MOM’S MEMOIRS – IRENE LOUISE (NEE KUCKKAN) MUELLER
(Continued)
Mom’s Autobiography – Chapter 34 – In Book, Page 81
Worship At St. Paul’s In Calgary, Helen And Carl Come To Calgary, Olympic Park, Travis’ Diary, Nicki In Hustisford, Back To Weslaco, Hovda’s Farm And Cotton Gin, Watermill Express, Mockingbird, Toi, Bonkers, And Cheeky, Pews, Chandeliers, And Carpet Added To Church, Fellowship Hall Built And Dedicated, Helen And Carl Visit, Communion Rail Donated, Christmas, 1995, Vacation To King’s Ranch, Church Parking Lot Enlarged, Laura Weiland Is Born
On Sunday all of us went to the church service where Jeff was the pastor, St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church. Jeff is a dedicated pastor, and had a very heartfelt sermon. Steph played the organ wonderfully, and Trav, Mitch, and Sammy sang “One Life/Jesus Loves Me” so sweetly that it brought tears to our eyes. What a blessing to be with all of God’s children at St. Paul’s in Calgary!
Helen, Dick’s sister, and Carl (Kellberg), her husband flew from Renton, Washington, to be with us in Calgary – another blessing! We celebrated Mitch’s 6th birthday together. Helen and Carl stayed for a few glorious days, and then it was time to say “goodbye” again.
Steph, Jeff, Trav, Mitch, and Sammy took us to the Olympic Park in Calgary. It sparkles above Calgary as the premier legacy site of the ’88 Winter Games where bobsledding, luge, ski-jumping, and free style events took place. We stood at the very top of the Olympic ski jump and also at the start of the long luge and bobsled track. The bobsled which the Jamaicans used during the ’88 Olympics is parked at the Olympic Park, so all of us got to sit in it. I’ll never ever forget the unforgettable, matchless, beautiful, rainbow we saw at the top of the ski jump, and me without another roll of film! It is deeply engraved in my memory!
NOTE: Travis, now 9 years old, wrote a wonderful “DIARY FOR RELATIVE’S VISIT”, in his own handwriting which is in Mom’s Number 44, 1995, album.
We had such a blessed visit with Jeff, Steph, Trav, Mitch, Sammy (now 3 years old and the image of her Mom – very pretty), and their dog, Shy, but then it was time for us to say “God be with you ‘til we meet again”.
We left Calgary, Canada, August 3rd. and flew back to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Our families there were happy to have us back. All of us went to Bethany Evangelical Lutheran School in Hustisford, Wisconsin, to see Nicki’s classroom. We even sat in the desks. After that all of us went on a wonderful picnic. But time flies by, and on August 8th it was time to say “God be with you ‘til we meet again to them too.
BACK IN WESLACO, TEXAS – AUGUST 8, 1995
On August 10th our daughter-in-law, Rebecca, graduated from The University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College as an LVN (Licensed Vocational Nurse). All of us were very happy about that. Dick had the opening and closing prayer for that graduation ceremony.
On August 21st Mr. Buddy Hovda, a member of Abiding Savior, took us to see the cotton gins. He first showed us an old antique gin, no longer used. And then he showed us the huge computerized cotton gin. Wow, what an experience that was! Bales of cotton were spit out of it! Thank you, Buddy, for taking us there.
We were told by the “old timers” in the Valley to get our drinking water from a “Watermill Express”, a big windmill to which we took our 5-gallon container and filled it. The water was very reasonably priced. We think that the water had a lot had a lot to do with keeping us healthy.
We had a hummingbird feeder outside the parsonage window, and were elated to see many of them coming to the feeder. The Valley has beautiful birds. One night I heard a bird serenading outside our bedroom window around 4 a.m. I got up and listened to it. Later in the morning I told Dick about it, but he laughed and didn’t believe me. The next time I heard it I woke him up, and he heard it too. We found out that it was a Mockingbird.. It sang beautifully, and was worth getting up for. But later on, when we were at Pioneer Park in Wisconsin, what I think was a Mockingbird woke me up around 4 a.m., and being half asleep, I shooed it away. Later I was sorry I hadn’t listened to its song.
Our Siamese cat, Toi, which we had brought with us to the Valley loved his new home. He would sit on the living room windowsill and look out. People got used to seeing him there. Cheeky and Bonkers, our two lovebirds, also loved their new home. As for Sadie, Steve and Rebecca’s dog, she was a beautiful dog and very lovable. Sad to say, later on she developed hip dysplasia and had to be put to sleep.
