Greetings my friends!

I’m getting ready to take off across country to tech the ELCA Youth Ministry Extravaganza in Kansas City, MO. While I’m gone we won’t miss a step with great activities planned by Jeff, Mac, and Jackie. They’ll have a great supporting crew and you should all have a productive and fun time.

I really want you all to keep David and all the Schrey’s in your prayers as David is scheduled for open heart surgery one week from today (Jan 21st) as they remove the old pacemaker lead, repair one heart valve, replace one with a cow valve (moooooooooo), and install a new pacemaker. Lot’s of skill, courage, and peace will be needed that day and determination and optimism in the days to come. Remember to throw David a note or text of encouragement too.

Here’s the scoop for the next 16 days:
Sunday 16th @ 8:30am: Meet in the kitchen to make breakfast for the 9th grade confirmation class.
Wednesday 19th @ 5:15pm: Leave for 2nd Harvest Food Bank to lend a hand. Make sure to wear long pants, closed toe shoes, and a shirt with sleeves. Here are the two release forms as well: 2nd Harvest Volunteer Agreement (98.6 KiB) 2nd Harvest Youth Permission Slip (45.0 KiB)
Sunday 23rd @ 9:15am: Meet in the Fireside Room for the final installment of “Feminine Images of God” – How it applies to the church today.
Wednesday 26th @ 5:30pm: Leave for Togo’s and two rounds of shoot ‘em up at Laserquest
Sunday 30th @ 10:30am: Confirmation Sunday

Have a great couple of weeks and feel free to send a message or call me if you’d like.
Peace, Tom

I would like to bid my readers a fond hello,

It has been a while since my last post, so I will do my best to make up for it in this one.

Tomorrow, 1/12, we will be heading to the International House of Pancakes. My recommended for meals include the steak (medium-rare), sushi, and if you are daring, the hot wings.

(Disclaimer: none of the entrees I have mentioned are on the real menu, however you will receive bonus points for ordering them)

After we have finished dining, we will be heading over to church to hear a lecture regarding the feminine images of God in the bible, done by Pastor Lori.

As many of us, myself included, commonly think of God in the masculine sense, Pastor Lori is ready to blow your mind.

If you are interested, be at Bethel at 5:30 in the pm.

The following Sunday, we will be starting a new tradition of making breakfast for the incoming freshmen, (but sssshhh don’t tell them)

I am definitely kidding, they are well aware we will be feeding them. Be sure to be there at 8:30 am.

Hope to see yall there,

Jeff

Good morning friends,
I want to share a letter from David Schrey who continues to inspire with his playfulness, wisdom, and grace. In the midst of a huge challenge of battling a long list of issues around his heart, infections, the boredom of waiting, 5 pound weights , and long nights with snoring roommates, David continues to lift up those who are around him. Rumor has it that he is quite popular among the nurses and it is a fact that he is the only bearded patient in the whole hospital.

In two weeks from yesterday, David will have open heart surgery to repair/replace two of his heart valves. For possible choices for replacement would be artificial valves, pig valves, cow valves, or cadaver valves (made popular by the Twilight Movies and other vampire shows . The doctors will also remove the old lead still in his heart and install a new pacemaker. Then it is time for another couple of weeks of recovery.

So, our jobs in the coming month is to keep David and the whole Schrey family in our prayers as well as call him, text him, FB him, visit him, and keep him in your thoughts. Well, enough of me, here’s what David has to say:

