The Old Rugged Cross

This morning at 7am, Sarah's dear father, Joe Collins, succumbed to the cancer in his body and passed from this life in to eternal life with our Heavenly Father. His wife, Diana was by his side along with other close family and friends. There is so much that could be said about this wonderful, God-honoring man who was cherished by so many. We will certainly miss Joe, but are also relieved that his suffering is over and rejoice that he is now in heaven. Although our grief is great, how much greater is the hope & promise that we have!

One of Joe's favorite hymns was The Old Rugged Cross. It is a song that most of us know or at least have heard before. For me, it's easy to sometimes sing these familiar songs on auto-pilot, without giving much thought to what I'm saying. I was looking at the lyrics this morning with a different perspective and wanted to post them here for all to see. It is bittersweet whenever someone you love dies and they are a believer in Christ. The words below help me remember what life is really about and the glory that is to come for those who follow Jesus!


On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
The emblem of suffering and shame;
And I love that old cross where the dearest and best
For a world of lost sinners was slain.

So I'll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.

O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
Has a wondrous attraction for me;
For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above
To bear it to dark Calvary.

So I'll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.

In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
A wondrous beauty I see,
For 'twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
To pardon and sanctify me.

So I'll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.

To the old rugged cross I will ever be true;
Its shame and reproach gladly bear;
Then He'll call me some day to my home far away,
Where His glory forever I'll share.

So I'll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.

E-mail from Sarah

Many of you are aware of the health situation with Sarah's dad (Joe Collins). Not everyone received the email that she sent yesterday before flying out today to spend a week with her dad in the hospital. I wanted to post the email here in case you didn't get a chance to see it.

Hi friends,

I am writing this to ask for prayer for my father. He was diagnosed with stage 4 Melanoma over Thanksgiving after a scan revealed spots in his lung. After attempting to start an intense chemotherapy on Jan. 5th, he had a severe reaction and was eventually sent home with the news that further treatment will not be pursued.

After a day at home, he took a turn for the worse and is now in his local hospital where they are managing his pain via morphine drip and in general making him more comfortable. This morning the doctor told my family he has a month at the most and will likely not see February.

I am flying up to Oregon on Saturday morning for a week to be with my siblings and parents and hopefully spend some quality father-daughter time with my dad in the hospital. Please pray for my dad, my family, and me as we attempt to say good-bye for now, until we all dwell together with the Father in heaven.

Please pray for a gentle passing for Dad, and that he can look forward to that day very soon when he is healed and whole, pain-free, and in the presence of his Savior. My parents both love and trust Jesus; my dad has worked all his life to share that with others.

There are so many who love my dad, including those who are unbelievers. Please pray for these people as this may be a time when their hearts will be touched, and that God will be glorified specifically in that way through this situation. As much as we are grieving, we so want to be able to share with others about our eternal, unshakable hope that ensures my dad's salvation.

I wish I could describe accurately in words what a wonderful, beautiful man my dad is, but I'll just share a quick story - When he was admitted and settled into the hospital yesterday, the nurses asked if he would like to be moved to a room with a mountain view (the same view from his bedroom window at home). He looked straight at my mom's face and with a grin replied, "I have the only view I need right here." So pray for us as we spend this last, sweet bit of time together.

Pray for Dax as he will be tackling the boys alone this week, and possibly sacrificing his opportunity to say good-bye to his father-in-law in order to give me that time. Brave man, and husband of the year, for letting me go!

Love in Jesus,
Sarah Bryant

Update on us!

Time is quickly flying by! Here is a summary of what has been going on with us since our last post:

• We were officially accepted by our mission agency - Operation Mobilization - to serve in Ireland and have begun raising support from interested friends and churches. Currently we are at 20% of our required amount, so there is still much work to do. We are targeting a late spring/early summer departure. If you have an interest in supporting our work in Ireland, please let us know so that we can get information on how to do that.
• We spent Thanksgiving with family in San Diego and had a wonderful time there. However, during this time we found out that Sarah's dad (Joe), who has leukemia was feeling poorly and some spots were found on his lung. This turned out to be melanoma that had metastasized and will need some form of treatment.
• We spent the month of December traveling through Oregon to visit with family and friends, as well as raise support for Ireland. The Lord blessed our time and we spent 3 weeks with Sarah's parents and had a full house for Christmas (19 people!). We spent about 10 days with my family and then returned to Las Vegas on Jan. 6th.
• Sarah's dad began treatment in Portland, OR on Jan. 5th, but his body did not react well. He is currently still in the hospital there and the doctors need to stabilize his condition before they can discuss any further treatment options. We urgently covet your prayers for this situation.
• One of our supporters donated a laptop computer for us to be able to use here and while we are in Ireland. This was really an answer to prayer as our other computer was aging and impossibly slow. We had been talking about our options when out of the blue, a laptop was offered to us - our God provides!
• I am still "between jobs", although I have been actively looking for work. We still have enough in reserves to last us through March, but really need to find some source of income before then. Your prayers in this area are much appreciated as well!

That's quite a bit to digest, I realize. We are glad to be back in Las Vegas after over a month on the road and really enjoyed our 1st Sunday back at Summit Ridge Church today. Until next time...