Precious

 "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints." Psalm 116:15

Grandan, Grandma Chris, and me (2009)

Grandan and his two children - my mom and my Uncle Chris (2007)

On Saturday night my grandfather entered into the presence of His Lord. I am so thankful for God's perfect timing that I could be here now. I visited with Grandan 6 weeks ago at his home in Indianapolis before his health began to seriously decline. He has always been an enthusiastic vicarious participant in all my adventures. He read the "Miracle at Tenwek" book more than once and was thrilled when I came to know characters in the book. He bought a detailed African map and marked out exactly where I was in Kenya and where I will be in Burundi. He checked the Nairobi weather daily in the paper. :) He cared about all the specifics of my journey and clearly had read and remembered my many blog posts and update letters from Kenya and Burundi. He was the first person to commit to supporting me financially in Burundi. Even in the hospital last week as he struggled to breathe at one point he looked over at Grandma Chris and me and remembered, "We haven't yet opened the Burundi coffee Alyssa gave us last month!"

My Grandan was the epitome of thinking of others above yourself - he always expressed interest in others, listened carefully, and made others feel special. He loved to laugh and frequently made jokes - even in his hospital bed last week. As a voracious reader, he could converse on most any topic but he did so in such a humble way that did not draw attention to himself. As my father stated in the service today, he embodied the fruit of the Spirit extremely well. 

What a blessing that I am in the country now and was even available to drive my mother to the hospital last week and help sort out the medical information. These occasions certainly are bittersweet as it was a joy to be with family I haven't seen in years, though sad under these circumstances.

Extended family - Pfisters, Conlins, Lutz's, Wongs

Grandan would have been so proud of his great-grandson Samuel, age 3, who led us in reciting the Apostle's Creed - he saw the live version a couple weeks ago when Samuel used Grandan's oxygen tank as a pulpit and led church in his living room. :) Grandan was an amazing grandfather to little ones and to grown grandchildren. :)

Pfister family - special congratulations to my littlest sister Lauren on her engagement to Wei Chi on Saturday!