Our Pastor's Honor Flight as Vietnam War Vet

 This morning our pastor's wife sent a photo of Pastor Ambrose in a different setting than the little rural town where he has pastored humbly and faithfully for about 32 years. 

Back in the 60's he was over at Vietnam in the military--paying a huge price. Yet today he is still alive, active (though barely), and ministering in a different army and answering to a different General. 

Pastor Harold Ambrose's son Jonathan (same name as my husband!) nominated him for this Midwest Honor Flight, "One Final Flight With Honor," among others in the midwest. The plane flew out from Sioux Falls last night, arriving in Washington, D.C., this morning. 

There a simple South Dakota pastor, war veteran, and son took their place by the South Dakota part of the Veterans' Memorial there in D. C. With all the walking involved, it was good to see that his son is taking care of him and giving him wheels!

What a special time for a man of 82 years old! We pray he survives the rigorous trip home!

Meanwhile, back here in South Dakota, Crystal and I are participating in embroidering patches for a quilt commemorating the 250th anniversary of our nation. A lady in our community has been finding people to embroider and she wants to put this quilt together this year. 

I had already finished the first patch above when chemo day came and I was in the hospital on my 60th birthday. I had taken along the second patch, but as I sat in that chair in that cancer center infusion room, I didn't feel like embroidering--until I looked at the words and thought of what all the soldiers and airmen and infantry went through to keep us free. 

"Home of the Brave." 

In that moment, I knew that picking up a patch of embroidery that I didn't really want to do while getting the painful needle poke into my port and another hour and a half of drugs that make me sleepy and ill and drugged and hot and fatigued 

was not anything in comparison to what those men endured. 

I picked up the white patch, the silver needle, and the golden thread. 

And a not-so-brave lady in a cancer clinic in South Dakota stitched just a few more stitches in her own patchwork quilt of daily life.