In Loving Memory - Ted

It's appropriate, somehow, to follow a post about a new life that recently entered this world, with one about another life that has moved onto the next.

Eric and I had the privilege of a short friendship with our brother-in-Christ, Ted Eatmon. We knew him from Living Water - a tall, lanky, African-American man, in his early sixties, with the kindest smile and gentlest eyes. He knew my name before I knew his, and would always give me a hug during the passing of the peace. Well, we had name tags, which could account for his knowing my name so readily - but somehow it always felt as though, when he greeted me, he was greeting an old friend.

We didn't know too much about him, or his past, but one day last year, he stood up in front of the congregation and told everyone his health was declining due to the lung cancer he'd battled for many years. He stood there, tall, with determined vulnerability. He told us that he needed us - for our prayers, and our companionship. He needed us to walk with him. We didn't know he'd had lung cancer - he'd been diagnosed in 2000, with maybe a year to live, and due to his faith, his healthy lifestyle, and participating in an experimental drug program, he lived on in this life for a further eight.

Eric and I grew to know him better after that - we'd go for meals at his home, and share fellowship with him as part of the same small group. He even came grocery shopping with me to Trader Joe's. He didn't drive, but used to ride his bike everywhere -and due to diminished lung capacity wasn't cycling anymore and Trader Joe's is pretty far.

Ted loved children, and was an integral part of the church's after school program, and even when he no longer had the strength to leave his apartment (across the street from the church) he still gave art lessons once a week to a few of the kids who would be taken to his home. Art was another of Ted's passions and talents. He gave us beautiful bookmarks, and when we moved to this neighborhood a month ago, Ted gave us a wonderful card he'd made himself, welcoming us. It's on our fridge and when we see it we'll always think of him.

Along with the gift of his friendship and of himself, Ted also gave us and the church another gift. By opening himself up and being so vulnerable, Ted gave us the opportunity to walk alongside him. I've never experienced something like this before. Certainly there was the time for prayer for healing, and he lived far beyond the initial prognosis - but in these latter days you knew you were walking with someone who was dying.

In the last month or so, our small group and others in the church were on shift to bring him meals three times a day. He ate my bean soup with gusto, but the day before he died, he wasn't tempted by the bobotie I'd prepared.
In the last two weeks, people were with him 24/7, even sleeping over. Ted was never left alone. When he passed away last Monday night, he was surrounded by loving friends and his daughter.

Last night was the aptly named "home-going celebration", held at the church.

Ted was laying in the casket that a few men in the church had made over the last few months, commissioned by Ted himself. Some women in the church had sewn in the lining. Examples of his art - his paintings, his bookmarks, were on display, along with his paint brushes. His coffee table, with its glass lid and treasures displayed below, was next to the coffin. His backpack, his bike helmet, a game of chess with Ted's favored opening moves, his flute - all there. It was a snapshot of who he was.

People shared memories of him, and how he'd touched their life. There was a beautiful photo slideshow. And Ted himself spoke - a video he'd recorded for the after school kids when he realised he could no longer cross the street to care for them - to let them know he loved them, that he didn't fear death because he knew his God and that his God loved him, and to tell them to eat healthy and make the most of their education!

The choir sang Ave Maria. The first Sunday Ted no longer was able to make it to service, they'd sung it in church - and then went to his home to give him a private performance.

The entire service was so intimate, so loving, and a truthful mix of being so very sad that he is no longer with us, a celebration of a life transformed by God, and a peace knowing that he is with our Lord - and we will see him again.

Laura & Joe's Little Bundle of Joy

Recently, my friend Laura had her long awaited (9 months!) baby. Gavin is very cute, and has the coolest baby room and stroller I've ever seen.

His mom's diaper bag is uber-stylish too.

Here I am holding him, at 3 weeks old.

Retreating

Life has been one thing after another just lately - but what else is new. I still haven't had time to upload photos, and I must admit this is something that hinders me from blogging. I'm over it just enough to post a quick blog to say - more coming soon...
We're off to the church retreat this weekend - about 165 of us I think, and it should be fun. I hope so. Honestly I'm feeling rather drained at the moment, and part of me would far prefer holing up in our condo, drawing the not yet hung curtains in the living room, and watching marathon session of Veronica Mars, or some such light-hearted escapism tool. So the weekend has the potential to either weary me further, being surrounded by people, OR perhaps the Lord in his mercy will find me and refresh me. I am hoping it will be the latter.

P.S. Although I HAVE started another blog - this time one for my business, in lieu of doling out cash for a website to be designed. I like to think of myself as frugal rather than cheap.
The url is as yet undisclosed - but I'll provide a link when it's ready to go.

An Urban Barn-Raising?!

Eric and I moved about 10 days ago and are now happily ensconced in our new condo, a minute's walk from the church meeting-house, and a 10-minute walk to the beach. It feels like a completely different neighborhood around here and so far we're loving it.
Packing up our old place wasn't too strenuous - we did a few boxes here and there in the weeks leading up to the move - but the bulk of the packing was done in the two days prior. Even that wasn't too hectic - a couple of wonderful friends from church called us the day before to say they were coming over that night to help us pack and bring pizza. Yay for them! I'd left the car headlights on that day (silly me) and come Friday afternoon the battery was dead. We'd been planning on grabbing something from Panera or similar, so someone bringing food to US was a godsend. We finished packing by 9:30pm, and so were able to get a good night's sleep ahead of the big day.




The morning of the move dawned. Eric went off to pick up the U-Haul moving truck we'd rented and to pick up Dunkin Donuts & coffee for the movers, and I stayed behind to do some last-minute packing and cleaning.
By 9:30am we had about 20-25 people (mostly from church) gathered and the big move began. The conveyor belt line was started, boxes started making their way to the elevator, whisked down to the ground level, and another line of people shimmied the boxes out to the waiting truck. Some strong men were enlisted to carry bulky furniture down the 4 flights of stairs, and pretty soon the truck was filled and our condo was emptied. After 20 minutes of rest and coffee out in the parking lot we made our way the 6 blocks east to our new place (leaving behind 3 lovely ladies who cleaned and mopped and left our old home sparkling!) This time there was no elevator but a few more people showed up to help move, and in no time at all all our worldly goods were placed in appropriate rooms, ready to be unpacked.
By noon we were done!! Lunch had been prepared in a home across the alley - and so all the hungry movers were fed before heading off to the SECOND Living Water move of the day. Talk about dedication and selfless service! Check out these pics of the move, and some of the Mennonite Movers!

Christ is Risen - He is risen indeed!

It's been a couple of weeks since Easter but better late than never... we really enjoyed celebrating Easter Sunday at Living Water with our church family. After many of the church members participating in an audio play/reading of the last hours of Jesus' life on Good Friday, we gathered again on Sunday morning to celebrate his resurrection! It was a joyful time, with much dancing and laughter. The message was translated into 2 languages from English: Khmer, as there are many Cambodians in our congregation; and French, for the benefit of a number of refugees from the DR Congo and Burundi/Tanzania, and many of them speak French. We also celebrated the dedication of Rivers - the newborn son of our friends Jason & Anni.
Here are a few photos from the day.