WHEREVER TWO OR MORE OF YOU ARE GATHERED...

Dear praying friends,

I wanted to write and let you know that Megan is on the plane and should be landing in Denver in about an hour and a half! God is good!

Even more than thank you for praying (which I am VERY grateful for), I want to say THANK YOU for being such a visible witness to the world of the love God's people in Christ Jesus have for each other. This is so pleasing to Him! (remember Jesus' high priestly prayer in John 17)

May the world look on and marvel at the love He has given to us, and gives through us...and may they long to know that same Love, to the glory of God our Father!

"As Thou didst send Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world...that they may all be one; even as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us; that the world may believve that Thou didst send Me.

And the glory which Thou hast given Me I have given to them; that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, that the world may know that Thou didst send Me, and didst love them, even as Thou didst love me." ~John 17:18, 21-23

Thank you for loving us, yes, but even more, loving Him. Soli Deo gloria!

With so much gratitude in our Jesus,
Tracy, for Chris and the Klickaclan

PRAYERS NEEDED ASAP FOR A FLIGHT/TRANSPORTATION ISSUE!

Dear praying friends,

We would be so grateful for your prayers right now for our daughter Megan. She is scheduled to fly out of Atlanta at 6:55 into Denver, but the weather is bad here (icy, 22 degrees). The flight out has already been postponed until 8:30pm, but they may need to postpone it longer.

If there are no further delays, she will now not arrive until 10pm, and it's a 2 hour drive in less than optimal road conditions (my trip up to Denver to pick up Ben & Bethany this morning took an extra 45 minutes because the roads were icy).

Megan is trying to get here before her dad passes away, and we know this would be VERY hard for her is she misses him (Chris took a distinct and definite turn for the worse this morning).

Please pray for the following:

1. That God might just miraculously clear up the weather in Denver, allowing Megan to fly out here sooner, rather than later

2. That she would not get stuck in the Atlanta airport overnight (she's all by herself; is this not a mother's nightmare?)

3. That Chris would hold on until Megan can get here and be able to connect with him.

4. That Chris' breathing will not be so labored that we'd have to put him on Morphine to smooth it out. It has been very labored on and off today. Once on Morphine, he will not be able to engage with any of us, including Megan.

5. That God will grant safety and good road conditions tonight for Bob (in a good 4-wheeler, pick-up truck), who is bringing Megan back to the Springs.

6. That I might not be anxious for Megan or Bob (okay, I already am); that I might keep my eyes fixed on my Lord in all of this and trust that His timing is perfect and He is holding everything together!

7. Some of our other children are agitated; I think they sense my concern and are also concerned--it just looks to me, however, like fussy irritability to me, garbed in teenage vocabulary and I'm having a little trouble being patient with them :)

THANK YOU for praying for us!!!

God IS good...ALL the time,
Tracy, for Chris and the Klickaclan

BE STILL, MY SOUL, THE LORD IS ON THY SIDE...

I love this hymn and as I was reading the words tonight, I was greatly comforted in the Lord as we wait, and wait, and wait.

Be still, my soul, the Lord is on thy side;
Bear patiently, the cross of grief or pain;
Leave to thy God, to order and provide;
In every change, He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul, thy best, thy heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Chris has been largely unresponsive today, and mostly sleeping. He was awake just a little this morning, again mouthing words we tried but could not make out, so faint was his voice. He did seem generally at peace, and still free from physical pain. How we thank the Lord he is, and is also free from any mental anguish that we can observe. God's kindness to him and to us is so great in this.

I do long for him to be able to jump up and run to His Savior, Jesus though, and so, though I am glad to have him with us a little longer, have been impatient for his COMPLETE healing. Any healing he might miraculously experience on this earth could never come close to what he will experience when the Lord calls him Home!

The Lord gave Chris a special blessing several months ago when he had an opportunity to meet by email one of his greatest heroes of the faith, Joni Eareckson Tada. They have periodically written to each other and have prayed for the other's joy and contined trust in the Lord while living in bodies that wait for the resurrection.

One of the last things Joni and Chris said to each other was that they were looking forward to clogging in Heaven. What a day that will be to see the two of them, wrapped in a boundless joy, dancing before their King together!

As Chris' breathing gets shallower and shallower, I know his soul is expanding more and more, so that he might be able to experience more fully the delight of seeing His Savior Jesus face to face. This afternoon, as I sat reading the Psalms to him and praying for him, he woke up slightly and for the first time that I could make out his words, slowly said, "I love you." And then followed with these words, "I'm ready to die," to which I responded, "Honey, I love you!" and only wished I had added, "No, you're not ready to die; you're ready to REALLY live!"

Lord, we trust in You and Your perfect timing...

Be still my soul, thy God doth undertake
To guide the future as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence, let NOTHING shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul, the waves and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still my soul, the hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord,
When disappointments, grief, and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, LOVE'S PUREST JOYS RESTORED.
Be still, my soul, when change and tears are past,
All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

With love and gratitude for your prayers for my beloved's soon Homecoming,
Tracy, for Chris and the whole Klickaclan

HOW DEEP THE FATHER'S LOVE FOR US...

