Thursday, July 30, 2009

Thursday, July 30th update

I'm sorry for my delinquency. So much has happened since my last post. First, Nancy sold the truck for a really good price to Carmax. Paise God! Second, the kids are doing better. Other than my niece breaking her elbow a couple of weeks ago, it has been for the most part uneventful. Please pray that they would be able to work through their grief.

Kelly-Jane and I were able a couple of weekends ago to spend some time with them and it was really good. We'll see them again this weekend as we celebrate Swiss National Day (August 1st)!

The most exciting thing is the great idea that the pastor's wife at their church came up with. On August 6th, my MUCH OLDER sister celebrates her 40th birthday. Anyway, the ladies at the church came up with a fabulous idea. They had a suprise gathering at the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond where they unveiled their plan. They organized 40 ladies at the church to give her 40 gifts over a few weeks! So each day, she is surprised by gifts! Great idea isn't it! Praise God for their church and the support! It is a hard milestone to celebrate without Brian.

Pray for some more upcoming things. Please pray for their grief counseling and the heartwrenching chore of going through Brian's stuff that will be upcoming. Thanks for your prayers!

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Thursday,June 11th update

Thanks for the prayers. The family is doing well, praise the Lord! The summer can be hard because there is less of a schedule and certainly there are still moments but overall the Halls are doing well. The Lord has provided for them to have a pass to a nearby State Park, which is great for the kids. They are also getting away to the beach in July due to someone kindly lending their condo!

But please pray for them as Father's day approaches and Nancy's 40th birthday approaches. It is hard to celebrate milemarkers without your true love and dad.

Please pray also for their truck to be sold. It is hard for Nancy as this was Brian's baby. It is a 2003 Ford F150 with an extended cab, 4 wheel drive, and some other nice options. It has 72k miles and is in great shape. Pray that God would bring the right person to buy it.

Please also thank the Lord for the kindness of his people in attending to the Halls. It is a great thing to be ministered to by the family of God and while it cannot take away the pain of losing a loved one, it sure helps the grieving process!

Thank you!

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Thursday, May 28th update

Dear Firends,

I'm not so good at keeping updates on this blog. Please forgive me!

Good news and Praise to God for working out the insurance situation for the kids. They were finally approved and this will dramtically help my sister, should they need to go to the doctor or hospital for any reason. What a load off of her back!

Nancy is doing well and we are presently praying about a positive development that could help her financially. I do not want to be too specific but please pray that God will grant her favor in the eyes of the ones making the decision!

She meets with some more financial people and deciding what to do with the finances she currently has from life insurance. Please pray for wisdom in sorting through the different advice as she makes some of these decisions in the following weeks. It is tough to think about it as this is the money that will help them to make it these next years as well as the funds that will help her down the road later on. Pray also for her to be able to find a low cost life insurance for herself also as she seeks to provide for the kids if anything happens to her.

The kids are still struggling, please pray for them. They have another meeting with the counselor today so pray that it would go well. They have some trouble wanting to communicate with her so it is hard to make much progress in helping them work through their grief and concerns. Unfortunately, when that occurs, it can be hard as that comes across in their behavior at times. Pray for wisdom for Nancy how to both discipline them but also love them through this tough time!

Praise for their church that continues to come beside them and really help and provide in many ways! It's a marathon, like I've mentioned to you before, so pray for them also!

Thank you so much!

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Wednesday, May 20th

Greetings friends and prayer warriors! Sorry I haven't sent too many updates. I'll try to do 2-3 a week when I can.

God has been gracious to my sister. Praise God that she was able to refinance her mortgage at a much better interest rate, saving hundreds of dollars a month! It seems that the insurance issue with the kids has been sorted out but she is still waiting for official confirmation, so we are cautiously optimistic at this point. She has been getting some good advice from some sources and we are encouraged as her situation is looking better.

I spoke to her today and she was busy writing some thank you letters. It was a hard night last night for her but by thinking of all the graces given by the loving family of God, she was again reminded of His goodness through the church and it helped lift her countenance. It seems like ages ago that Brian was taken home to heaven but a simple comment in a conversation or a simple reminder can bring forth a lot of emotion and sadness in my dear sister. Please pray for her. As many know, the intial response is so encouraging but as time wears on, people forget and many things sink in.

Thank you for lifting up my sister, dear friends!

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Thursday, May 14th update

Dear Friends,

Your prayers are a blessing from God! Please continue to pray for my sister's sleep. She is just not consistently sleeping well and therefore very tired. Praise that the meeting with the financial planner went well. She has to think through some things but it was more hopeful.

The biggest concern today is that the kid's insurance did not go through correctly. For some reason, although Nancy followed the exact direction of the person she spoke with, it was rejected. She called back and the superviosr is goimg to examine it and Nancy should know more within a few days. Please pray that they would approve it.

Friday, Nancy meets with the mortgage representative. As I mentioned before, we are praying that she can lower the rate and get it more manageable. Please pray for clairty and the representative's helpfulness there.

Now, I do not just want to share the struggles but also testify that God's grace has also been so evident. Whether it is the men who show up every week to mow the law, the folks who are taking the boys to a professional soccer game this weekend, or the wonderful kindness of people dropping by or sending a gift certificate, we are awed by the love of God's people! God is truly looking after my sister and meeting all her needs, even exceeding them in many areas. Please praise him as you pray!

Monday, May 11, 2009

Monday, May 11th update

I hope you had a great weekend. It was both a good and hard weekend for my sister and her family. The last week was wonderful to have my aunt and uncle visiting. They were a great encouragement to the family! It was hard to see them leave early Sunday morning. The hard part of the weekend was of course celebrating Mother's day without Brian. Father's day will be much harder but it was so special to celebrate with Brian in the past years and it just wasn't the same without him. Please keep my sister in mind on her birthday, anniversary, and other holidays.

However, the boys were a great encouragement as they woke Nancy up a little early (5:58am) to bring her breakfast and their gifts. They were so excited and although Nancy had one less hour of sleep it was so sweet! My parents celebrated with Nancy in the evening and it was nice to be with family.

Please pray for good news as Nancy tries to refinance her mortgage on Friday. Pray that she can get a good rate and qualify. Also, tomorrow Nancy meets with a man from her church who is a financial planner. Please pray for great wisdom. Especially in these uncertain economic times, wisdom is necessary with the resources she has.

Thanks for your prayers. They are blessings from God and I know that God is blessing them as he works through the prayers of his people!

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Thursday, May 7th update

Today, my sister and my parents are working on gathering paperwork. It is amazing what needs to be done in times like this. Nancy and our family are so thankful to the kind contributions of people who have given to the fund set up at Nancy's church. It has been so wonderful as these contributions have helped in some important ways.

Pray for Nancy as she meets with a financial counselor next week. Pray for wisdom to know what financial steps to take and finding a way to help the resources she currently has now to stretch over the years. She also asked for prayer for patience with the kids.

Thanks for your prayers!