{"id":49,"date":"2011-07-13T00:13:15","date_gmt":"2011-07-13T07:13:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/steve-lawrence\/?p=49"},"modified":"2011-09-07T10:51:59","modified_gmt":"2011-09-07T17:51:59","slug":"cherie-is-with-the-lord-june-2010","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/steve-lawrence\/2011\/07\/13\/cherie-is-with-the-lord-june-2010\/","title":{"rendered":"Cherie Is With The Lord – June 2010"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"My<\/a>
My beloved sister Cherie Ramos<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Thank-you so much for your regular support of our ministry financially, by praying and by words of encouragement.\u00a0 I\u2019m glad to have this opportunity to share with you some of the things that the Lord has been doing in and through our lives.<\/p>\n

On May 9th I flew from Portland to Birmingham to be with my youngest sister Cherie, who was born April 3rd 1964, who had been fighting cancer.\u00a0 I had asked her a couple weeks earlier how long the doctors thought she would live, but at that time she told me that they never really talked about that.\u00a0 Cherie had been admitted to the hospital on May 2nd, and on the 4th my parents had traveled up from Florida, and through them I learned that Cherie\u2019s cancer was terminal.\u00a0 When I arrived, Cherie recognized me, and said, \u201cHi Steve.\u201d but that was the extent of our communication.\u00a0 I was glad to be there for the end of her life, and also to be with the rest of the family at that time.<\/p>\n

Cherie went to be with the Lord late in the evening on Wednesday, May 12, 2010.\u00a0 After the family and greeted one another, and cried, we gathered in a lounge at the hospital, and shared our memories of Cherie for an hour and 40 minutes.\u00a0 Cherie\u2019s funeral was two days later on Friday.\u00a0 I stayed on in Alabama for several days to help go through some of Cherie\u2019s things, and my brother Dana and I took my parents back to Florida.\u00a0 While I was there, I was able to touch base with the leaders of New Tribes Mission\u2019s Communications Department, with whom I have been working since the fall of 2007.\u00a0 We communicate regularly by phone and email, but it was good to see each other face to face.<\/p>\n

Here are a few things we shared together as a family.\u00a0 Dad and Mom had planned to have a friend drive them up from Florida to Birmingham a couple weeks earlier, but they didn\u2019t have the Lord\u2019s peace that it was the right time for them to make that visit, so they put it off.\u00a0 When they heard that Cherie had been admitted to the hospital for a 2nd time, they felt that it was time for them to go.\u00a0 When they arrived everyone expected that that Cherie would recover and live for several more years. Then shortly after they arrived a doctor told them that Cherie had 3-12 months to live.\u00a0 That was a shock to the family when they first heard it, but within a very short time, we realized it was more like 3-12 days.\u00a0 Dad and Mom are 82 and 83, and traveling is tough for them.\u00a0 If they had gone earlier when they first planned, they would have visited Cherie, and then returned to Florida, and perhaps not been able to make another trip to see her again those last days before she died.\u00a0 As it was, they were a real source of strength for the family, when they received the bad news that Cherie would be leaving us soon.\u00a0 When the doctors came in and gave the bad news, Cherie\u2019s kids would burst into tears, and then Dad would say, \u201cLet\u2019s pray about this.\u201d The family would pray about it, and everyone would regain their equilibrium.<\/p>\n

We had no doubt that the Lord could heal Cherie, and we prayed that He would, but at the same time we knew that most often, He does not heal people of cancer, and also that in His sovereignty, He does not always answer our prayers as we would wish.\u00a0 Paul prayed 3 times that the Lord would remove his thorn in the flesh, but the Lord told him that His grace was sufficient.\u00a0 Along these lines, the Lord reminded my mother of Abraham\u2019s servant who traveled to Haran to find a bride for Isaac.\u00a0 (Gen 24)\u00a0 God directed him to Rebekah, and she agreed to be Isaac\u2019s bride that night.\u00a0 The next day, when Abraham\u2019s servant wanted to start back, Rebekah\u2019s family said, \u201cLet her stay with us a few days, say ten; afterwards she may go.\u201d But the servant answered, \u201cDo not delay me.\u00a0 Send me away that I may go to my master.\u201d\u00a0 Cherie is part of the bride of Christ, and the Lord had come to take her home.\u00a0 We didn\u2019t want her to go, but the Lord was saying to us, \u201cDo not delay me.\u00a0 I want to take Cherie to her First Love, the Lord Jesus.\u201d\u00a0 With that in mind, we were happy to let her go.<\/p>\n

