"His life was like the roots of a tree that went miles into the soil and miles around its trunk and came up in my cousins, in their faces and their voices and their character." -Donald Miller, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years



I know without a doubt that his love reached far beyond the comfort of our arms and into the hearts of more than we could possibly know. Thankful for the man he was and the influences he has made on my life and many others. Love you Uncle Randy!

Fwd: Prayers Please!!

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Rand Patterson <maandpap1@yahoo.com>
Date: Tue, May 5, 2009 at 5:14 PM
Subject: Prayers Please!!
To: Beth Murphy <bethamurphy@gmail.com>

Dear Family and Friends,   Just wanted to send a note to thank everyone for all that you have done for us in that last 2 years.  Prayers, cards, meals, "love gifts" to pay for our living expenses, flowers, donations, and most of all your love for our family during a very difficult time in our lives.  Words will never be able to express our gratitude. God's love and grace has poured down on us during this time and each day seems to get easier.  We miss him dearly and there isn't a minute that goes by that we don't remember him and cherish all the wonderful times we had.  He was an amazing husband, father, "boppa", son, brother, uncle and friend and his life will always be an huge part of ours.  He taught us so many things and gave us all a zest and appreciation for life.  His faith and love for God will be the most important gift he left with us. His presence is all around us and we only hope that we can be the person he was in our lives.    I have a special prayer request for Wendy Nakken (Ben's Sister).  Her and her husband Bryan are leaving tonight in their motor home to go to Dr. Alvarez in Mexico.  He told them that he would do all that he could to help Wendy through this cancer.  They hope to be there on Friday so she can get a treatment that day.  Please pray for: Safety and peace on their trip. That their motor home will make the trip with no complications. Divine wisdom for Dr. Alvarez in treating Wendy's cancer. God's peace, love and guardian angels surrounding Bryan and Wendy's 9 children during their time in Mexico- which could be 4+ weeks. Peace, strength and grace for the grandparents, Ben and Heidi and friends who will be taking care of the children. And that God's will, power and healing will manifest itself in Wendy's body.    Thanks for being the prayer warriors you are and we will keep you up to date as we learn more.    All our Love, Joanie and family

Randy's Journey Home

To all who have known and loved Randy,

I know I speak for my family when I say thank you from the bottom of our hearts.  The love that you have all shown us through the past two years has been overwhelming.  We thank you all for being with us along this most difficult journey and for all the support your have shown in the past few days. 

I wanted to send an email out not only to thank you, but also to let those of you who may not know when and where the visitation and funeral are.

The visitation is today, Monday, at Langeland's funeral home on 9th street from 5-8pm.

The funeral is tomorrow, Tuesday, April 14 at Valley Family Church at 1pm.  Please dress casual or in Harley clothes.  There will be a motorcycle processional to the cemetery after the service.  There will be a meal provided at Valley Church after the burial.


Blessings to all,
Beth

Fwd: Rand :)

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Rand Patterson <maandpap1@yahoo.com>
Date: Wed, 8 Apr 2009 06:18:58 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Rand :)
To: Beth Murphy <bethamurphy@gmail.com>

Dear Friends and Loved Ones,
Our journey has come to an end.....Our precious Dad, Boppa, Brother,
Son, Uncle, dearest friend and my beloved husband and best friend in
the whole world went to heaven April 8 at 12:30 a.m. with Heidi, Tami
and myself close by his side. We miss him more than words can ever
ever express, but we know with all our hearts that he is safe in the
arms of Jesus with no pain, no worries and enjoying the home that God
has prepared for him.
We will be heading back to Kalamazoo probably today and tomorrow.  We
haven't made funeral arrangements, but with the Easter weekend this
weekend it will probably be sometime next week.  Just think Rand will
be celebrating Easter in Heaven....what a sight that will be to
behold.
Our family wants to thank all of you for being with us each step of
the way and even though we will miss him so, we have so many wonderful
memories to cherish. There will be a time of "sharing" and celebrating
all of the many many happy times we all have had....if you would like
to share those thoughts and memories at the service there will be a
time set aside for you to do just that.... our family would be honored
and blessed.
There will also be a motorcycle processional after the service to the
graveside after the funeral. Motorcycles were such a special part of
our lives and I know that he would be so happy to have you help him
take that one last ride with him.  Dress casual to the funeral because
he would want you to be comfy and happy and just free to be you.
Love and heart felt blessings to you all and please pass this e:mail
to anyone you wish.
Blessings,
The Rand Patterson Family

Another update 4/4

Hello all,

Well, as the journey with cancer has done to us so many times before, we have a change of plans.  The doctor from Mexico called Randy and Joanie this afternoon to see how he is doing and when they told him that he had rejected the idea of radiation and was going to go home, the Dr. told him not to.  The Dr. believes that the radiation will help alleviate the pain he has been experiencing and that he should go ahead with it.  When Randy is well enough to travel he wants him to still go to Mexico for treatment because he believes he can help him.  This is truly in God's hands as it always has been.  Tami, Randy and Joanie's daughter, said that God has been telling her that, "He's got him and is taking care of him and not to give up."  Randy has fought so hard these past two years and now it is our turn to fight even harder for and with him.  All of the family is in agreement that going ahead with the radiation is the right plan.  Randy says ok, let's do it!  We asked Randy if he wanted his dad to be there during the treatment, and he said yes, so we are going to get him on a plane to Detroit as soon as we get the go ahead.