During the planning meeting for the college led worship service the idea came up to interview me to add to the service. Unfortunately the details for the interview fell through the cracks and the interview never actually happened. But fear not! The questions made their way to me and they will be answered here and now!
1) What is your favorite bible verse? One of the greatest fears I have had going through this most of my life has been am I strong enough to get through it? One Bible verse has really helped qualm my fears. Psalm 27: Of David. The Lord is my light and my salvation whom shall I fear? 
The Lord is the stronghold of my life of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked advance against me to devour me, it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall. Though an army besieges me, my heart will not fear; 
though war break out against me, even then I will be confident. That verse really just dissipates any fears that I could have about all the things I am facing. With god beside me I have nothing to be scared or afraid of.
2) Where do you see God? For me the easiest place to see god and his love is through my friends and family. I have been here at Stanford for 23 days and excluding the day that the youth group came to sing carols for me 56 different people have been here to visit me for a total of 126 visits that is just insane. The amount of love everyone has shown me has been on a level that is definitely divine. My family has been here every day for support and there is no way I would have lasted this long with out their love and the love from everyone else that has been here to support me.
3) In the dark times how do you find light? The past few weeks have brought more than their fair share of bad news and it was very easy to get really upset and very depressed at first. Nothing has cheered me up more than having my friends come visit. Whether its watching movies or just talking or setting up a mini golf course in an abandoned hallway. Seeing everyone has taken my mind off my problems and brought me so much joy.
I have a few people that I would like to thank for everything they have done in making my stay here as comfortable and bearable as possible. First of all my Mom Dad and Brother have been amazing in supporting me and being here for me. Tom Hoegel has been up to visit me every other day and has been sending out updates like this one every few days. Jeff Brouillette, Lindsay Bryson, Katie Hoegel, Chris Larsen, and Mike Christensen have been up to visit me every few days and they all are just amazing people. Lastly I would like to thank all of you who have been reading these updates and supporting me through prayer it has been a rough few weeks and so far I seem to have made it out ok. I have a tough couple weeks ahead of me still but I feel that with everyone’s support I’ll be out of here in no time.

Love,
David Schrey

Hi Friends,
We are hopefully approaching the midway stage of David’s stay at Stanford Hospital. In the past weeks it seems that most of the updates from the doctors contained more concerns than improvements. Well, today was a day filled with guarded optimism and some relative clarity for the coming weeks. {See Molly’s update below}.

David has been a blessing to many, especially to all those who have been close to him these past weeks. I also know that all the Schrey’s have been uplifted by all your messages and prayers. Even Willy Mays got into the act yesterday and visited David for a paparazzi moment and gave David an autographed baseball.

Tonight in our Sr High Fellowship we talked about the things that limit us and how we can stay on course to live in a way that keeps us focused on our goals. Many great ideas were shared including making sure we work on the things that are important to us and not just others priorities, making personal mission statements the help give direction, and the most important: Making Time To Pray!

In this day of overstimulation and a feeling that we are so often times stuck in a revolving door, prayer can keep us on the right track. Try it, you might be surprised

Here’s the latest from Molly:
Hello friends,
Much has transpired since the last update:
The beginning of 2011 had us seeing new places and new faces. David had an episode of tachycardia that landed him in the ICU for 5 days while the cardiologists and electro-physiologists sorted out this latest development. His heart rate was continually monitored through this time and unfortunately his ability to move around was greatly restricted. After very careful monitoring over many days, it was finally determined that it was safe for him to return to the cardiac-care unit as before. He is glad (?) to be back in less restrictive (and less noisy) surroundings.
We also received some news today on David’s upcoming surgery after the surgical conference this morning. It was determined that he will definitely need to have another pacemaker implanted and will also need valve replacement for the two valves that control blood flow on the right side of his heart. He’ll also need the last piece of pacemaker lead removed that is partially imbedded in the heart tissue. There was much discussion and debate by many specialists on the timing of the surgery(ies). Balancing his need for a pacemaker, new valves, and lead extraction with infection control has been a complicated dance to say the least.
Today, the recommendation of the team was to continue the course of I.V. antibiotics for about another 2 weeks to help combat the infection. Currently, he is scheduled for open-heart surgery on January 21st as long as there are no changes in his status. At that time they are hoping to do all of the procedures at once, a best-case scenario. Things can change daily here, however, and there seems to be a slightly different view of David’s case management depending on which specialist we talk to ☺ but we remain hopeful. If all goes well we should to be home the first week of February.
It looks like we are now almost half-way through this hospital stay (hard to believe we’ve been here since December 16th !) David has faced this long ordeal without undue complaint or anger and continues to inspire those around him (nurses, doctors, and friends alike) with his gracious attitude and sense of humor in the midst of this very trying time. I know much of that is due to feeling loved and cared for by those that surround him. Your continued support and prayers are welcomed.
With thanks and love,
Molly

