Nashville, Tennessee, November 28, 2011~
Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ, the Risen Saviour!!
This is your friend, Bwame' Ottumbwa, writing. I hope this finds each and every one of you well. As for me, things could not be any better.
I just spent Thanksgiving Day at my church, Christ Community Assembly of God; we fed the homeless of our community. It made my heart sing with joy to see so many people venture out, but at the same time, it also made me sad: so many needy people today in our world!
They did enjoy their victuals, so for that I was glad. A lot of these poor and downtrodden people don't have anybody or if they do, they live in squalor and that should not be, especially since this is America! You expect this sort of thing in third world nations like Africa or India, but certainly not here in what is supposed to be the richest nation in the world!
The children and the adult choirs (as well as the drama/music ministry) are busily preparing for their upcoming Christmas Cantatas: the children's Cantata is coming up this Sunday, and the adult's Cantata is the following week. From what I hear, the choirs and cast members have been working hard to memorise their lines and learn their music. They sound quite good; I am sure they will do a fantastic job!
The church staff has also been busy decorating the church with Christmas decorations and yesterday after church, the senior pastor and several of his assistants were putting up the tree in the main lobby. It is going to look grand once all the lights and decorations have been affixed to it!
I had a good Thanksgiving, but as I said thusly, I spent it at church, feeding the homeless. It gives me a chance to count my own blessings because compared to many, I am truly blessed. I have a roof over my head, food in my stomach, a new face, am able to talk/breathe through my trache tube, Jesus in my heart, wonderful friends throughout the community, a loving mother who loves me even for all that I have faced, and so much more. So many other people do not have nearly what I do and for that I am truly thankful!
God has truly been good to me.
The weather is nasty out: rainy, cold, blustery. Very miserable. By Wednesday, though, we might get our first taste of winter: there is snow in the forecast. It could be accumulating snows too, so this would probably count as our first snowfall of the coming winter season. I will be glad when the weather clears; these cold, cloudy days truly make me unhappy. I don't like staying indoors; I like venturing outside, enjoying the sights/sounds of nature!
Maybe later I can call up my friend Roscoe and see if he wants to go out to eat. I don't feel like cooking; I am tired of turkey and the trimmings. I want a REAL meal for a change: like Golden Corral, for instance. I haven't been there in a while and I am hungry for some buffet-style food!
Maybe we can also catch a movie afterwards. Both Roscoe and I want to see the movie "Courageous". We hear it's very good.
I was very happy yesterday: I saw Miss Louisiana and her Rainbow Family at church and all of them looked well. I even got to meet her newest granddaughter, Bella Thu Grace, who is the first child of her oldest son, Anh Kim and his wife, Thu. She is as cute as they come: so tiny and delicate: she favours her mother in looks. I even got to hold her and all she did was look up at me, wondering who I was. LOL I even saw her son, Johnathon, and his new bride, and both of them looked fantastic!
I didn't recognise Ronee', though: she has grown from a cute little girl into a beautiful young woman and she is getting married next year! When I realised who it was, I was truly shocked. She came up to me and gave me one of her warm bear hugs that I have dearly missed ever since she left to go to Louisiana, where she is attending college. Ronee' is doing very well and I couldn't be more pleased!
I still face a little "touch-up" surgical procedures, but I told Dr. Timkins I would schedule after the first of the year. I didn't want to be in hospital (or healing) during the holidays. He understood. He said that I should be about finished with my surgeries this coming appointment; he said he's done about all he could to fix my face. I was very pleased.
That will mean no more painful procedures, pre-testing, blood sticks, needles, and lengthy recoveries. God has been good to me throughout these few years and I am very happy to say that my journey towards normalcy is even closer than ever! Answered prayers!
Well, I hear a car horn beeping outside my house: that must mean Roscoe is here. He was home when I called. I will write in here again soon; until later, this is Bwame' Ottumbwa saying so long! May God bless you as much as He's been blessing me as of late! And if I don't remember to do so, let me be among the first to wish you a most joyous Christmas season full of God's grace and miracles!
~Love in Christ, your friend, Bwame'. :)
~To be continued.~
