Here she comes!' And that is dying."
Susan you are so very loved here on this earth, but even more so in Heaven. I am praying for you all!
ReplyDeleteThe Twyla Paris song keeps coming to mind: "Oh runner, when the race is won, you will run into His arms." Thinking at this moment of that wonderful welcome into heaven. The "well done, good and faithful servant" that Susan will hear will be so sweet.
ReplyDeleteSusan walked into our home four years ago today and helped us celebrate Anna's adoption day. She taught us about China and how to teach our China born children about their country. Her love for God, for life, for people is infectious. She encouraged our family to stretch our wings, move forward, and introduced us to new ways to minister to orphans. She connected me with great newfound friends. Her photos still move me to tears as she captured the way God sees people. We love you, Susan.
ReplyDeleteDear Susan,
ReplyDeleteContinually, we lift you up in prayer to the Lord. Our minds and hearts are with you every day.
We love you and thank Him for you,
Alfonso & Elizabeth
I just love you, Susan. Your life has greatly impacted so many people in such powerful, life changing ways! I am so incredibly thankful that I have had the opportunity to be one of those lives!
ReplyDeleteThank you Susan for showing us how to live and love.
ReplyDeleteBecky Marker
Thanks for a lifetime of friendship. You are loved.
ReplyDeleteSusan- You were my babysitter when I was 6 and you were 12. And you've been my friend for the next 40 years. Thank-you for the stories of exotic lands, for pictures that captured the beauty of God's precious children, and for the joy you shared with everyone you met. I love you and look forward to seeing you again in Heaven.
ReplyDeleteDear Susan and Debbie,
ReplyDeleteWe love you Susan, and are lifting you up during this difficult journey. You are precious to us.
Thank you Debbie for helping us share in this journey you are on as a family. Heidi has known Susan since their days together in the refugee camp, and Susan helped open the door for us to be in China through her enthusiasm and encouragement. We've had adventures together in many places, and she even helped name our youngest. We share your sadness, but also your joy knowing what is ahead for Susan.
Continuing to pray with and for you all,
Harvey & Heidi
Susan, know that Wendy and I are lifting you up. Wendy's dad went home to be with Jesus the day after Christmas. Say hi to him for us all when you see him. We love you!
ReplyDeleteSusan you are so loved, so treasured. I pray for peace at this time for you and your family. When I was praying for you today this chorus kept playing in my mind...
ReplyDeleteOh may all who come behind us find us faithful
May the fire of our devotion light their way
May the footprints that we leave
Lead them to believe
And the lives we live inspire them to obey
You have inspired so many.
Peace and blessings
Heather Culver
I am so glad that you are surrounded by your family and loved ones during this time. I know tomorrow is your birthday and while driving today the radio played the song "I Will Rise" by Chris Tomlin and I began thinking of you. It sounds much better when Tomlin sings it but I just wanted to share the words with you and your family.
ReplyDeleteThere's a peace I've come to know
Though my heart and flesh may fail
There's an anchor for my soul I can say, "it is well"
Jesus has overcome
And the grave is overwhelmed
The victory is won
He is risen from the dead
Chorus:
I will rise when He calls my name
No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise on eagles' wings
Before my God, fall on my knees
And rise
I will rise
There's a day that's drawing near
When this darkness breaks to light
And the shadows disappear
And my faith shall be my eyes
And I hear the voice of many angels sing, "worthy is the Lamb"
And I hear the cry of every longing heart, "worthy is the Lamb"
Susan, I pray that you may feel that peace that is only found in Jesus Christ as you rise on eagles wings. You are an inspiration to me and I thank you for daring to live your life outside the lines for Christ, especially in those places few of us have ever gone. I hope that your Birthday is more than Happy, I pray it is filled joy Susan!
Oh Susan...how precious you are. What an amazing life the Lord has given you and you have given back to him. Thank you for all you have done for the Lord, for being you(you've done that so very well) and for serving Him so faithfully and for all the lives you have touched. Thank you. Your birthday is tomorrow. But your best gift is waiting for you, when our Lord and Savior will greet you face to face and say,"Well done, my good and faithful servant!" Well done, my friend Susan. I am blessed for knowing you. With love, Tammie Tregellas (missionary to Malawi)
ReplyDeleteDear Susan,
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday to the girl who has blessed everyone in her world beyond words! I do hope you realize how much all of your friends would like to be with you just now. Thank you for sharing your contagious humor and laughter with us. Thank you for showing us, through your photography, how wonderous God's world is and how magnificent all His people are. You are truly a citizen of the globe and a child of the King.
It seems that Jesus is beckoning you to come home. I wish it weren't so soon. I'd hoped for one more trip to Africa with you, just to walk the red dirt and greet our children. Just know that I will be cheering you on, into the arms of Jesus. What a day that will be! Yes, I'll have some tears, but I plan to smile as I imagine you dancing in God's presence. Much love to you my friend, Linda Mason
Dear Susan,
ReplyDeleteYou has been blessing many people in China and so as in Hong Kong. May God gives you strength to walk through this journey. I believe we will meet again, in peace and without pain.
With love,
Esther from HK
Susan,
ReplyDeleteYou are such an inspiration, we have been priveleged to know you and will miss you, memories of you always make me smile. What a great neighbour, friend and sister you have been. Praying for your family and friends just now, we don't want to say goodbye...
Love from Patrick, Deb, Esther, Peter and Hannah
Susan, you are a friend to Peak Community Church in Fort Collins, CO. We treasure the weekend you spent with us for Faith Promise two years ago. You remain in our hearts and prayers. Love from Greg and Becky Kendall
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Susan. I wish for you this day an absence of pain and a sense of God's peace and comfort. I'm excited for you, as you will see Him soon, but sad for the rest of us who will miss you. Thinking about you today with much love...Lisa Wygant
ReplyDeleteIf we could all give you a birthday gift, we would give you renewed health...but that would be a gift for US---to keep you here with us. I have been praying that if the Lord will not grant that gift of physical life, He would use your going to bring thousands more to Him --- because of your withness...as you call it, b...eing the "whisper of God." Job 26:14, having told of the many powerful things God does, says: "These are some of the minor things He does, merely a whisper of His power. Who can understand the thunder of His power?" It's time for the thunder, Lord! Thank you, Susan, for sharing your gifts with the world. May we be worthy of being your friends, and follow your example to be God's whisper here.
ReplyDeleteI traveled the world with Susan last evening. Bright colors of Tibet and China and Tanzania,
ReplyDeletethe eyes and souls of children and old men looking through windows, mothers holding infants, crowds and individuals going about their daily business, all so wonderfully captured on cameras by a sister/woman whose joy of life will be remembered by all who knew and loved her and by those of us who only knew Susan through her poignant photography.