Elva is with Lord

Mother, Elva, went peacefully into the Lord’s presence at 3:55am EST, May 11, 2016

At 3:15am the night Nurse called us to say the time was near. 
We (Dad(Don), Richard, Katherine & Rachel), sat around Mother’s bed, we sang “Face to Face with Christ my Saviour”
She opened her eyes when we sang.
Then we sang “Swing Wide the Gates” and once we finished it was just a few minutes then she took her last breath at 3:55am.

We then did Skype with my sister Sarah so she could also say goodbye, as well as Mother’s sister in New Zealand.

“Absent from the body, Present with the Lord.”

VISITATION AND FUNERAL: We will send out another e-mail within a few hours.

Here are the words to the two songs we sang.

SWING WIDE THE GATES

HEAVEN'S GATES I NOW CAN SEE
AS THEY OPEN WIDE FOR ME
SWING WIDE THE GATES (SWING WIDE THE GATES)
I'M COMING HOME (I'M COMING HOME)
ANGELS SING A WELCOME SONG
AND I KNOW IT WON'T BE LONG
SWING WIDE THE GATES (SWING WIDE THE GATES)
I'M COMING HOME(I'M COMING HOME)

CHORUS"

SWING WIDE THE GATES(SWING WIDE THE GATES)
I'M COMING HOME(I'M COMING HOME)
SWING WIDE THE GATES(SWING WIDE THE GATES)
I'M ONE OF HIS OWN(I'M ONE OF HIS OWN)
I'VE FOUGHT A GOOD FIGHT
I'VE KEPT THE FAITH
AMAZING GRACE HAS WON THE RACE
SWING WIDE THE GATES(SWING WIDE THE GATES)
I'M COMING HOME(I'M COMING HOME

WHEN I LAND ON HEAVEN'S SHORE
CARES OF LIFE WILL BE NO MORE
SWING WIDE THE GATES(SWING WIDE THE GATES)
I'M COMING HOME(I'M COMING HOME)
ALL IS JOY AND PEACE UP THERE
IN A LAND OF BEAUTY RARE
SWING WIDE THE GATES(SWING WIDE THE GATES)
I'M COMING HOME(I'M COMING HOME)

REPEAT CHORUS:

WRITTEN BY HORACE L. MAULDIN COPYRIGHT 1966

(Listen to it on YouTube by clicking here http://youtu.be/VKw4p3jUnzU)

___________________________________

FACE TO FACE

Face to face with Christ, my Savior,


Face to face—what will it be,


When with rapture I behold Him,


Jesus Christ who died for me?


Refrain:
Face to face I shall behold Him,


Far beyond the starry sky;


Face to face in all His glory,


I shall see Him by and by!


Only faintly now I see Him,


With the darkened veil between,


But a blessed day is coming,


When His glory shall be seen.


What rejoicing in His presence,


When are banished grief and pain;


Death is swallowed up in vict’ry,


And the dark things shall be plain.


Face to face—oh, blissful moment!


Face to face—to see and know;


Face to face with my Redeemer,


Jesus Christ who loves me so.

WRITTEN BY CARRIE E. BRECK
( Listen to it on YOUTUBE by clicking on this link https://youtu.be/SuLig-W4wSU )

May 10 - Poetry my Mother loved

Mum (Elva)  has been unresponsive for the last couple days. She is still breathing but hasn't opened eyes or moved or made any other noises. Her heart is racing at rate of 150, which it has been doing for the last couple days. 

Rachel's husband and other 2 children are to arrive on Wednesday evening.

Your prayers are appreciated.

--Rachel VandenBerg 

Mum has always loved poetry, I found these two in her file that I thought would be appropriate to share with you. I remember her quoting them to me in the past. I am not sure who wrote them, as far as I can see from the internet they seems to be author unknown.

This hand written verse is only part of the poem, I found the whole thing on the internet, so will post it here author unknown:

THEN SHALL I KNOW 

My life is but a weaving Between my Lord and me. I cannot choose the colors He worketh steadily. 

Oft times He weaveth sorrow, And I in foolish pride Forget He sees the upper And I, the underside.

Not till the loom is silent And the shuttles cease to fly Shall God unroll the canvas And explain the reason why. 

