SQJ Taipei

My dad was driving.
I was in the passengers seat.
Mom was in the back seat… so that I could have the additional legroom found in the front seat.

When we left First Christian Church (Council Bluffs, Iowa)… I’d guess we were about the 7th car back.
Dad turned on the headlights and the flashers and we followed the other vehicles onto Interstate 80.
That’s when I saw him… the license plate was MINNESOTA AJF-321.
I don’t know where he came from or where he was headed… but by a strange twisting of maps, routes, failed kidneys, heart attacks, and who knows what else… he joined the procession. He signaled and merged one lane to the right… between us and the car in front of us.
I think he knew right away what he’d gotten himself into… but there was little he could do as traffic was too thick for him to return to the lane from which he came. So… he joined the procession.
Once he found out a way to get out of our lane… he did get out.

I wish he would have come with us to the cemetery… Hillcrest Memorial Park in Omaha, Nebraska.
I wish he would have just come along with the rest of us because I would have enjoyed the chance to tell him more about the person we were putting in the ground.

I met Bessie and her husband Cliff in about 1980-something. They lived a few blocks away and they were a hoot. It was always fun to drop by their house while out bike riding or playing ball with friends in the empty lot nearby. Cliff was a bit “gruff” but it was easy to make him smile if you knew the right buttons to push. Cliff dropped dead in the bathroom of their home in 1998. Bessie was anything but gruff and I’m not sure that anyone ever found out which buttons to push to ever make her so. I’ve rarely met people with such a ready smile and infectious joy.

We left for Taiwan in 1999 and Bessie regularly donated $10/month. Some months that was exactly what we needed to keep our heads above water.

Bessie’s life and her influence and her faith and hope will best be conveyed by sharing a selection of scriptures and poems that were her favorites or which others used to describe her at her funeral.

With those selections following… we extend our deepest sympathies to Bessie’s family and we look forward to seeing Bessie again when we meet in heaven at a time which God ordains.

Till We Meet Again - by Virginia R. Cornelius

---

To all my dear loved ones and friends standing by,
I am with Jesus, there’s no need to cry.
To live is Christ, to die is gain–
I’m no longer tormented with fear or pain.
Trust in the Lord Jesus, let this be your goal.
You’ll have peace in your heart when He’s in control.
He’ll guide you and keep you, He’ll show you the way
Through the trials and troubles you’ll have every day.
So if you don’t know Jesus, ask Him to forgive all your sins.
May God bless and keep you till we’re together again.

Isaiah 43:1

---

But now, this is what the LORD says– he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

Psalm 23

---

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Psalm 150

---

Praise the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens.
Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness.
Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre,
praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute,
praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals.
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD.

The Optimist’s Creed

---

Promise Yourself:
To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet.
To make all your friends feel that there is something in them.
To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.
To think only of the best, to work only for the best, and to expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.
To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheeful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.
To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have not time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.