Hi friends,
Just want to add a couple things to Jackie’s post from yesterday:

Tonight, Wednesday, January 5th
5:30pm – Leave for dinner at Smoke Eaters Wingery. Bring $ for food
7:15pm – Discussion in the Youth Room led by our Youth Assistants

Sunday, January 9th
9:15am – Attend Pastor Lori’s “Feminine Images of God” discussion. As always, donut holes will be provided

Questions, call me at 408-309-9975
Peace, Tom

Hey everyone

Tomorrow at 5:30 we will be meeting to head over to Smoke Eaters(YUM). Afterwards we will be having a discussion on the coming year. If you want to eat, bring some money.

This Sunday, be here at 9 am to listen to our lovely pastor talk about the feminine side of Jesus(yeah, it is exists)

Don’t forget to keep David in your prayers

Love,
Jackie

PS Good luck to those who still have finals!

Since some people asked, here are the links to the videos we showed during both services on Sunday, January 2, 2011:

• SermonSpice.com – New Year’s Inspiration
• SermonSpice.com – New Years Transformation
• SermonSpice.com – First and Most: New Year’s 2011

Happy New Year Friends!
I hope you all had fun and safe nights. I know for me, it was the usual music & food festival with the Nybergs and 80 or more other peeps. While we we having a good time, our friend David Schrey was celebrating a quite night at Stanford Hospital as he continues to heal from a staff infection and wait for heart surgery to remove a left over electrical lead and the installation of a new pace maker. This race will keep David at Stanford for at least the coming month.

While David is starting to physically feel better, there have been a couple new developments that are bringing some new concerns that he needs to deal with. Recent scans show that part of David’s lung is collapsed and the Doctors are concerned that some of the infection might have settled there while he has been stuck in bed. Another area of concern is that the other night, David’s heart monitor detected a period where his heart was pumping out some unusual beats which have resulted in David going back into the Intensive Care Unit so he can be monitored more closely.

As you can imagine, this has been a discouraging change and we all pray that the heartbeats stay regular, that his lung heals, that the strep infection totally goes away, and that they surgery will come quickly and the it will be a total success.

Today at Bethel, one of the themes for our College Age Sunday is how God comes to us. Well, let me share some of the ways I have seen God work through many of you the past weeks as you’ve cared for David and his family:
1. Countless visits to the stanford hospital, including transforming hallways into PGA certified Mini Golf courses, watching movies with David, playing Common Ground Opoly, caroling with 30 people in his smaill room, pulling out the porta toilet to the delight and dismay of those around, getting in his bed while he is in surgery (confusing hospital staff as to the physical change in David , bringin food and beverages for the family, and much more.
2. Stepping up to help Molly details wrapped up for last semester at West Valley.
3. Inviting Charlie and Mike to head to Tahoe for a few days of semi-normalcy.
4. Phone calls, cards, text messages, emails, posts (pretty much everything besides sky writing) showing support for the entire Schrey family.
5. Prayers, prayers, prayers!

This IS what the church is supposed to be about and is what is being lived out around David. Please keep it up as is race continues.

Peace and prayers for the New Year, Tom

Hi Friends,

Here’s the latest on our friend David Schrey. Any of you who are athletes know their is a significant difference between running a sprint and the 6.2 miles they call a 10K. Well, David is moving into the 10K mode now. It has been nearly two weeks since he had his first journey with the EMT’s and he has battled some pretty scary stuff. As he met with the doctors yesterday, they gave him a real mixed bag of news: the infection is getting better, but they have growing concerns about the hardware still in his heart and are going to have to take it out once the infection is gone. This means open heart surgery and another month or so in the hospital. He has made it through some acutely difficult things so far and now the challenge will be to overcome the reality of extended hospital time.

