Happy Birthday, Pastor Bill

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PASTOR BILL !!!
WE LOVE AND MISS YOU SO VERY MUCH!!!

Video of Memorial Service at America's KESWICK

The video from the Memorial Service has been posted

on the KESWICK website.

Click Here to Watch the Recorded Stream of the Memorial Service

MEMORIAL SERVICE

Memorial Services will be held

in the Activity Center

at America's KESWICK

Friday, July 25, 2008

12:30 - 1:45 PM - Visitation

2:00 PM - Memorial Service

For a LIVE video stream of the Memorial Service - click here.

For more information on Pastor Bill's ministry - click here.

Sunday Evening Update

This evening shortly before 6:00 PM, our beloved Pastor Bill slipped very quietly and peacefully into the presence of his Savior and Lord.

Please be praying for his dear wife, Ruth, and his daughters, Jan, Karen, Judee and Cherri, as well as their husbands and grandchildren.

Times and locations of the Memorial Service will be posted on the blog as well the Keswick website: www.americaskeswick.org.

Your comments on the blog will be a wonderful encouragement. Thank you for praying along with us during the past six weeks.

Saturday night Update

There are several updates that I will share later this evening, but I wanted to give you an update on Pastor Bill.

Cherri just called and Pastor Bill continues to decline. He is working at with his breathing and has been given more morphine to rest. He is on 100% oxygen and his oxygen saturation levels are declining. The nurses have stopped the feeding because his body is not absorbing the food.

I think it is safe to say that at this point our prayer should be that the Lord graciously and quietly welcome Pastor Bill home.

Pray for Ruth and the girls. Jan and Judee are here but Karen is still in Michigan and praying about what to do. These are very difficult hours for the family.

Friday Morning Update

Pastor Bill's condition continues to be serious. We are at a point now in asking our many faithful friends to ask the Lord that if there is no possibility of recovery, that in His mercy and grace, He take Pastor Bill home to heaven.

As you can well imagine, these are very difficult days for Ruth and the girls. Pastor Bill has been a faithful servant of the Lord for these many years, and none of us want to see him suffer.

Please pray now for the ultimate healing that would be most glorifying to the Lord. I know that would be Pastor Bill's heart's desire.

Wednesday Evening Update

Pastor Bill is resting comfortably tonight though he is still working hard at his breathing. They were planning to do a CTscan tonight to see if they could figure out what else might be going on that caused the distress yesterday. Pray that the test will give some definitive answers.

One correction is that Pastor Bill DOES NOT have Mersa, but has an infection that is life Mersa in that it is hard to treat without the right combination on antibiotics.

Pastor Bill's daughter, Jan, arrived today from Michigan. Please keep the family in your prayers.

Wednesday Afternoon Update

Pastor Bill remains in CICU and is about the same as yesterday. He is still battling pneumonia, congestive heart failure, Mersa, and has a fever. He is under sedation and still on the ventilator.

Someone asked me this afternoon, "Is it wrong to pray for Pastor Bill's healing at this point?" My response was this -- that prayer is a win-win! Either God will heal him on this side of heaven (our desire) or He will heal him by taking him to heaven and receieve the ultimate healing.

Keep your comments coming on the blog!

Tuesday Night

Pastor Bill's condition is deteriorating. His pnuemonia and congestive heart failure are worse and he has a temp of 103. They are trying to get him in CICU. He has had two severe bouts with breathing difficulties which has been very hard for the family to experience.

Pray for God's perfect will to be accomplished in Pastor Bill's life.

Tuesday Afternoon Update

Pastor Bill is very critical this afternoon and has been admitted back to ICU. He is having a difficult time breathing even being on the ventilator. Please pray for God's will as well as for peace for Ruth and the girls. Pastor Bill's daughter, Karen, just went home this morning, and his daughter Jan arrives tomorrow.

