Newsletter

Dear Brethren,
We want to begin this newsletter with the words of the Apostle Paul recorded in Philippians 1:2-3, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I (we) thank my (our) God upon every remembrance of you.” We think of all of you as we read this verse and the ones following. What a blessing all of you are to us as you’ve stuck there with us through the past year and a half. We certainly could not have made it without your prayers and financial help. So thank you so much from the bottom of our hearts.

Family News
I know at this point in time Stuart is chomping at the bit to be out there preaching again. That is certainly the goal towards which he is working very hard. Now Stuart has undertaken his own speech therapy as he wasn’t getting much help from the therapist. He speaks every other week at the chapel service at “On With Life”, the rehab center he was at. Preparing his 15 minute sermonette takes many hours to get ready. For now he is using prepared material since he is still not able to process his own thoughts for a sermon. He does add his own practical applications. Once he has laboriously typed it out he then reads it to me two or three times in case he needs to make some corrections. He is still at the point where he has to read it word for word making sure to pronounce words correctly. I suppose if some congregation was willing to work with him he could do something like this. This practice at “On With Life” has been a great confidence builder. One of his friends from “On With Life” who also had a stroke goes with Stuart to this chapel service every week. His name is Walter. He and his wife Kathryn have become our friends. Pray that we can influence them for the Lord.
I now have the privilege of teaching a woman’s Bible class on Sunday mornings. What a joy and pleasure it is to be teaching again. We are studying the subject of God’s amazing Grace.
We still have the 3 children with us who were with us in Nikopol. The two boys Adrian and Zachary are working. Zachary hopes to start college in the Fall. Kaylona is still trying to finish up high school. Both Kaylona and Zachary are in the youth choir which they have enjoyed. The two of them are also in a band with Adrian and 4 more of their friends from church. They bless us with their playing now and then.

Nikopol News
We just have a bit of news to share from here in case you haven’t heard. Our dear sister Nina suffered a stroke April on the same side as Stuart though not as severe. Nina is the mother of Vera the doctor who was our first convert from Nikopol. She is quite a lady who would do anything for anyone. The doctors still struggle to get her blood pressure under control. Nina loves to worry about everything which doesn’t help. She is the main reason we are planning to take a trip to Nikopol in September or October. We want to encourage her as well as the other saints there. Of course, we will also plan to visit the church in Minsk at that time. Please keep Nina in your prayers and pray that she will take her worries to the Lord.

Minsk News
We actually have quite a bit of new to share with you from Minsk as we had a nice long chat with Sasha. As you know the church in Minsk has been meeting in homes since they lost their meeting place 3 years ago. For some reason the government has not wanted to register them anywhere though they have tried to secure two or three places during this past 3 years. They were meeting in another church building that was quite a distance from many of the members. Now with the help of Uri, doctor Vera’s husband, they have secured permission to meet in a house for now. It is owned by another church. This is where the youth have met in the past. However, once cold weather sets in this will not work as there is no indoor plumbing or a heating system. Sasha has asked all the people in the church to help look for a place to meet. Uri will continue to help them get registered. Uri has an ex-boss who works in City Hall.
Ideally, they would still like to purchase a place which would have to be done in an individual’s name. There is still a building fund that is not large.
To help encourage one another the congregation in Minsk works with the other Church of Christ in Minsk . The youth in these two groups have met together for quite some time. Now the preachers switch between the two. They are also working in a summer Bible camp together. It has been a great encouragement to many to have the added fellowship.

Some other exciting news is the return of a brother to the congregation. Many of you might remember years ago when Oleg and his family left the church to start a church in their home. Well Andre Maletz went with him as he was close friends with Oleg. Andre said that it was immaturity on his part that caused him to leave. Now Andre has a wife Natasha and two young sons and is again helping out in the church. Andre always kept in touch with us through the years. He is now having weekly Bible studies with the two new christians we mentioned in the last newsletter. They are Uri, doctor Vera’s husband, and Sasha, Anton’s wife. Anton is Dr. Vera’s younger son.

The men in the church also meet for Bible study and prayer once a week which was initiated by Igor the other young man leading in Minsk. We are thankful to hear they are doing this as it is sure to encourage growth in the men as they labor together in the kingdom.

Future Plans
As we mentioned we are planning to make a trip to Minsk and Nikopol in the Fall. Kaylona will be making the trip with us. Adrian is also planning a trip around that time making his own schedule. We are really looking forward to this time so we can encourage the saints and get some teaching in. I know that I plan to share with the ladies. This will be a big undertaking for Stuart so pray for him. We miss all our brothers and sisters over there so much and long to be with them again. God willing this trip can come to pass.

In Him,

Stuart and Valerie

The financial report is included in the newsletter sent out as usual.  If you do not receive the newsletter and wish to receive it please post a comment with your information and address.