The dark threads are as needful In the weaver's skillful hand As the threads of gold and silver In the pattern He has planned.

HE LEADETH ME 

"In pastures green?"—Not always. Sometimes
He, who knoweth best, in kindness leadeth me
In weary ways, where heavy shadows be;
Out of the sunshine warm and soft and bright,
Out of the sunshine into darkest night;
I oft would faint with sorrow and affright,
Only for this—I know He holds my hand;
So whether led in green or desert land,
I trust, although I may not understand. 

"And by still waters?"—No, not always so.
Ofttimes the heavy tempests round me blow,
And o'er my soul the waves and billows go.
But when the storm beats loudest, and I cry
Aloud for help, the Master standeth by,
And whispers to my soul, "Lo, it is I!"
Above the tempest wild I hear Him say,
"Beyond the darkness lies the perfect day;
In every path of thine I lead the way." 

So, whether on the hill-tops high and fair
I dwell, or in the sunless valleys where
The shadows lie,—what matter? He is there;
And more than this:—where'er the pathway
Lead He gives to me no helpless broken reed,
But His own hand, sufficient for my need.
So where He leads me I can safely go;
And in the blest hereafter I shall know
Why, in His wisdom, He hath led me so.

Update May 7 Dad's Birthday

Today is My Father, Don Brooks', Birthday. We are planning birthday celebrations, trying to make it as special as possible at this time. 

Mum, Elva, is still with us, perhaps she wants to celebrate Dad's birthday before she goes to heaven.

If you want to send birthday greetings to my Dad you can do so by e-mailing 

samukonga73@gmail.com

or you are welcome to e-mail me as well and I can pass it on.

--Rachel V.

The Care Mother is Recieving

For those who are asking, Elva (Mother) is at home, in a hospital bed. Mother is on morphine and her pain is being managed well.  She is receiving excellent nursing care from the nursing staff that come in twice a day and for a night shift, from 11pm to 7am. These nurses are available 24/7 to us, should we need them at other times. 

Also Richard and especially Katherine have been excellent in nursing mother as they have had much experience in end of life situations, from dealing with their daughter Elysha a few years ago and Katherine's Mother. Mother has been appreciating their attentive care and expressed that. 

--Rachel VandenBerg (youngest daughter)

May 5th update

On Wednesday the doctor said Elva (Mum) has less then a week to live. Her breathing is very deep, awake moments aren’t usually more that 30 seconds. However Thursday morning she had an big awake time of about half an hour, during which she expressed what her wishes are for the funeral (songs etc), this was a blessing. During this time she also said something like “You always wonder what the end would be like, but now I am not afraid.”

Richard (Son) and Katherine and family are with her now.

Sarah (daughter) is not able to come due to the her ICP high risk pregnancy complications. Please do pray for her, as it is really hard for her to not be able to be here to say goodbye or for the funeral either. Thankfully she was able to skype with Mum the other day.

Rachel (daughter) just flew on Thursday, May 5th in the afternoon with her youngest, her husband and other two children will follow by road in a few days. 

--Rachel V.

May 3 update

Mum (Elva), continues to decline.
She has lost the use of one of her arms due to weakness.

She spends most of the day sleeping, due to pain meds and gravel. The wake times she has are short and often confused.

She tried to walk down the hallway in the house today, holding on to someones arm and had to stop half way as she was too exhausted.

She now sleeps in a hospital bed in her room which makes it easier for her and those caring for her. They have a nurse coming in at night to look after her so that my Dad (Don) can get some sleep.

--Rachel V.

Memories and Photos of Elva

Do you have any of the following?

• Photos of Elva
• Photos of you with Elva
• Stories you have heard about Elva
• Memories you shared with Elva

Some of you wrote in on her birthday with memories and a few sent photos. I am just wondering if there are any others who didn't share at that time, or if anyone has additional memories or photos to share.
I, Rachel, would really appreciate it if you could send them to me.

WHERE TO SEND THEM:

* BY E-MAIL leonardandrachel@gmail.com
* SNAIL MAIL (you will have to e-mail me for the mailing address)
* FACEBOOK (you can also post it on the Facebook group if you are part of that)
* COMMENT below this blog entry (make sure to include your name so we know who shared the memory)

Thank you,
--Rachel VandenBerg