Tuesday Morning Update

Pastor Bill still has a number of challenges, one of which is "mersa"
which is a staph infection. Pray today that he will also have less secretions for them to suction. The process is hard on his throat and is producing irritation. He also has issues at the trach and IV sites. One bit of good news is that the physical therapist was pleased with his mobility. He is able to move his hands and legs on command, but obviously is very weak.

On yesterday's blog we shared a hymn that was sent to Karen. It has powerful words and the tune for it is "Brethren, We Have Met To Worship." Try it!

Monday Morning Update

Here is the update that I received last night from Pastor Bill's daughter, Karen:

Dad had a time of working too hard again later in the afternoon but Atavan
(sp?) seemed to take care of it by helping him relax. They have him on Cipro as another antibiotic so hopefully that will make progress against the pneumonia. Except for the times that he is sound asleep with his eyes open, he is alert and responds appropriately with his eyebrows, eyelids, and some nods.

One of Karen's friends sent her the words of a wonderful hymn written by A. B. Simpson. The words are powerful and are so fitting for Pastor Bill:

1. O Lord, breathe Thy Spirit on me,
Teach me how to breathe Thee in;
Help me pour into Thy bosom
All my life of self and sin.

Refrain
I am breathing out my sorrow,
Breathing out my sin;
I am breathing, breathing, breathing,
All Thy fullness in.

2. I am breathing out my own life,
That I may be filled with Thine;
Letting go my strength and weakness,
Breathing in Thy life divine.

3. Breathing out my sinful nature,
Thou hast borne it all for me;
Breathing in Thy cleansing fullness,
Finding all my life in Thee.

4. I am breathing out my sorrow,
On Thy kind and gentle breast;
Breathing in Thy joy and comfort,
Breathing in Thy peace and rest.

5. I am breathing out my sickness,
Thou hast borne its burden too;
I am breathing in Thy healing,
Ever promised, ever new.

6. I am breathing out my longings
In Thy listening, loving ear;
I am breathing in Thy answers,
Stilling every doubt and fear.

7. I am breathing every moment,
Drawing all my life from Thee;
Breath by breath I live upon Thee,
Lord, Thy Spirit breathe in me.

Thanks for your prayers. Keep the blog entries coming. If you can't figure out how to do an entry, you can email your comments to me and we will get them posted: bwelte@americaskeswick.org

Saturday Afternoon Update

Pastor Bill is having one of those down days. He has pnuemonia and a touch of an intestinal bug. His heart rate is elevated again and he has a temp. He is really working too hard with his breathing so that may not wean him off the vent again for another couple of days. Please pray.

Friday Afternoon Update

Pastor Bill had a tough night. Spiked a 103 fever and has a sinus infection along with an mastoid infection. His heart rate was also critically elevated. The good news is that he squeezed Cherri's (daughter) hand today! Praise the Lord. He is stable but still critical.

Thanks for your prayers. Please keep the blog comments coming.

Thursday Afternoon

Some good news … Please note correction in red ...

The preliminary neurology studies show no indication of stroke but the brainwaves are slow which seem to indicate some kind of brain dysfunction. He has been more responsive today even though he has been in the C-PAP. and has an elevated heart rate. Ruth even thinks that he winked at her today!!! The assessment at this point is that he is experiencing the effects of this challenges with his ARDS, heart, kidneys, liver and the strep. If he were in his 30’s, he’d snap out of this much more quickly. His age obviously has a factor in how much or how quickly he will recover.

So … all that to say … God is at work, we don’t know HIS will, but we are praying for healing in the will of God. We also know this, we love Pastor Bill, and God loves him even more. But he still can’t have ice cream! :)

Wednesday Evening Update

Jan, Bud Lingle, and me (Bill), had the opportunity to see Pastor Bill tonight.The doctors feel he is in congestive heart failure again, however, I was very pleased with how he looked. I was also pleased with his responsiveness.

I got in trouble because I asked him if he wanted ice cream. Both eyebrows went up and he was trying his darndest to smile.

Another concern was his elevated heart rate. Please pray that he will get a good night of rest.

Thanks again for your prayers.

