Merry Christmas 2012
December 2012
Greetings to one and all at the close of another holiday season. It's already too late to wish you a “Merry Christmas!” so we'll wish you a good upcoming year and let you know that our thoughts were with you during this Christmas season. I'm starting this message but we may find that Susan finishes it. She has a better memory than I do, so you may learn more if she helps.
I'll start with a true story that happened this year. It was a Wednesday in late January, maybe early February, when I discovered that I'd lost a mitten. This may not seem earthshaking to many of you, but I was heart broken. How could I have been so careless! This wasn't just a mitten; it was one of a pair of mittens that Susan crocheted for me either the winter of 1977 before we were married or the winter of 1978, just after we wed. Yes, the mittens were 35 years old. And even though I've worn them a lot over the years, they were still in excellent shape, warm, comfortable, made with love. I treasured these mittens and one was gone! I told my bride and asked if she could make a replacement. She kissed me and said she'd work on it. Saturday morning, she told me that she and Carol Reitz and Dorothy Baker (thanks Carol and Dorothy) had been praying that we would be able to find the mitten and that it was time to search in faith. We pulled my vehicle out of the garage, opened all of the doors and checked under all of the seats. We checked my coat pockets, in the garage, at PTI but still no mitten. Susan asked where I saw them last. On Tuesday after work, I had shopped at Sam's Club. I didn't wear them into the store, but I remember them on the passenger seat. She said “We're going to Sam's Club!” I showed her were I parked (I always park in about the same spot). The parking lot had been plowed due to the snow the day after I was there, so if I had dropped the mitten while I was there, the plows could have taken it anywhere. Susan still had faith! “Let's check to see if they have a lost and found.” In the store, the clerk at the service counter pulled out a box full of lost items. First she pulled out a blue glove and when Susan explained that we lost a brown mitten, the clerk dug deeper and asked was this it. We found the mitten! I couldn't believe that someone saw it in the lot and took the time to carry it into the store to report it. Susan knows better. Remember the prayers: she explained “It's a God Thing.” I haven't accepted Him yet. But I do have an open heart and He may guide me to Him some day. I know that Susan and many of our friends are praying for my salvation. I hope they continue; I need all the help I can get.
Well… what can I say in response to that other than to ask those of you who believe on our Lord Jesus, to pray for him.
Now my news… 2012 turned out to be my mission year. I started the year sleeping with a married man…. Our dear friend, Bruce Baker, was in hospice and I was one of three volunteers who would go weekly and stay the night with him so Dorothy could rest. He was on medication every four hours for pain. My regular night was Friday night. I would go about 9 pm, visit with him and Dorothy, then help him settle for the night. Then about midnight or one am, I would get up to give him his meds and he liked a snack at that time, then he would go down and perhaps wake again at four and occasionally would sleep the rest of the night… until about 6. When I first started going, he and his caretaker (me or who ever) would sleep in the recliners in the living room, but about Christmas he declined to the point where he spent more time in bed. He went to be with Jesus in March just 10 days before his 82nd birthday.
My second mission during the year was a knitting project. I heard about this Christian organization, Tender Loving Care Ministries, Inc. in Maryland that provides clothing and personal necessaries primarily for children in the Appalachian region. So, I donated some sweaters. I am proud to say I was able to send 23 sweaters to them in November. I actually had a total of 32 sweaters, vests or shawls (at least of which I took pictures…I did not start taking pictures until spring or so). I was able to take the remaining sweaters to local organization. Guess you could just call me Sweating Susan for all my sweaters. Then, in December I decided to be the Mad Hatter and see how many hats I could do in a month. I got 53 completed. These go to our local schools. I think January should be Slippery Suzie and see how many slippers I can make for the shelters. Guess I will have to give you that update next year. Pictures of the sweaters and hats are available on our web page…. .
My third mission in 2012 was to participate in a local outreach in our community in July. First year Reach Out Weston was a local free clinic sponsored by five Weston churches to bring healing and hope to our community. The clinic was held at the three churches along Alderson: Mt Olive Lutheran, Bethany Baptist (my church) and Christ Community (these three churches are about 1.5 miles apart). We provided services such physicals, eye exams and glasses, chiropractic care, food and clothing pantry, hair cuts, oil changes, family portraits, financial advice and a free meal to families or individuals in need. Our guests were given advocates to escort them from one facility to another (free busing was made available between the three locations), share the meal and to share their faith in Christ. I was co-chair with a dear woman of faith, Mary Anne Geise, of the Prayer Team. It was so exciting to come along the other chairs in prayer support through the planning and then to come along side our guests that day and pray with them. The oil change was my biggest opportunity. We held this off side on Sunday afternoon. A local oil change business donated the use of their facility and a team of their employees volunteered. They, along with volunteers from the churches, changed oil for people free of charge. We processed about a hundred changes that hot afternoon. But it gave us opportunity to pray with people as they waited for their turn. Overall, we served about 350 in the event.
My fourth mission was another first - a local mission outreach to our community by our church. This focus was to meet the physical needs of families within our community but outside our body of believers during a week. Some of the projects done were to replace the ceiling in a kitchen and replace an entry way door to a garage for a couple whose husband had heart issues, remove fallen trees and stumps from a yard (a big wind storm had come through in June and the family did not have the financial resources to have them removed), sand and paint a deck for a single woman, dust high places and clean windows for senior citizens, clean up a yard for a handicapped gentleman and his wife, mend clothes at a local nursing home, and replace an overhead door and fencing at one of the local food pantries. Each day the team of volunteers (adult and youth) would meet for breakfast, get their assignments and packed lunches and go for the day. They would work until about 3 - 4 pm, go home and clean up then meet again at church for an evening meal and a time of sharing. They were encouraged to bring the families they were working with for the evening meal and members of the congregation who were not able to participate during the day were also encouraged to join for the meal. After dinner, a social time was planned… comedy sketch one night, a camp fire another. The mission week ran from Monday to Friday, but most of the projects were done by Thursday. Friday was planned as a catch up day. My mission was to go do mending or replace buttons at the nursing home down the road. I was joined by one other sewer and four helpers. The residents were encouraged to come and one gal, Rose, lead the group in an inactive time while Sandy and I did their mending. It was very interesting. Rose brought a picture of a family and by asking the residents questions about what they thought the family was doing, build a story around the picture. The other helpers sat with the residents as companions. Another interesting story, one of the helpers was a lady from a town about twenty miles away. She had heard about our project and wanted to help and just showed up at church to volunteer on Friday. As the only project scheduled that day was the trip to the nursing home, she came with us. Also, as a result of this, Sandy and I have plans to actively go to other nursing home and do mending.
I think about all this and am amazed that I still had time to go to two knitting retreats… where I did a lot of the sweaters… and go to a seminar. I so love those weekends away with my knitting friends. And I still had time to play with the horses, both of which are doing well. Lady continues to walk slower and slower and Dalyte continues to be silly and test my patience, but that too is improving. The cats continue to sleep their days away and attempt to get us to play with them in the middle of the night. What can I say, the rest of our lives are rather constant. We are blessed with each other and good health at this time. Our jobs remain secure and we are made rich by the number of friends we have.
Susan and Paul Stomieroski
6310 Setter Road
Weston, WI 54476
(715) 355-7769
Susan@Stomieroski.com
Paul@Stomieroski.com
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