July 2013 excerpts from the log
of the good ship Davis
Soundings: It’s been a while since
I recorded where we are on the voyage. Overall, mostly fair winds, few
doldrums, and, for now, the reef points are holding…
Report on first
mate: Karen continues to
thrive in her new living situation, “Sarah’s Place”, a dementia care center
located on the grounds of a Christian-owned-and-run retirement community in
Peoria (a suburb in west Phoenix). While her ability to remember any new information
is limited to less than 30 seconds and she has lost most of the memories of our
past, there seems to have been a slowing of the decline; this may be benefit
from the investigational drug she has been getting since April 2012, but is
more likely from the increased activity and social stimulation of the living
situation. She still recognizes me; we get out for dinner dates and for church
routinely. Her medical health is stable. She is happy.
Crew news: Two daughters (in Austin and Phoenix),
three granddaughters (two Austin, one Phoenix) and one grandson (Phoenix) all
continue to give much joy; their presence in my life provides initiative to
stand watch looking forward rather than staring at the receding wake.
Captain’s daily routine: To pay for Karen’s care I have taken a
job at a community mental health clinic, working three ten hour days/week. It
is a mission field in its own right; every day I see people who are in great
need of the simple grace of understanding. I am enjoying the interaction with
other providers, and regularly see God’s hand in putting me in a place and time
to witness. I am also volunteering several days each month at The Neighborhood
Christian Clinic, a ministry to a primarily Latino community. I had planned on
being only an advisor about medication for basic psychiatric disorders; I
certainly had not planned on being a listener as one after another after
another women tell, for the first time, of horrible episodes of childhood abuse.
Perhaps it is the “safety” of telling their story through an interpreter;
perhaps it is a providentially-arranged process that now has me on a parallel
journey setting up a peer-counseling group utilizing a Bible-based workbook on
healing from abuse, only recently translated into Spanish. When back on my
usual course, the remainder of my time is spent tending to ship’s business of
cleaning, laundry, and tending to the needs of the mate and crew. I have
been honored to be part of the teaching team in our church’s adult Sunday
school year-long study of the Old Testament. I am busy.
Provisioning: We have ample stores for this part of the voyage, partly due to God’s provision of the job that pays for Karen’s care. I am so grateful to all of you who have continued to support our ministry with Godspeed; in the past I would have been able to individually acknowledge each gift. The ministry continues to provide much needed care to missionaries in personal and interpersonal crisis, both at home and in distant lands. I long to be on the good ship Godspeed again, but for now she sails on strongly and successfully; I am particularly excited about the progress being made toward the reality of a retreat center, a safe place to house missionaries who would seek care and restoration at our South Carolina home office. Expect to hear more about this before long.
Harbor sightings: The log indicates we are making headway,
but the duration of the voyage is still unclear and the horizon is indistinct.
As long as Karen can benefit from the level of care she now receives, I will
stay this course. I covet your prayers for my own health, to be able to
continue to serve as long as needed. As the journey permits, I hope to make
short side trips back to visit South Carolina and Maryland, our previous home
ports. And God knows my hope that I might someday be able to again visit
cherished friends in Ukraine, Mozambique, South Africa, and many other remote
ports of call.
Saluting the Admiral: There is not a single part of this
voyage that I would have predicted, nor could I have prepared for any aspect of
this challenge. Headwinds are still anticipated. Some days it seems a victory
to just stay afloat, even in the desert. But at no time have either of us
failed to see that this is the ship, this is the journey, this is the course
that we are supposed to sail. Some might say we were shanghaied; I know we have
been individually and personally recruited, chosen, and saved for such a time
as this. This ship sails under God’s
flag, and therefore I can say with complete surprise but complete faith that
there is joy in the journey.
Godspeed,
Barney
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