A Dinosaur

Many friends have gone away for vacation and attendance at church is low.  I am told that people living in London prefer to take their vacations in the summer when there’s sun and children’s break from school.  There are many seaside towns here such as Poole, Bournemouth, Cardiff… and many others.  Transportation to and from these places are very efficient and relatively cheap.  One sister at church has moved to Bournemouth for retirement, and we went to visit her.  We were more than delighted to find endless sandy beaches and a multitude of these sun tanners on the beach.

On Sunday night we were invited to have dinner with a church couple.  They have always wanted us to meet their parents.  We went to her parent’s house and chatted with them. Her parents are idol worshippers and they have a dislike for Christians.  Our conversation covered many aspects of our lives as pastor and wife.  We even extended an invitation to them to come to church.  We were told later that they were happy that we came.  The mom has been in a wheel chair for the past 28 years  and cannot speak due to a stroke.  She is now in her eighties.  The Dad has been taking care of her all those years.  National Health Services have installed many apparatus to help care for her.  Through the evening, we witnessed the love between this couple.  The Dad insisted on feeding her himself, dicing the vegetables and spoon fed her.  Then he would bend down and carefully lifted her to a recliner, making sure that the cushions are in the right place.  The Dad is not particularly strong nor big.  Then he would tell her to watch TV and serve her some tea.  Later, he would feed her some prunes.  When its time for her to use the bathroom, he would again transfer her to one of those chairs with a hole that can be fitted over the toilets.  We were told that for most of those 28 years, he would wake up three times during the night to take her to use the bathroom.  The love of the Dad towards the mom was very obvious.  She was his everything.  The children lovingly described their Dad as a dinosaur and that his dedication has become extinct in today’s world.