When Mr. Hans Hovda, the President of Abiding Savior, called Dick and told him that they wanted to call him to their church, he mentioned that the congregation wanted to build a fellowship hall, so there was a challenge to be met. Before we came, the congregation sat on folding chairs, there were no pews, carpeting, communion rail, balcony, inadequate lighting, and the kitchen was in the back of the church. As I mentioned before, all meetings, Bible and Sunday School classes, Ladies Aid, potlucks, etc., were held in the church. How richly the Lord blessed! Beautiful chandeliers made by Pastor Behrens of Hartland, Wisconsin, were brought from Wisconsin by him, and Mr. Jerry and Mrs. Edna Woodard, who lived in Zapata, Texas, and were members of Abiding Savior, brought them to Weslaco. What a difference they made in the lighting!
And then came the building of the fellowship hall! Thanks be to God, He again answered our prayers. Dick had found out that Mr. Dale Frosch, the President of the congregation, was a retired contractor, and Mr. Frosch volunteered to supervise the building of the fellowship hall. And what a beautiful building it turned out to be – indescribable! The ladies got the big kitchen they wanted, there are restrooms, a storage room, Sunday School and printing rooms, plenty of room for all the meetings and activities which were held before in the church, indirect lighting, high ceilings; in fact, high enough so that there is storage above the rooms of the parish hall. WHAT A HUGE BLESSING!
THANKS BE TO GOD!
On November 12, 1995, the 25th anniversary of Abiding Savior was celebrated with a special service in the church followed by a Texas Barbecue in the new fellowship hall. Pastor William and Mrs. Beth Gabb came, and Pastor Gabb preached an inspiring sermon for the service. Also, we were so happy that Dick’s sister, Helen, and her husband, Carl, came all the way from Renton, Washington, to be with us.
We took Helen and Carl to Mission, Texas (where we owned a condo at Seven Oaks Country Club in which Steve and Rebecca were living), and showed them a wonderfully painted wall which honors Tom Landry, who was a famous Coach for the Dallas Cowboys. His handprints and footprints are embedded in the sidewalk in front of the wall. We also took them to see the awesome Iwo Jima Memorial statue mold in Harlingen, Texas. And, of course, we went to South Padre Island across the Queen Isabella Causeway from Port Isabel. We also went to San Antonio, Texas, to see the Alamo, which Dick and I had seen before, but still continued to awe us. Again, it was sad when it was time for our visitors to leave.
Abiding Savior did not have a communion rail yet, so Mr. Ray and Mrs. Jean Gatzow, faithful members of the congregation, decided to build one. I am proud to say that my dear, devoted, husband is the one who decided that the communion rail should be at the bottom of the steps going up to the altar. That is because it is very hard, especially for the elderly and handicapped, to climb up and down stairs. That helps eliminate people from falling down. Also, so many more people can be served the Lord’s Supper that way. And that is the way the Gatzows built a very elegant communion rail. I think the idea caught on because later when we went to many of our Wisconsin Synod churches, they also had built communion rails at the bottom of the steps. Many of our “Winter Texans” had gone back to their home churches and spread the idea of having the communion rail at the bottom of the steps.
Again, Abiding Savior had a beautiful Children’s Christmas Service. We never tire of hearing children’s beautiful voices proclaiming the birth of our Savior. And again, during the singing of “Silent Night” candles were held with the lights dimmed, and tears came to many eyes. Our December 14, 1995, Christmas letter, besides saying, “May you have a joyful Christmas, and throughout the new year know, the perfect peace and gladness that God’s goodness can bestow” said that Dick was now thinking of retiring in April of 1996. The time had come when he thought he “could not do the work anymore like he wanted to”. He would be 67 years old September 7, 1996. We also said that we may then stay at our park model trailer at Pioneer Park, Lake Delton, Wisconsin, for the summer, and may become “Winter Texans” in the Rio Grande Valley in the winter. God is in control! Abiding Savior then called Pastor Mark Eckert from Mobile, Alabama.
After the Christmas holidays, we decided to take a little “holiday” ourselves and visit Kingsville, Texas, and the King ranch. Steve and we had driven through the King ranch on our way to Texas. There is a wonderful museum in Kingsville with antique cars, coaches, saddles, and also the King Ranch’s Saddle Shop where saddles, durable leather goods, clothing, etc. can be bought. We went on a tour of the King working ranch where Gertrudis long horned cattle are still allowed to roam. Cowboys on horses round up the cattle. We saw the King family ranch home, but visitors are not allowed to go inside it. In one building there was a Hispanic man weaving rugs on a loom. The Ranch is a very interesting place.
God was blessing Abiding Savior so richly that at the end of January, 1996, work was begun on expanding the parking lot because there wasn’t enough room for all the cars. The beautiful field of Texas Blue Bonnets had to be sacrificed in between the church and parsonage to make way for the people in their cars who came to hear the Word of God.
Our youngest granddaughter, Laura, daughter of Sue and Jim, was born January 1, 1996. We were sad that we were not able to attend the day of her Baptism, when she became a child of God. Jim baptized Laura at Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church, where he still is Pastor. Laura was a beautiful baby, and now is a lovely young lady. She has a wonderful singing voice. We are blessed with all our grandchildren having many talents.