Scott Flies down; Koyce and I off to Stanford

On Saturday, we picked up Scott at the Oakland airport and we had a great time of bonding in the evening. On Sunday, he preached. The reason we were unable to hear him speak is that we had a 10:00 AM appointment at Stanford so we drove down to receive a bout of chemo. Then we returned home. Tuesday we headed back to Stanford for several weeks.

Scott was well-received at the church and they gave him book which a number of our people left a note. Here are some of these notes. Elton and Audrey Swanson wrote, “Thank you for standing in the gap while your dear father is temporally laid aside.” Josephine Ward wrote, “In appreciation for your ministry to us today, I trust the Lord is blessing you in your church in Oregon.” Barbara Goldstein said, “We are so happy to have you with us today. We love your dad and are praying for his recovery.” Calvin Fei wrote. We praise God for your father and we praise him for his great work in you. Thanks for preaching this week.” “We love your mom and dad. What a blessing they are. It is great we get to hear you speak” Nancy Jones. “Scott, So good to have you among us today. Praise God for such a dedicated son. Laura Bishari said, “Your father speaks so well of you. We can see he is very proud of his son.” Fran Heighes said, “Remember the summer you were at Calvary, glad to see you again.” Fern Aagard wrote, “Hi Scott, It’s nice to have you here to share with us—and to encourage your parents. Congratulating you on your new job and ministry as a pastor. 1 Cor. 15:58. Gail and Jim Bradway said, “Thanks for helping us out when you’re the one needing help” Oyin Ajala wrote, “Your dad certainly raised a godly man; it’s written all over you….God bless you, ” Another comment was, “Thank you for your beautiful message. God bless you in your mission.” Nicolos, Antonieta and Marco Roncagliolo. Diane Dishman said, “May God bless you and comfort you during this time, Scott!—I had a blue and white 55 Chevy!” Scott’s message was restoration of godliness from the story and David and Bathsheba. To illustrate his point of restoration, he referred to the restoration of his 56 Chevy while he was in high school.

On one of Scott’s cards he left for me was entitled, “10 Great Memories with My Dad.” The first one said, “Every time I look into my garage, I see this “classic” of a car that you had the vision to put together. I don’t think I learned much about cars in the process, but the time spent with you and Mike was so profitable for me. To this day, I have great relationships with both of you, and I have a pretty sweet ride.” Neat uh?

In the afternoon, we had some more bonding time as we mainly looked at some of my 35M slides from the past. When he really wanted some of them to show his son who is now twelve, we canned them and I sent them to his computer. But as the evening came upon us I developed a fever that seemed to continue through until the morning. We took him to the airport just before noon after getting him an In and Out Burger, which I believe is his favorite food in California. Shortly after, I began having some side effects, probably because I wasn’t allowed to have one of those burgers! On Tuesday, I felt much better as we journeyed to Stanford. Once we arrived, I saw that my room had a window, something we had prayed for and outside the window are two blossoming trees and a fountain in the court room. The gardens are beautiful.

But I was hit with some pretty nasty chemo and when we got into the second hour mark. I was feeling pretty edgy and restless. Maybe it was because it was laced with alcohol and they said that I would have a sense of a hangover. I told them I never had a drink in my life and they told me that even strong drinkers face this even worse that I did. Overall they were pleased with my progress. Later in the evening the sensations wore off.

In the morning I was able to read another card that Scott left with Koyce. This time it started with a note that said, “Oh, so many memories.” And this card read; “You teaching me how to bunt by throwing the ball in my face.” (Then all of these have a smiley face following them.’ Next, You “forcing me to play basketball in high school and college, hey I drained a half court shot at WOSC.” The Chevy making it to the coast and back before the wheels went whack as you entered into Dallas” Telling us to “laugh all the way to the bank” after umpping when Mr. Hamilton yelled at us. After performing a funeral, you took me a card show in Portland where you talked to a guy and bought his 1963 cards of Yaz and Spahn.
In the afternoon we went to a concert in the hospital atrium featuring Biddy Early’Bottle and Traditional Irish Tunes all in honor of St. Patrick’s Day yesterday. The story line was that Biddy didn’t sing for money in her days so people received whisky instead. However, Biddy didn’t drink that much but her husbands did, all four of them and they all died long before her, apparently of drinking too much. On Friday, we have another concert here and tomorrow we have another big shot of chemo, one that my pastor Scott asked if he could pray for me over the phone!
As we wind down this note to you, let me tell you that some of you have asked if you could send a note or card and I just found out today that you can write to:

Stanford Hospital.
Blood Marrow Transplant Unit E-1.
David F. Miller
300 Pasteur Dr. mail code 4507.
Stanford, CA 94305.