This letter was written to the 4-East Nursing Staff at U.C.L.A. Medical Center.
Spring 1988
It seems as though God used Bob…reserved him for that last month. It was then that his ministry came into full bloom. Bob wanted a continual supply of New Testament Bibles to pass out to his friends and relatives. We were always running out of them and had to make many trips to the Christian bookstores. I think we must have brought twenty bibles into his hospital room.
Friends and relatives flocked to the hospital to see Bob. Each time they would come in, Bob would always want to be sitting up in bed, on the side, with his feet on the floor or sitting in a chair. He would never lie down, no matter how sick he was with pain, fever or nausea. He would talk to each person and tell them how he had been able to go “joyfully.” He would explain to them that it was because he knew Jesus Christ as his personal Savior and He was the One that gave him peace and joy in ” the midst of it all.” He shared his faith in Jesus Christ with a cancer patient who had gone through radiation to arrest a brain tumor. The woman was so touched by Bob’s testimony that she brought her husband into Bob’s room to meet him. This was about one week before Bob went home to be with his Savior.
On one occasion Bob’s sister-in-law came to visit him and shared with him how distraught she was over some pressing things that were happening in her life. Bob reached into the nightstand drawer and pulled out a pamphlet titled, “The Four Spiritual Laws,” and asked, “Mom, is this the Four Spiritual Laws booklet?” I answered, “Yes! At this point in time Bob had lost most of his vision and couldn’t read so he asked her if she would aloud to him and he would explain each page to her as she read it to him. As I sat there and listened to Bob I felt so privileged to be a firsthand witness of my own son leading her to the Lord.
Tears would well up in Bob’s eyes at times and he would say to me, “I’m so happy!” Can you believe that? He was happy because he knew he would see those who had come to Christ , again, later on– in eternity.
One time the doctor had given Bob some very discouraging news about the condition of his body, in fact I was devastated. Bob waited until the doctor left the room and then said as he patted his bed, “Come here!” I went over to him and sat down beside him. He put his arm around me and hugged me, then asked….”Are you okay Mom?” Isn’t that just like Bob? He was always concerned about me, and was everyone’s encourager.
Many, many people were touched by Bob’s strength and peace. He kept his faith up to the last. His faith was so strong that he believed God could and would heal him at the last moment. He even commented that he was so glad that he had come to this depth of illness and affliction because now when the Lord healed him people would know that it was the Hand of God. I’ve thought about that many times and I am overwhelmed by such a great faith my son had. God did heal him completely…. He took him home and now he is complete once again….perfectly healed and restored. Praise God! I think of how very much I loved Bob and then I consider how much more God’s love towards Bob is. God wanted Bob to be with him…..to Himself….and I can live with this one thought in mind.