Wednesday Update

The update for today is that Pastor Bill has been off the vent and C-pac for five hours and breathing on his own (with oxygen) for about 5 hours. He has still been unresponsive and there have no reports from neurology.

Thanks for praying.

Tuesday morning update

Pastor Bill was transferred to the fourth floor (The Specialty Hospital) at Kimball Medical Center. Visiting hours are from 12 -8 PM. I know that Ruth and the girls would enjoy a brief visit from you.

Thanks for praying.

Monday evening update

There was no information to report today. As of 5:00 PM, the Neurologist had still not read the results.

Pastor Bill will be transferred tonight to the "Specialty Hospital" which is on the fourth floor. This is the rehabilitation area where they will be able to start doing some mild physical therapy on his arms and legs.

His breathing was a little better today off the vent. The big prayer request is that he would be totally weaned from the vent so that he could be moved to The Pines at Whiting.

Your comments on the blog and prayers are appreciated.

Sunday Evening Update

I am writing to ask our Intercessor's family to be praying specifically that God will either intervene by showing evidence of healing of Pastor Bill, or that He will graciously call him home before Ruth and the kids have to make a decisions that are so hard at times like these.

While he has made some progress in being off the ventilator, there appears to be some neurological issues that could be serious. Tomorrow they will be running a battery of tests to determine if there is any neurological dysfunction.

Our prayer is that if the Lord is not going to restore him to somewhat of a "normal" quality of life, that He take him home. None of us think Pastor Bill would be happy in this current condition.

The days are long for Ruth and the girls, and the pressures are mounting the longer his illness continues. I had a precious visit with him last night and felt we had some good eye contact communication as I read Scripture and prayed with him.

I would encourage you to sign on the blog and leave a message for the family. Thanks for praying.

Sunday Afternoon Update

Pastor Bill is doing a little better off the ventilator and tolerating more time off, however, he does not seem to be as responsive today as he was yesterday. When I (Bill) saw him last evening, he was following me with his eyes and attempting to make some mouth movements.

Cherri said that today he was not responsive which could still be related to sedation issues. We are a long way from being out of the woods for sure.

The family really appreciated the response to yesterday's request for you to write comments. Keep them coming. The encouragement means so much!

Saturday morning update

I just spoke with Cherri and Pastor Bill is a little more awake today, following them with his eyes and making some mouth movements. His respiration rate is slightly better and his temperature seems to be controlled.

They are waiting to talk with his pulmonologist which will possibly give them a better handle on the big picture.

I know that the family deeply appreciates your prayers. As you can see, there are many of you signing on to check the blog who never leave a message. I want you to know that your messages are a HUGE blessing and comfort. So please, don't just sign on -- leave a message!!!

Friday Afternoon Update

They are still concerned about his respiration rate, but they are slowly starting to wean him off of the sedation to see how he will respond. Please pray that he will not get agitated when coming off the sedation.

Thursday Afternoon Update

I have been waiting for a more definitive update today on Pastor Bill. They have decided to not wean him from the ventilator today because his breathing rate indicated that he was fighting the ventilator. The doctors are a little puzzled as to why he is breathing so hard being that he is already heavily sedated.

Please pray for wisdom for the doctors and peace for the family during these long days in ICU.

Wednesday noon update

Pastor Bill was weaned from the ventilator today for about an hour, which was 30 minutes more than the last attempt. We'll take that as an encouraging sign. They did put him back on and he is still sedated.

The prayers of God's people are deeply appreciated.

Tuesday Morning Update

The feeding tube procedure went well and it all goes well, they will be able to start feeding Pastor Bill in two days through the tube.

This afternoon they will make another attempt to wean back the ventilator and bring him out of the sedation. Pray that this will go well.

The family has lifted the restriction on visitors. Pastor Bill is still in ICU so the hours of visitation are limited. However, Ruth would enjoy your fellowship as she and the girls sit for many hours in the ICU waiting room.

Please know that your blog comments mean so much to all the family.