We were also thrilled to see how the Lord provided for Cherie, with the funeral expenses etc.\u00a0 Cherie had worked at home for many years as a wife and mother, but in recent years had to get work outside the home to provide for her family.\u00a0 About a year ago, the University of Alabama Hospital opened up a new stroke unit, and she was hired as one of their secretaries.\u00a0 She was a tremendous blessing to all those who worked with her.\u00a0 Several of her co-workers mentioned that they really appreciated working on the shifts that Cherie was on, since she brought a peace and calm to the whole unit.\u00a0 The cancer ward was 1 floor above the stroke ward, and many of them came up to see her those last weeks.\u00a0 One of the benefits of working for UAB, is that all of their employees have excellent health and life insurance.\u00a0 Because of Cherie\u2019s previous history with cancer, many companies would not have wanted to give her health or life insurance.\u00a0 As it was, her insurance through the hospital covered her hospital stay, and provided her with money to cover the funeral, with some left over to help with her children\u2019s education.<\/p>\n

Earlier Cherie had cared for a couple of older ladies, for one of the families in her church.\u00a0 When they heard that Cherie had terminal cancer, they gave her one of their burial plots.\u00a0 When Abraham\u2019s servant asked God to lead him to a wife for Isaac, he said, \u201cI will ask one of the girls for a drink and if she offers to water my camels as well, that will show me that she is the one God has chosen to be Isaac\u2019s wife.\u201d\u00a0 Out of kindness, Rebekah offered to water the servant\u2019s camels, with know idea of the benefits that would bring into her life.\u00a0 In the same way, Cherie cared for these older ladies, not knowing how the Lord would use her acts of kindness to provide for her.<\/p>\n

Cherie lived with a desire to bless those that she was around, and to help them spiritually.\u00a0 She understood that you have to really listen to people, understand them, and identify with them, if you want to earn the right have an impact in their lives.\u00a0 She had a wonderful relationship with her children, and they felt safe with her, so that they shared everything with her.\u00a0 Her non-judgmental attitude was an example to me, and has helped me in my relationships with my sons, and other people.<\/p>\n

Cherie identified with many other Missionary Kids from Papua New Guinea, and did a lot of work to connect with them, and build networks so that they could connect with one another.\u00a0 She played a big part of arranging 3 different alumni reunions, for PNG Makes.\u00a0 Although Cherie struggled with cancer, and other disappointments and heartaches, she never complained.\u00a0 She would share with us how her cancer was going, but then would ask, \u201cHow are you doing?\u201d\u00a0 When people would share their struggles with her, she would identify with them, and respond with, \u201cI know!\u201d People felt like she really understood them, giving them a breath of fresh air. Through her strong relationships with people, she was able to impact their lives for good.<\/p>\n

\"Crystal<\/a>
Crystal Cassie Cherie Cheere Jasmine Rey<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Cherie\u2019s five children have moved in with my brother Craig, who lives about 40 minutes from where Cherie lived.\u00a0 The two families always got along well together, and they both wanted to live together.\u00a0 Yesterday Cherie\u2019s oldest, Cheere, wrote on Facebook, \u201cCheere Ramos is glad she’s home…the Lawrence\u2019s\u2019 home feels more like home than anywhere else EVER!\u201d Many people are praying for the two families, and the Lord is answering your prayers.<\/p>\n

Thanks again for your part in making our ministry possible.\u00a0 We couldn\u2019t do it without you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cherie went to be with the Lord late in the evening on Wednesday, May 12, 2010.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":199,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,58],"tags":[7023,7022],"class_list":["post-49","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-family","category-prayer-requests","tag-family","tag-prayer-requests","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/steve-lawrence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/steve-lawrence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/steve-lawrence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/steve-lawrence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/199"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/steve-lawrence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/steve-lawrence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/steve-lawrence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/steve-lawrence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/steve-lawrence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}