Jeff Adams

Wow! Long day! I´m just getting things wrapped up and will get up in a couple of hours to head to Europe. Here’s what I will be doing and I’d love to have you join me virtually by means of this blog.

• Monday, October 26 – Fly to Budapest, Hungary via Houston, Newark and Frankfurt. I’ll get in to Budapest mid afternoon Tuesday. The purpose is to explore the possibility of using this city as a base for some student mission engagement in the future. It has been many years since I have been in Budapest and even then I was just in and out. I am looking forward to getting to know this beautiful city better.
• Friday, October 30 – Take the train to Varazdin, Croatia. The last time I was here Varazdin was located in Yugoslavia. No, they haven’t moved the city, just the borders. Twenty years ago we partnered with a church in Puscine just outside of Varzdin in building a church facility. We largely lost contact during the war back in the 90′s and by an act of God made contact again this summer when Pastor Jeff Cox was in the area. On Sunday we will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the facility.
• Monday, November 2 – fly to Cologne/Bonn and take the train to Frankfurt. Our opera singer friend Sergio Blazquez attends a church whose pastor is Luis Alberto Urday. Over the years we have been friends with a number of Spanish speaking congregations in Germany, including this one. Luis’ wife Martina is battling cancer and my purpose is to spend some time with them and minister to them.
• Wednesday, November 4 – take the train to Amsterdam and meet the group from KCBT that arrives early Friday morning.

Well, that’s the bare bones outline of what I will be doing, but I’ll fill in the gaps as I can along the way and keep you posted on what is happening.

I have taken a break from posting anything on the blog these past few days, but I want you to know that I have carefully read each and every comment made in response to my dad’s passing. Others have sent email, cards or posted something on Face Book. Thank  you so very much.

My mother is doing quite well. Thanks to those of you who have asked. My brother has returned to California and hopefully life will begin to get back in a groove. The last few days with dad were sweet and I’m glad his earthly suffering is over.

If you read this blog regularly, you have heard me speak of my friend Tina. She also leaves comments here from time to time. She was like a daughter to my dad and she wrote a beautiful  tribute to him that you can read here. She is also offering a free PDF file of my dad’s book,  Off My Chest – From My Heart.

In the next couple of days I will try to get back on schedule. In fact, I leave Monday for Hungary, Croatia, Germany and the Netherlands. Should be an interesting journey and I’d love to invite you to come along with me here on this blog. I’ll be posting as often as I can.

We have been inundated with expressions of love from so many people. Thank you so very much. By email, Face Book and blog comments you have expressed your loving support. Several of you have shared anecdotes about my dad that are greatly appreciated.

Cheryl lost her father almost twenty years ago, but this is the first parent I have lost. It certainly gives a different perspective and helps my empathize with what some family in our church is going through almost every week if not more frequently.

Some have asked and I am happy to share the funeral details with those who want to know. A viewing will be held Wednesday morning at 10:00 in the church auditorium with the service to follow at 11:00. Park Lawn Funeral Home is in charge, and though the obituary in The Star tomorrow will say the service in the Park Lawn Chapel, it will be at the church. Mom and Dad attended the Hispanic Ministry for years. They always wanted to learn Spanish but never had to since there were always those ready to translate for them. They loved Marco like a son and I have asked him to officiate. In lieu of flowers we would ask instead for contributions in his name to be made to KCBT.

Again, thanks so very much to you all.

Friday evening, October 16th, 2009, Robert N. Adams, also known as Pastor Bulldog, left his cancer-ridden body for his eternal reward. He was a most remarkable man, and he was my Dad. He took his nickname of Pastor Bulldog from his dogged determination that saw him win the battle with colon cancer in the early 90’s. This second battle with lung cancer coupled with his already severely damaged lungs is what ended his earthly life.

From his service in WWI, my grandfather that I never met suffered from a severe case of what we now call post traumatic stress syndrome. My pregnant grandmother left him in Kansas City as her father brought her home to Arkansas City, Kansas where my Dad was born. He was raised by his single mother and her very Scottish parents.

Dad met my mother at a USO club during WWII and married her in her native Virginia, but soon moved to Arkansas City where I was born. Dad’s degree from the Richmond Professional Institute (now part of the College of William and Mary), was in fine arts, but he held a variety of jobs until he solidified his personal faith in Christ at Billy Graham’s 1967 crusade in Kansas City. I had come to faith the previous year. Some years later, Dad would enter the ministry and serve at KCBT in several capacities. He also spent a few years church planting in Florida. Interestingly enough, Dad had seriously considered going to a Presbyterian seminary after the war, and when I was born they dedicated me to ministry. It’s funny how God honors and answers our prayers even when we don’t have full understanding of what we are doing.

Every family has issues and struggles, but I never doubted my parent’s love, nor can I complain about much of anything. Even though our family was always living from paycheck to paycheck and there was never an abundance of material resources, we never went without food and I never experienced insecurity.

As an artist, Dad did not school me in hunting, fishing, sports or the great outdoors. He was totally supportive, though, of anything I wanted to explore and did his best to provide guidance and mentorship through life. Over his years in ministry, God used him to touch many lives. He was a student of the word and faithful to invest his life in the lives of others.

His health was always a challenge and I am amazed he lived for 82 years. In his later years he dedicated himself to Internet ministry and I was proud of his computer savvy for a person of his generation. He had an internet prayer ministry, wrote regular e-zines he called “Blessays” and maintained a number of blogs. A few years ago he put some of his Blessays together in a little book called Off My Chest –From My Heart. It was fun for me to see him muse on the memories of his life and the lessons he learned. It was also funny to see how the liberal-thinking artist morphed into an old man who saw life through series of “Fox News sound bites,” much to the dismay of my brother and me.

Right up until his cancer-ridden body began to shut down, his mind and quirky, sharp wit remained intact. In a short time he had endeared himself to the staff of the nursing home where he spent his final few months and I was touched to see nurses openly and sincerely weeping as the rolled him out tonight. A beautiful young  Ethiopian nurse named Bethlehem wept with sincere grief and said, “He prayed for me.”  I’m proud he was my dad.

Personally, and on behalf of my family, thanks to so many of you for your blog and Face Book comments as well as your emails. I can’t respond to each of them, though I wish I could. You have been a great source of strength and inspiration. Thank you.

We got the first flight out of Dallas this morning and made it to Dad’s beside in time for him to recognize us, express his love and say goodbye. He had deteriorated significantly since we saw him Sunday. By a little afternoon, he was pretty much shut down. At the moment he is still hanging on even though his body is obviously shutting down. No one can predict how much time remains, though that is certainly to be measured in hours rather than days.

Again, thanks so much for your interest and prayer. I tend to be pretty private about family things, but so many continually ask about my parents I feel the confidence to share with you on this blog. My style is to mix things up and discuss a variety of themes from scripture, to mission, social themes, restaurant reviews  – you name it. So, I guess a bit of family from time to time is permissible.