Hello Again

From May 19, 2010

Dear Family and Friends,
I just thought that I would check in here since it has been a long, long time since I have done so.  I see that I wrote about what they thought was a seizure.  Actually, Stuart had another one while we were at the YMCA a couple of months later.  Since the doctor said it wasn’t necessary to go to the hospital we waited this one out, and it quickly resolved itself.  He was speaking and walking within 20 minutes or so.  Our family doctor thinks these were mini stroke activity or TIA’s which often occur after a major stroke.  Stuart is now on a medication that will hopefully prevent these.  It is now almost June and he hasn’t had another one.  We praise God for that.

Stuart is not going to speech or physical therapy anymore.  He does his own speech therapy by going to On With Life and helping out with the weekly chapel service there.  He prepares a small talk for this service every other week.  It is still difficult for him and a slow process.  His is improving in this area little by little.  He reads it aloud to me two or three times, and we make the necessary corrections.

Stuart is now being treated for sleep apnea which should make his thinking processes clearer.  The doctor overseeing him says he may even experience an improvement in his speech which would be a blessing.
Well, I need to run.  God be with you!
Stuart, Valerie and family

From May 26, 2010

Hello,
After not writing for so long here I am again.  Right after I put the last update Stuart had an appointment with his eye doctor.  Stuart had lost his glasses with the prisms so needed to go in.  It was actually time for his yearly checkup.  He said that he thought his eyesight had gotten better.  Anyway, the doctor gave him a thorough exam only to find out that he no longer needs the prisms as he has gained back most of his vision he lost from the stroke.

The Lord just keeps blessing and blessing!  Now he can get a form from the DMV for the doctor to sign, and he will no longer have to use his glasses while driving.
So, I just wanted to share this with all of you who might still check here.  God bless and have a great day.
Love from us all,
Valerie

Welcome Good News

Dad is now back home and doing well.  It turns out they think that he might have had a small seizure.  Initially it was thought that they wouldn’t let him drive.  Given that it was such a small seizure they are going to allow him to continue driving but he will be taking anti-seizure medication.  Praise the Lord it was nothing too serious.  The doctors say that it is not unusual to have seizures with the kind of stroke that he had and is actually a sign of healing in the brain.

Thanks so much for your continued support, prayers, and caring.  It really means a lot to all of us and we pray that one day soon Dad will be able to speak the Word as he loves to.  May God bless all of you for your Christian love.  Have a wonderful New Year!!

In Him,

The Stuart Merrill family

Update

Apparently Dad did not have a stroke but possibly had a seizure. Jer, just called and gave a quick update. Please continue to pray as he will be kept in the hospital over the weekend and then will have an MRI on Monday. He is talking and moving. I am assuming at this time it is probably OK if you have their number to call.
I have been meaning to put an update up to have people not just pray but to call and encourage Dad as he has been depressed lately. Dad loves hearing from everyone.
God Bless, we will keep you updated,
Travis

Urgent! Please pray!

It is the day after Christmas and apparently this morning Dad had another stroke.  I don’t know the details at this time but will keep this page updated.  Please pray hard and keep the phones clear for family.  I will put more information up as soon as I have it.  Please pray!!

In Christ, Travis

First Public Speech

Dear Family and Friends,
We have already been home now for about a week and a half from our trip out East. We had a wonderful time with our family and friends and got to enjoy the peak of the foliage season.  The trip back went almost without a hitch.  We did have a minor breakdown when our fan belt went on us.  Pulling off for that turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The mechanic checked our transmission fluid only to find that it was very low.  A hose was leaking it seems. Had we not realized that we could have lost our transmission. God was with us as we pulled off not far from a garage, and we were back on the road in 1 1/2 hours. Thanks to a gift from a dear lady in Harlan, Indiana 2/3 of the repair bill was covered.  God had us covered all the way.

Stuart was able to read a short speech I helped him prepare for our so Kaleb’s marriage vow renewal.  That went well for his first time speaking like that in public.  Many of our family members noticed an improvement in his speech.  However, maybe it was the coming back to normal everyday life that left Stuart a bit discouraged.  The other day he said he was depressed which came as a surprise to me.  He said he needs to get back to work.  We will have to find some tasks for him to do so he can feel more useful.  There are certainly plenty of things for him to do.  So, please continue to lift him up in your prayers.

Thank you again for your calls, letters and cards that still come in on occasion.  We appreciate your continued help.

May you all have a blessed Thanksgiving surrounded by your families and friends.  It will be nice to be here in Des Moines with 6 of our nine children and their families for this season.  We have so much to be thankful for.

Merrill's at Kaleb and Renee's renewal

Love in Christ,
Stuart, Valerie and family

Almost 1 Year!!

Dear Family and Friends,
It’s hard to believe that almost a month has gone by since my last update.  I thought that I had better get one posted as soon we will be getting ready for a trip out East.  We will be going to Vermont for the month of October.  Our son Kaleb and his wife Renee will be renewing their marriage vows at the end of the month.  We will be seeing all our family who live on the East coast which we are really looking forward to.  Our visit will start with the October Retreat at the beginning of the month where we hope to see many of you our friends.