Please continue the prayers, the texts, facebook messages, and visits. I think this is what the “Being the Love” is all about. Its not just the quick burst of compassion and support, but also the long journey where sometimes only God’s love can give the patience and hopefulness that we all so desperately need. So let’s help share that love with David and all the Schrey family.

More to come soon, Tom

Here’s the latest from Molly:

Hello again friends,
First, thank you for all of your texts, phone calls, Facebook messages, visits, and of course prayers. It is not always possible to get back to each one of you – but I will try to keep the updates coming.
The latest news is both good and not so good. David continues to recover from his surgery from last Tuesday; he is getting up and walking, his lungs have improved, his fevers are subsiding, his incisions are healing and, he is getting stronger. The bacterial infection still needs about 4-5 more weeks of IV antibiotics – so he will continue with that course of treatment.
We did receive some not so welcomed news today, however, from the cardiac attending here at the hospital. She is not comfortable with leaving the last bit of pacemaker lead that is partially imbedded in his heart tissue. It is an area prone to bacterial aggregation and could possibly further disrupt the conduction of his heart. Additionally, the cardiac and electrophysiology teams are still not sure that his underlying rhythm is sufficient without the pacemaker – another reason to monitor him carefully.
With all of those factors considered, the recommendation was to keep David in the hospital, monitoring his heart and administering antibiotics for approximately another 3 weeks. After that time (and when the teams are convinced that the infection is under control) David will need open heart surgery to remove the remaining, partial lead. A new pacemaker will then be implanted at that time. The recovery from this surgery should be an additional 1.5 weeks.
Needless to say, this news was hard to receive, especially after all that David has been through these last few weeks. There have been many moments of frustration, anger, and sadness yet, through all this, we have been blessed by the gifts of love and support by our many friends and family.
As we try to figure out the best way to deal with an additional month’s (plus) stay in the hospital, your continued support and prayers will be welcomed!

With love and thanks,
Molly

Happy December 26th to you all!
While most of us recover from wrapping paper cuts, and an excessive intake of Christmas calories, many others fight the ailments and cope with the struggles in their lives. Truth be told, those things never really go away for all of us, but they get masked sometimes. Here’s an update from David Schrey’s mom, Molly. Please continue to remember them and continue to let them know they are loved.
Good things to do:
Text David
Facebook Message David
Call Molly & Charlie before going up to visit so it is a good thing for all
Pray for healing, peace, smart doctors, and great medicine.

Here’s the word(s) from Molly:

Hello friends and Merry Christmas, Having a rare quiet moment at
the hospital – a chance to reflect on all that’s happened over the
past 2 weeks. Aside from the more obvious times of stress
associated with procedures, uncertainty, and lack of sleep – I’m
somewhat surprised at the undercurrent of peace and calm I’m
feeling. But as I think a bit more – that’s what comes with feeling
loved and supported. David (and the rest of us) could not have made
through this ordeal so far without the many, many people who have
become our California “families”: West Valley College Biology Dept,
BD Bioscience, Cupertino Little League, Southwest YMCA, and of
course Bethel Church (and the Bethel “Bad Girls”). Every need has
been thought through and every request graciously honored – from
grocery shopping, running errands, turning in grade sheets,
homemade dinners and treats, stealthily decorating our front porch
☺, Christmas shopping and wrapping presents, donations of Sharks
tickets for Mike, hospital visits, Facebook and text messages to
David, gifts and cards, the entire youth group stopping by to sing
Christmas carols (we were only over the limit of visitors by about
35 that afternoon ☺ , Tom’s timely blcyouth/Facebook updates and
challenges, and of course many, many of prayers! While David’s
progress has been bumpy and course of treatment and length of stay
uncertain, he has never felt uncertain about the love and care from
his friends – that holds true for the rest of the Schreys too. What
a great gift to have – a gift I wish for all of you this Christmas
(minus the hospital stay!) With love, Molly