Sad News...

Several of my very close friends have scattered all over the world the past few years. I keep up with many of them through Skype, a free online phone service that also doubles as an Instant Message program. I rarely log off of Skype and often come home to find I've missed several messages from people who thought I was online. Several days ago I noticed a note from my good friend Tim in Germany from a couple of weeks ago telling me his dad was dying. I've known for a little less than a year that Mr. Buechsel had cancer, but had no clue it was as far along as it was.

For several days I tried to contact Tim, to no avail. I also tried to get a hold of his sister, who is a graduate student at Baylor, but also had no luck. I began to put the pieces together and a couple of days ago finally was able to get a hold of Tim who confirmed that his dad had passed away three weeks ago.

Mr. Buechsel was a Christian, husband, father, and doctor. In the handful of times I was around him, I found him to be one of the kindest, most sincere people I've ever met. He was one of those people who ask questions of you out of genuine curiosity, without a hint of insincerity or pretension. As a European (and a German, at that) he had strong opinions about the world, but he had an unusual gentleness in the way he could carry on a conversation. He was a family doctor who, according to Tim, continued to make house calls long after it went out of vogue.

Please keep the Buechsel family in your prayers. Tim and Isabel are in Germany, but a couple of hours from Mrs. Buechsel. Please pray especially for Mark, who is an English professor at Palm Beach Atlantic College, and Ruth who, along with her husband Andrew, are graduate students here at Baylor, as they are so far away from their family during this difficult time.