Only One Son – In the Line of Duty

NEWSLETTER –  July  2006 Barb and Ray Payne

“I will praise [thee], O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works.  I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.” Psalm 9: 1 and 2

Greetings, Friends and Prayer Partners …

In a rather different turn of events, we’ve had some really great opportunities to be used of the Lord!  We’ve been out of touch for the last week and a half.  Ray was put on an antibiotic June 30^th for a cut that was slow healing.  We did not know he was allergic to sulfa drugs, but we know it now!  He had a violent reaction – chills, fever, and “erythema multiforme”, a variety of rashes and blotches all over his body.

To complicate things, we were away from home.   We had left for a meeting in Philadelphia on Friday morning with Chapel of Four Chaplains officers regarding 9-11 issues.  Then on to New Jersey for our grandson, Michael’s, reception and wedding on the Saturday … however, Ray spent Friday night in a hospital outside Camden.  He missed the rehearsal dinner and the wedding.

A special encouragement and blessing was getting together Sunday morning with Bob Rice, PA/NJ Port Authority officer (an exciting testimony of God’s Grace as he trusted Christ as his Saviour through the WTC/9-11 tragedy!) and his wife!

Then we followed daughter, Debbie, and family to her home in Carlisle, PA, for a couple of days to recover, rather than the long trip back to Schroon Lake … but Ray went back into the hospital there for four more days.  Hopefully, things are “over the hump” for now …

We praise the Lord for all the tremendous opportunities He gave through the journey (so far!)!  Just before release, a nurse came up and asked for her own copy of ONLY ONE SON … her “ex is a cop” and she’s “lived with the scare and dread of what could happen” … she encouraged Ray with “if you made it through what happened to your son, you can make it through this…”

We would ask your prayers for a full recovery so we can make it through our meetings … next weekend we’re in enter Barnstead, NH, with Judy and Pastor Brian Gower for a Police Appreciationweekend (22^nd and 23^rd) … August 6^th to 11^th, we’ll be with Sandy and Pastor Jack Caron, at River of Life Bible Camp, in the Howland, Maine, area, teaching a week of Intermediate-age campers!

Thanks, so very much, for your faithful ministry to us is support and prayer!

In Christ’s love,

Ray and Barb

II Timothy 1:12