So, the plan is for Rand to stay at U of M and go through with radiation therapy--this will be about 3 weeks, and then when he is well enough to travel they will go to Mexico.  I know I can speak for my whole family when I say thank you for all of your support.  It means the world to us to know that there are so many of you out there praying for us and keeping Rand near to your hearts.  We know our prayers are heard and put our trust in the Lord.

I will keep you updated as I learn more.

-Beth

Update 4/4

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Rand Patterson <maandpap1@yahoo.com>
Date: Sat, Apr 4, 2009 at 5:26 AM
Subject:
To: Beth Murphy <bethamurphy@gmail.com>

Dear Ones, Just a little note to quickly catch you up on what has happened in just the last few days.  In the beginning of the week Rand was feeling very well and we were packing things up around here to  send back home, worked on our taxes so we could bring them back home, too.  We had a nice birthday dinner together on his birthday.   That evening things began to change ..he had severe pain in his back and noticeable blood in his urine.  The following day there were significant changes in his counts and they began treating hime for infections and hydrating him daily.  He has 4 different infections plus an obstructed kidney where the Lymphoma is resting.  He had to have a stent put into his kidney and various other things to get the kidney to drain properly.  We came home and he had a very difficult evening with pain and continual trips to the bathroom. In the morning he was miserable and not even himself so Ben and I took him to emergency.  He is again in the hospital and they are treating the infections, and watching the kidney closely.  He wil probably start radiation on Monday to relieve the pressure of the Lymphoma on his kidney.  Our trip to Mexico is on hold until all these things get resolved.  We haven't given up hope in our Great Physician who we know and believe can turn all things around.  Rand is very sick and our prayer is that these infections will heal, the radation will relieve the kidney and we can go to Mexico.  He would not be able to travel in the condition he is in now.  Ben came up all day yesterday and spent the night last night so I could get a good night's sleep. Tami and Kynzie will be here all day today.  Heidi is coming up Sunday to spend the day and night with us and I wll go home that night to get some sleep.  We believe with all our hearts that God has a plan and our faith is strong.  Sometimes things don't go as we plan, but we believe that God always has a better plan for us.  We know that God can heal Rand in an instant because that is what is word tells us, or it may still be in time or as we go, but we are holding fast to God's will and promises. Rand is definitely our hero.  He has never ever once complained, asked why or questioned.  He is tired, worn out and anxious to feel like Randy again and what a blessing that would be.  Prayers are heard and cherished and we love you all for everyone that has been uttered for Rand and the family. Love and Blessings,  Rand and Joanie  Feel free to call me on my cell:  269-760-0431

Fwd: Where to begin

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Rand Patterson <maandpap1@yahoo.com>
Date: Mon, Mar 30, 2009 at 6:02 PM
Subject: Where to begin
To: Beth Murphy <bethamurphy@gmail.com>

Dearest Loved Ones, After our last e:mail to you Rand and I spent a great deal of time seeking God's wisdom, direction and peace.  With things pretty much dead end at U of M we began seeking answers and possibilities.  And through God's amazing handiwork information was brought to our attention that we could not ignore.  We researched, prayed, talked to our pastor, had a family meeting with our family and just let God put the pieces together. This was by no means an easy decision, but until we gave it over completely to God to put the pieces together for us did things start to line up.  And as we began pursuing the options the Holy Spirit just took over and put things into such amazing order that we just had to obey his leading.  We have made the decision to go to Mexico for alternative methods of treating Rand's cancer. There is a world renowned doctor who we have spoken to a few times and we have also sent him all of Rand's records and probably by tomorrow after hearing from the doctor we will be packing things up, getting our lives in as much order as possible and could be in Mexico by Sunday.  It has been absolutely amazing how everything has fallen into place.  Someday we will share all the little details that the Holy Spirit just took care of supernaturally.  We have an amazing peace about this and our family is thrilled that we will be going.  We are trusting God again to make this all possible and just stepping out on faith and following His direction.  I know this is probably a difficult concept for many to understand but our hearts and minds have been opened to so much more that is available....and we feel God has blessed these doctor's with a gift that hasn't been allowed in the United States for many reasons that just don't seem right.  We just ask that you continue you prayers, and love for us and help us through the journey that lies ahead. We will be there for about 3 weeks which will be a heart breaker for us being away again from our family. Rand is actually feeling very well and will be able to travel easily.  Today Dr. Yannik called and just tried to offer more options such as chemo, and radiation.  He also said to us that being in the position we are now he doesn't blame us for going to Mexico.  That was a very interesting thing for us to hear.  So dear ones pray for us that we will get all the things done that need to be done and that we will stay in God's will. Love to all Rand and Joanie Please keep Ben's sister Wendy in your prayers, too.  She is not improving and she is also looking into coming down to Mexico.  Pray for divine wisdom as they have to make difficult choices also.