On July 16, 2013, I had an interview with the Portland VA Medical Center. I remember that was the day because it was our anniversary. Michele wasn’t really pleased that I had an interview on our anniversary, but I decided to go along with it.

That was the HARDEST interview I have done to date. The questions were tough. I felt pretty good about it, though. But I still had an upset wife:(

It didn’t take very long at all to hear that I got the job. Usually, it takes A LONG time for a person to start a position with the Federal government after the hire date.

I can’t remember the exact time they wanted me to start, but I actually had to push back that time in order to get our affairs in order. We had to pack up our apartment in Spokane, WA, I had to give notice for my job, etc.

October 6, 2013 was my start date. We moved to Beaverton, Oregon the latter part of September. It was my goal to find a church prior to start working. That was tough because my new schedule had me working on Sundays: 0900 – 1730 (or 9AM – 5:30PM for you civilians;)).

We searched the web and found a church that served dinner every Sunday night at 6. PERFECT!!! We attended Southwest Bible Church that Sunday and was amazed by the friendliness of the people. Sarita and Mike were the first people to introduce themselves to us, right away. Then it was Joel and Arlene. They invited us to to sit at their table to eat dinner. OK, we were sold. We have been attending that church ever since.

God knew where we needed to be. He knew that we needed a STRONG community to help us through the hardest time of our lives. He knew exactly who needed to be in our lives. One of the people the Lord brought to me was a man named Rich.

Every Summer, SW Bible Church holds Outdoor Sunday Evening services. They have a nice, open landscape out back where they hold events all summer long for the community to participate in. They always start with a 5k race – which is one of the best ones in the area. There’s an annual car show, which is legit. They have carnival night for the kids. They also have First Responder’s Night, which honors the local Police, Fire, and Emergency Responders. Following every event, there’s a sermon usually presented by guest speakers which include topics corresponding to that day’s events.

One of the Outdoor Sunday Evening Services, prior to the stroke, Rich walked up to me. There were hundreds of people there. But the Lord directed him to ME! He introduced himself to me and we started talking. Almost automatically, he invited me to attend the Men’s Bible study he was apart of which met every Friday at 6AM. He then introduced us to his wife Sherri. It was during this encounter, I learned Rich is a Family Practice Physician. The Lord has definitely used him to help me and our family since Michele’s stroke.

I started attending the Bible study. At first, it was a little intimidating for me. They all knew each other and it seemed like their theology was DEEP. I am naturally a quiet person, so I don’t think I said much the first several meetings. But I kept going.

After my wife had her stroke, this group of guys was SOLID for me. I was never alone for the first several months. When my wife was in the Neuro Critical Care Unit, there was always someone there, just waiting to see if we needed anything. They camped out there! On two different occasions they mustered the forces and showed up at my house for workdays. They wanted me to make a list of things that needed to be done. I included things that I know Michele would love. Things that she had wanted me to do for awhile, but didn’t do it. They gave my front and back yards a complete makeover. They fixed my leaning fence. They put up lights on her back patio that Michele had been wanting me to do for a long time. They put together a grill that I recently purchased. They blew the leafs off of my roof. Other things were done as well, but you get the point.

Rich proved to be very helpful for me with his medical background. He came to the the hospital the night of the stroke, along with 26 other people (plus or minus one or two). He came with me and Pastor Scott when the providers came out to give me updates. He spoke with my boss to let her know what was going on.

During Michele’s stay in the ICU, he also helped me with understanding more of her radiology studies. I am an x-ray tech, so I am familiar with those. But he looked at her CT scans and MRI’s. Michele had a 2.5 cm mid-line shift in her brain. He helped me see the progression as the shift decreased when the blood in her brain gradually absorbed.

Another thing the Lord used by bringing us to SW Bible Church is preparing me for what was to come. Periodically, the men of the church gather for a collective Bible study. The foyer is filled with men on a mission to glean more knowledge of Christ. The first Bible study I was a part of, which was also the first one they had done as a church, was James. If you know anything about the book of James, you can understand how it might have been used to prepare me for the hardest season of my life.

Needless to say, if we didn’t have the community, love support and PRAYERS from the people of SW Bible Church, I am certain our story would have been different. The Lord clearly directed us to where we needed to be. I shudder to think how life would have been without knowing the Lord and this church!