Last Wednesday, after receiving the news of Grandpa’s death, my family learned that my Uncle Darrell, who is married to my dad’s sister Adeline and farms in Northern Iowa, fell 27 feet while working in the barn on Tuesday night.  Initially, he was taken to the hospital in Fort Dodge; but the orthopedic surgeon was gone on vacation, so he was moved to Mercy Hospital in Des Moines.

Again, God’s careful and gracious orchestration of the events gave us cause to be thankful.  In spite of his long fall, Uncle Darrell did not hit his head or hurt his back; and because he had his cell phone with him, he was able to call my aunt for help.  Also, because we were already in the Des Moines area for Grandpa’s funeral, my parents and I were able to spend time with Darrell and Adeline in the hospital.  The surgery went well, and Uncle Darrell is making a good recovery – at least, it appeared so to me!  So as you pray for my family, please include my uncle and aunt in your prayers.  It will be a while before Darrell is fully recovered, and in the meantime, there are chores to do.  (Funny how that works.)

Love you, Uncle Darrell and Aunt Adeline!

 Uncle Darrell with Parker and Austin at the Wedding Celebration,
just a few days previous to the accident.