Heavilin
Herald
May 2008
We are currently in one of our favorite parks,
Peculiar Park Place in Peculiar, Missouri.
We have had the privilege of spending two of our
four weeks with Matt and his family. We have
attended Legacy Christian Church in Overland Park,
shared several meals with Matt and family, made a
routine visit to our dentist, eaten at Culver’s, one
of our favorite mid-west burger restaurants, made a
regular visit to Olathe RV sales and repair, and we
shopped at Costco! So we have done most of the
routine things that we do when we visit
Missouri/Kansas. Yet some rather non-routine things
have occurred this month.
Many of you on our mailing list received Marilyn’s
urgent e-mails asking you to pray for Lindsay Groen,
the 22 month old granddaughter of Bill and Jan Welte.
Bill is the Executive Director of America’s Keswick
where we spend our summers, and our very dear
friend.. On April 7 Lindsay had open heart surgery
to repair a mitral valve. On April 15 Lindsay
suffered cardiac arrest. She was revived by CPR, but
the last couple of weeks have been a roller coaster
for the family and for the thousands around the
world who are praying for Lindsay.
Lindsay’s status is still uncertain. She has been
placed on a heart transplant list, but the doctors
also performed a very risky by-pass surgery on April
29. This was a very harrowing experience for
everyone, but Lindsay survived and at the moment is
gradually recovering. Needless to say, prayer is
needed for the doctors that they will be given God’s
wisdom in deciding how to treat Lindsay. Prayers are
also needed for the family. Lindsay is in Boston
Children’s Hospital which is hours away from home
for all of the family. The needs are many and are
great. If you want further information on how you
can help, please contact us. If you would like to
check Lindsay's blog, please go to
www.lindsaykeswick.blogspot.com.
As we were traveling through Oklahoma, we noticed
signs for a new RV park and decided to try it. The
signs to the park were minimal and obviously hand
made, but we were attracted by the fact that the
signs stated the park had cable TV and WiFI. Since
the park we normally stayed in did not have those
amenities, we decided to investigate this new park.
Generally, when we arrive at a park, we have to stop
at an office building to register. As we arrived at
this park, we saw that things were a little
different. This was the office! (See picture below.)
The flat box contained the form we had to fill out
and we placed it and our money in the slot at the
top. Someone had figured out how to run a very
low-maintenance business!
We enjoyed our time in Tombstone and got to attend
the annual Rose Tree parade. Tombstone has what is
touted to be the largest rose tree in the world.
Below is a picture of Marilyn standing next to the
base of the tree. The roses were in bloom and the
tree was beautiful.
We also enjoyed the parade with everyone dressing in
western style/Victorian style clothing. Marilyn
thinks she was born fifty years too soon because she
would love to wear those dresses.
While we were in Tombstone, we had lunch in Sierra
Vista, about 15 miles from Tombstone. Sierra Vista
is the home of a military base. At the restaurant,
there were four soldiers sitting at the booth across
the aisle from us. Marilyn noticed the young men
right away because they seemed so clean cut and
happy. About half way through their meal, a man
walked up to their table. We weren't sure what his
intentions were. He was an older man and looked a
little unkempt. However, he placed several bills
that appeared to be twenties on the table and said,
“I would like to pay for your meal. I really
appreciate all you are doing for our country and I
just wanted to say Thanks.” Then the man walked out
of the restaurant. We applauded as the soldiers
looked astonished. Later as they were getting ready
to pay the bill, Marilyn noticed that they didn’t
have quite enough, so Glen went over and made up the
difference. The guys came over to thank us and
allowed us to take the picture below.
The man who took the original action touched my
heart and made me think, Why didn't I think of that
first? It seems the world is talking about giving
right now. For example: the show The Big Give has
challenged the whole world to think about giving
sacrificially. Shouldn't we as Christians be
thinking about giving even more than the world?
We hear on the news of the economy slump across the
U.S., and while we know that is true in some places,
we have also observed the seemingly unlimited
spending around the country. We wanted to get
tickets to see The Prairie Home Companion show when
we visit Michigan in June. We tried to get through
on the phone for two hours after the tickets went on
sale. When we finally got through, we discovered all
3500 of the tickets had been sold in two hours and
the minimum cost was $45 per ticket!
We know the country is facing a financial challenge,
and the groups that feel it the most seem to be the
churches and charitable organizations. We have found
that when we are facing a financial challenge is the
perfect time to give because we can see God’s work
firsthand.
Those of you who have received our newsletters since
2002 know this is a first for us, but we feel God is
leading us to speak out at this time.
We are throwing out a challenge to you: First, I
trust you are all giving to your local churches,
which should be your priority, but if you have any
left you can give, would you consider America’s
Keswick? Keswick is definitely facing a financial
challenge right now.
Forty men at a time are given the opportunity to
recover from their addictions. While they are asked
to work on the Keswick campus, their 120 days of
treatment only costs them an initial $150! The rest
of the cost comes from donations to America’s
Keswick. Through our time at Keswick we have
realized that addiction affects us all, and I’m sure
we’ve all heard of the thousands of dollars it costs
to be a resident in a secular program. Yet the
success rate at Keswick so out shines any statistics
at secular centers.
Glen and I are so impressed with America’s Keswick.
We have found things there that we do not see across
the country: 1. We see God work in the lives of His
people every day. 2. We hear preaching that is Bible
based and Christ centered. 3. They offer Christian
programs for the whole family all year. The slogan
at Keswick is “Where God speaks to hearts and
transforms lives.” We see that slogan lived out
every day in the staff and the conferees.
A link to the Keswick website is posted on our web
site. If you don’t have access to that, you can just
go to www.americaskeswick.org. Another way to find
out about Lindsay is by going to the Keswick
website, scrolling down until you see Lindsay’s
picture on the right side and clicking on it.
If you wish to contribute to America’s Keswick your
checks can be made out to America’s Keswick and sent
to 601 Route 530, Whiting, NJ 08759-3501.
On May 15 we will fly to Sacramento to visit Mellyn
and attend her college graduation ceremony. We will
return to Missouri on May 18. We plan to remain here
until May 21 when we will leave and head toward
Illinois to visit our friends George and Irene
Butenuth before we go to Indiana where we will
attend Glen’s father’s memorial service on June 8.
We will visit family there, see Marilyn’s doctor,
and then go on to Michigan to see Marilyn’s Aunt
Mickey, Uncle Bill, cousin Bobby Jean, and other
cousins as well. Then we will head toward New Jersey
for our summer stint at America’s Keswick. We
appreciate your prayers for our health and safety.
In Him,
Glen and Marilyn Heavilin
Lindsay Alice Groen
RV Park "Office," Guymon, OK
Marilyn next to original rose tree, Tombstone, AZ
Ladies in Rose Parade, Tombstone, AZ
Soldiers at Sierra Vista, AZ
