Rod greatly appreciates your messages of love and encouragement, and the memories you are sharing. I've read all of them to him through yesterday morning (we're up to about 80) though I'm still a little backlogged on sending out individual replies. Hopefully this weekend I can catch up. Thanks for your patience.
My dad is comfortable at home and sleeps most of the day. He's recovered enough clarity of mind to spend a few minutes a day putting the finishing touches on one final project, a workbook to accompany his Greek grammar. His inspiration is Bishop Schereschewsky, who translated the Bible into Chinese while "sitting for nearly twenty-five years in the same chair, slowly and painfully typing with two fingers."
We don't expect 25 years (though God's will be done!). According to a nurse, one likely scenario is that Rod will linger in his present state for several weeks, and then decline rapidly. My mother and I visited Sewickley Cemetery today. We found a "grave on a green hillside," just as my dad has requested. Jess and I live across the valley.
For now, we feel your love and prayers tangibly. My mother reports that she and he and Seth are enjoying sweet, Spirit-filled evenings of quiet sitting, prayer, and ukulele songs. Thanks for being with us in spirit.