April 7th , 2008 Newsletter #63 from the Moores.

Dear Family and Friends,

Sherry’s dad, Robert Welch went home to be with Jesus on Monday, April 7 th at 5:15 AM. The funeral will be in Indianapolis on Saturday, April 12 th at 10 AM. Thank you for your prayers for Sherry and for the whole extended family!

 To Our Family and Friends who receive our newsletters:

 This is what we have sent home to be read at Sherry’s dad’s funeral. We will not be going home for the funeral. I, Sherry, have decided that I will follow the request of my parents and not go home at this time as we will be going home in three months for our son’s wedding. Our mission’s director, Vince McCarty, called me today and I told him of my decision. He said that he was willing to send out a request explaining the situation at hand and if anyone wanted to help financially they could. I told him that with our upcoming trip for the wedding (which will cost us $2500 each) we felt it was better to wait as we will be visiting our parents during the few weeks while we are home. He said he would respect my decision.

Sherry and Tom

Reflections about My Dad

 Mom called at 3 AM (Guinean time) on March 22, 2008. She said Dad wasn’t doing too well and had said that he thought he was going to be with Jesus. She wanted Dad to talk to me. He was coherent, although a little out of breath as he said, “I love you sweetheart!” There was no time for small talk just an exchange of “I love you!” I told him we were praying strength for him for each day. Then he repeated, “I love you, Sherry. Tell Tom I love him. I love your all your boys.” He said, “I love you, I’ve gotta go. Bye-bye.” I said, “Bye, bye Daddy.”

 Will these be the last words that I will ever hear from my Dad? He always told me that he was proud of me and that will always remain in my heart. Mom told me not to come home if he goes home to be with Jesus because we will be coming home in July for Scott and Christi’s wedding. She had told me that before. In fact I remember crying as I read the letter she wrote to us in 2006. She said that if either of them went home to be with the Lord, there would be nothing more that we could do so to save our money to come home for special occasions that would happen in our children’s lives. I didn’t want to think about either of them dying. But we know that it is a fact of life. God gives each of us a number of days on earth then he calls us home to be with him. I am at peace. God gave him a good number of years – 81 in fact! He lived longer that both of his parents and longer than most of his brothers and sisters. (Aunt Christine and Aunt Patsy are still living.) God allowed him to see his children’s children and even five great-grandchildren – what a heritage of the Lord!”

 My earliest memories of my dad were at the OBS Mission in River Cess, Liberia. I see him still in shorts with his pith helmet on his head and his thermos of coffee in hand ready to leave on another trek into the “bush” to tell people, who had never heard, the good news that Jesus loved them and died for them! Some times he would be gone a week and sometimes it would be two or three weeks! Mom bravely “held down the fort” with Connie, Lynn and me and later John came to join us. It was a happy day when Dad returned from his trek and we would run to receive our hugs! (He was usually whiskery by then! J)

We had devotions as a family every morning. Dad would read the Bible and then we would all kneel to pray. Dad always prayed that God would “keep us from dangers seen and unseen”! That left an impression on me and we always prayed that with our kids too as they grew up. Dad was very strict about us keeping our eyes closed during prayer! How did he know when we opened our eyes and were looking around? But he caught us almost every time! I remember getting a hard spanking once when he caught me with my eyes open! I tried to keep them tightly closed during prayer from then on!

Mom and Dad both disciplined us but Dad was by far the stricter disciplinarian! Connie would do things to invoke Dad’s wrath and as I watched her being disciplined I quickly learned what to do and what NOT to do so I wouldn’t end up in the same situation!

 I used to love to climb onto Dad’s lap as he sat in his rocking chair, in the living room, listening to the radio. I felt secure and protected in his arms. And years later when I went through a biopsy and some emotional experiences (while on furlough in 1990) I was emotionally spent as I walked into Mom and Dad’s home in Indy. Dad opened his arms and took me in and told me that he loved me, that I was always welcome at home and that things would be okay!  I thank God for my Dad and all he meant to me!

Dad wasn’t perfect – in fact far from it – but he loved the Lord and he always tried to do his best for Him! He and Mom care about people more than anyone else I know! They are always involved in the lives of people! Their missionary work didn’t end when they left Africa after 27 years of service! They started again in another mission field – Indianapolis! Only eternity will tell all the lives they touched and all the sacrifices they made as they reached out to others!

I want to thank Randall and Barbara Bock for making the DVD of Mom and Dad as they told how they found the Lord, how God brought them together and how God called them to do missionary work for him! I will always treasure that gift as now my future daughters-in-law and future grandchildren will be able to understand the Christian heritage that we have in our family and why we have such an urgency to reach the lost and dying in this world with the HOPE of eternal life that Jesus gives!

Thank you Daddy for who you are! I love you unconditionally and always will! As we raised our boys we applied what we learned from our parents and tried to do better. We’ve told our boys that we weren’t perfect – far from it – but that they can change things as they raise their children. But one thing I don’t want them to ever change!We have told them that the greatest gift they can ever give us (the one we gave our parents) is to love the Lord Jesus and serve Him all the days of their lives! We could ask for nothing more! We want them to pass on the Christian heritage to the fourth and fifth generations! We also told them to “ never be ashamed of who they are and WHO they represent”! They are pastor’s kids and missionaries’ kids and they represent Jesus!!So Daddy, your legacy lives on!

I look forward to seeing you in Heaven one day! Enjoy Heaven! Rest in the arms of Jesus and delight in Him as he tells you “Well done thou good and faithful servant”! I will miss you!

Your second daughter,

Sherry

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 Pa – Thanks for always loving me and accepting me into your family! Thank you for giving me your daughter, Sherry, the love of my life! We’re so thankful for the time we got to spend with you and Mom in 2006 while itinerating in Eastern Region and also for the special week last summer in July 2007! We will always treasure the memories of those times together. We try to do our best as we continue to reach out to those who so desperately need a personal relationship with Jesus in Africa! Thank you for loving the people in Africa and for answering the call of God on your heart to GO with no strings attached! If would have been great if you could have returned to Liberia, one more time, to see how the work you helped develop has blossomed! We’ve had the privilege of returning to Liberia to visit the pastors and churches there! The work continues to move forward and people are still coming to Jesus!

I’ll always remember the last time, as we were getting ready to leave, we had devotions together and you prayed God’s protection over us once again! Thank you for all your prayers over the years! I love you and will miss you!

Your son,

Tom

Reflections on Grandpa