It is also difficult to believe that almost a year has gone by since Stuart’s stroke.   We are so thankful to God for bringing us through this time.   We also want to thank all of you for your prayers and generous financial support to help us through this.  We pray that God has been glorified as we saw the miracle of his healing and care for us.

We know that Stuart has come a long way which is so great to see.   He seems to be working a bit hard on his cognitive skills these days.   It’s that kind of work that will help him regain what he has lost.  This process is very slow so sometimes it can be discouraging to Stuart.  Hopefully, he can get involved in helping will church work soon working towards preaching again.   There is much work to be done here in the states, also.

Continue to pray for the church family we have been attending with at Rising Sun.  Since they got rid of the preacher many families have left. We would like to see what direction they are going before we would decide to go elsewhere.  The elders are going to meet with the congregation this Thursday evening to answer questions.  We pray that this will be done decently and in order.

I also want to post our phone number which I should have done long ago.  It is 515-276-4416.  Feel free to call us at any time.

Because of Christ,
Stuart, Valerie and family

All done with flying colors!

Dear Family and Friends,
Well, Stuart is all through his procedure with flying colors.  The doctor said it went smoothly and without a hitch.  They checked before they started to be sure there were no clots and found everything clear. There were only small restrictions put on Stuart.  He couldn’t drive for one day, and he cannot do any heavy lifting for one month.   He is a bit hesitant to get started up at the YMCA for some reason.  I am sure it is OK for him to do his walking and swimming.  We did go for a bike ride yesterday which he wasn’t sure he should have done.  We will call the doctor tomorrow to double check about his activities.

Hopefully, things will be pretty much back to normal so we can take a trip back East in October.

Please remember Kaylona in your prayers.  On Tuesday the 1st she has all four of her wisdom teeth extracted by the dental surgeon.  Two of the teeth are bone impacted so pray that this goes smoothly and that her recovery isn’t too painful.

Also remember the church we are attending in your prayers.  This past week they fired the preacher of 36 years.  They sent a letter out to explain the reason for this.  We are not sure they told everything. There are some of us who may be looking for another place to attend once we see what is planned. For many of the long timers there this seemed to be quite a shock. Please remember Doug Reymen in your prayers who is the one they fired.  He seemed like a man who stood for what was right, but we really didn’t know him that well.

Thanks again for being our prayer warriors in lifting us up before our God who is every faithful.

Love from us all,
Stuart, Valerie, Adrian, Zachary and Kaylona

Keep praying…

Dear Family and Friends,
Well, the time is here for Stuart’s procedure the day after tomorrow(Teusday the 25th).  He only had to get on a blood thinner 5 days prior to the procedure, and he will stay on this for 6 months after.   Again it is just done on an out patient basis with Stuart staying overnight and going home the next day.  Stuart’s sister Linda will come down on Tuesday to be with us.  We anticipate that everything will go smoothly.  Keep us in your prayers.

We finally got out on our bikes for the past couple of days which was nice.  God blessed Zachary with a bike for free.  A local radio station put you name in a drawing if you put their logo on your car window.  Zachary did that on Friday and a couple of hours later they called him saying he won the bike.  We’d debated getting him a bike for his birthday but speakers for his drum set won out.  Now he will have both.  God is good.

It’s hard to believe kids are already back in school.  The summer went by so quickly.  We pray God blessed all of you with a great summer.
Love from us all,
Stuart, Valerie, Adrian, Zachary and Kaylona

Pray for encouragement!

Dear Family and Friends,
Just checking in again though not much has been going on.  Before I forget, please lift Stuart up in your prayers.  He seems to be going through a time of discouragement.  His moods are rather low which could be helped by medication which he won’t take.   Pray that he will realize he needs to work harder to gain back what has been lost.  On the more positive side he tries to get involved in helping people out in the physical area. Last week he helped our son Justin do some work in his basement.  He also helped out one day at VBS.   Then he also went to the “On With Life” annual picnic.   He attended that without me as I was in Texas celebrating my Aunt’s 80th birthday. Doing all these activities is very good for Stuart in order to make him feel more useful.

We have a house guest for the next 3 months or so.  Kaylona’s very best friend from Belarus is visiting us.   Her name is Tanya.  Her mother is the one that has a congenital heart problem.  Please pray for Lena while her daughter is gone.  Tanya is a great help to her mother.   Lena’s son Sasha is also gone as he is with a family in California.   He is attending college there.   Kaylona is very happy to have Tanya here, and you can hear them chattering away in Russian day and night.

Stuart’s surgery is still scheduled for the 25th of August which will be here before you know it.   Pray that all goes well for that.   I will probably not put another update on until then.

We pray that all of you are having a great summer.  I wouldn’t mind hearing from some of you.  Our e-mail is merrillopenby@hotmail.com in case you don’t know it.   God bless!
Love from us all,
Stuart, Valerie, Adrian, Zachary and Kaylona