Remembering The Shepherd of Shepherds

These past few weeks have been filled with much sadness and tears; we found out on Resurrection Sunday (Easter) that our loving and brave pastor in CA, Steve, who has been battling an aggressive brain cancer, went home to be with his Lord.  How fitting it was that God would usher Steve to Heaven on such a day - a day that we celebrate Christ conquering death.  In as much as we knew this day was coming, how can one truly prepare to hear of the passing away of a loved one.

As many gave accounts of Steve's passion for preaching and exalting Christ in his life on Facebook, I wanted to testify of Steve's loving shepherding to his flock.  Not many know about this story because it was during the darkest days of my life.

OUR PERSONAL ACCOUNT
It was just a few hours since Lei'ali'i passed away; Mike had not yet arrived from Hawaii.  My phone kept ringing through out the morning with one number in particular.  Voice mails followed with a repeating message of concern from my Pastor Steve. One message was in true "Steve" form, "Hi Bessie, Steve here.  Your pastor in Hawaii is harassing me making sure I'm tending to his flock. So can you call me back." [Background - we were only 2 weeks away from moving to Hawaii to help with a church plant.]

 I finally called him back, just so that my phone would stop ringing.  He asked that as soon as Mike arrived, he and I need to come over to his house.  As we walked into their house, we were greeted with comfort and love.  They just allowed us to cry and expected nothing more.  Steve then asked about funeral arrangements; I simply replied, "We don't know what to do; where to begin." As soon as I finished my sentence, Steve sat up and said, "Let's go."  He and his wife drove us to the funeral parlor where we meet with the Director.  By the time I knew what happened, all the funeral arrangements were made.  Little did I know at that time, Steve and Karen were on vacation.

It warms my heart, even after 3 years, to think that Steve and Karen took time out of their vacation to come along side us and shepherd us thru that dark trial in our lives.

HIS MEMORIAL SERVICE
Less than a week after we found out of Steve's passing, several from the church-plant team flew back to CA to attend his memorial service.  Many attended, approx. 2000 came with many more watching thru a live steam on the internet - from all over the world.  Pastor Steve's successor, Phil Foley gave a powerful and accurate testimony of the life of Steve, accurately naming him 'the shepherd of shepherds' for Steve's desire was to train up pastors/shepherds to exalt and proclaim Christ all over the world.

The memorial lasted for more than several hours, with worship and testimony to encourage the faint of heart and the mourning.  Two things that spoke to me during this time, both were quotes from Steve:

"To live is Christ, to die is more Christ" and "Believe in God in the unbelievable things."

Sometimes God has a way of slowing us down

Yes, God has a way of slowing me down.  2 weeks ago, to this day, I was walking from my office to our headquarters for a meeting.  I came to a pathway amidst some beautiful palm trees and indigenous plants; looking down I noticed plenty tree nuts.  I thought to myself to be careful before I slip on one of them.  As soon as I finished my thought, I caught one under my left foot, slipped and fell.  Unbeknownst  to me, I had broken my foot.

I was able to walk to my meeting, thinking I had just sprained my ankle.  After 2 hours, it was clear to me that it was more than a sprain.  Fortunately, my boss, who was attending another meeting at our headquarters, was able to give me a ride back to my office where Mike picked me up and drove me to the hospital.

Since I had broken my foot during work and at work, I was put on workman's comp and modified duty/hours.  By God's blessing, I have been able to work from home.  It's been nice not having to change out of my pajamas to work and especially battle thru the infamous Hawaiian traffic for the past couple of weeks, and still be able to complete the tasks required for my job but there are still some matters that need my presence at the airport.  So after consulting my doctor, he's allowing me to return back to work, physically, but still under modified hours.  5 hours a day is my limit which is a blessing as I am able to dodge traffic for a little while longer.

Oh and my foot..it's healing quite nicely.  Doctor was surprise on how fast I'm healing.  Although my foot is still slightly swollen and I'm sure I have some black or blue suits that can coordinate with the discoloration.  

So in preparation for my first day back to work tomorrow, I must bid a fond aloha and get to sleep!