Today was a good day.We so feel your prayers for us and the Lord has been so kind to answer them!

This morning all of Chris' vital signs were at normal levels. No pain meds were needed as he had no pain today. His urine output was good; his breathing remained very steady (with only a few bouts of labored, staggered breathing); he was able to get water from the swab we gave him several times today.

In addition, although his lungs have fluid in them, they are not causing him as much of a problem since we stopped hydrating him by IV. The congestion has also settled down.

Chris slept a lot today, but when he was awake, he was able to smile, reply in very short phrases after long pauses to other's questions, and truly enjoyed having the children and me with him.

I was especially thankful that he had NO pain today! God is SO very kind to Chris and to us, to keep him engaging with us a little longer.

I even was able to take a short nap with him, and could only praise my Father for letting me have some precious time with Chris alone, even if he was only sleeping.

Most of the children were able to have one-on-one time with their dad today, and I'm hoping the rest of the children will have that opportunity tomorrow. I am hoping to have some time with Chris tomorrow too, where he is lucid and communicative. I have so much to say to this dear man of mine!

Please pray that God will continue to grant peaceful sleep, little pain, and good breathing to Chris through the night and tomorrow. Pray too, that Amy, Megan and I would all have some meaningful time alone with Chris, and that if he develops pain that requires him being put on pain medication, it wouldn't be until after we have a chance to talk to him when he's lucid and communicative.

Thank you, so very much, for your prayers for us. May God be glorified in your answered prayers.

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22

With deep appreciation and gratitude for your encouragement and prayers; God IS good…ALL the time,

Tracy, for Chris and the Klickaclan

We want to give you an update on how Chris is doing. He is still with us, but is making a steady transition toward going home to be with our heavenly Father.

Yesterday morning, John and his daddy had a blessed reunion. He spent a long time on the bed with his dad, just resting his head on his daddy's shoulder.

Later in the afternoon, with friends and family gathered around, we sang praises to the Lord at Chris' request. Even in his reduced condition, he was spiritually leading us! Chris was worshipping the Lord with us, frequently mouthing the words to the songs, even saying a loud, clear "Amen" when we finished. His special song request was "Great is Thy Faithfulness".

Starting Wednesday morning Chris was taken off IV fluids, because his body was unable to process them. He has difficulty and his liquid intake is minimal. He's not showing any signs of discomfort or pain at this point and has been able to sleep at peacefully at night.

Although his lungs are starting to fill with fluid, causing him to occastionally cough and have a little difficulty breathing, he is still able to communicate using short, broken phrases.

He is at peace with this part of his journey. He shows no signs of anxiety or fear. God continues to work through Chris' life, even at this stage. He was was able to reminisce with some childhood friends who flew in just for the day, and he spoke of God's goodness even knowing he will soon be leaving us.

As the Lord provides, we will continue to update you.

Please pray for:

1. The Lord's will to be done in Chris' life in these last few days. Chris expressed a desire to finish strong.

2. Chris also asked for prayer for comfort for all of us, especially his parents.

3. The children and I desire that Chris would be free of pain. We would love to see him not need pain medication which would cause him to be less lucid and less able to communicate with us. We want him "here" us as long as possible!

Thank you for your continued, faithful prayers for Chris and all of us! We are so grateful for you. Soli Deo gloria!

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Yesterday afternoon, before moving our dad into hospice care, our pastor, Tito Mercado, gathered us all around Daddy.

We had a beautiful, precious, sweet time together as Tito proceeded to commend Mommy and Daddy's marriage which has been filled with grace for 25 years.

We wept together and yet rejoiced as Tito told us all that he had never encountered a couple who had undergone such suffering and trials in their marriage.

We all laid hands on Daddy and prayed for him. The Lord was there with us as we lifted up our precious Daddy and committed him to the Lord's care.

Daddy was at peace. He is at peace...complete peace.

"For better or for worse, in sickness and in health, in life and in death..."

Thank you all,
Megan

- Update -

1. Vital signs are and have been stable for over 12 hours now. We are esp. thankful his blood pressure is up. It was critically low. His temperature which was at a life-threatening 85.8 got up to 96.6, which, while not life threatening, is completely debilitating for someone like Chris with MS. It was around 91 when we left last night which is much better for him.

2. Chris has two infections, both of which, combined with the MS, have put him into a status of critically ill. First, is a urinary tract infection. This has responded well as of last night to antibiotics. Thank the Lord! Two, he has pneumonia. While it is not a severe case for normal healthy people, it is very serious for Chris.

3. He had to be on oxygen 20% midday, but as the afternoon progressed, they continued to up that to 100% and finally had to resort to using a bipap machine, which is a mask that forms a seal on the nose/mouth area and pumps oxygen into the lungs. By last night, his oxygen levels had come up, and held steady so that they could remove the bipap machine.

He came very close to having to be put on a ventilator if the bipap machine failed to get his oxygen levels up. This is a serious step to take, and not one to make lightly. We are thankful the doctors did not have to do that.

Concerning interventive measures, Chris and I talked quite a bit in the last two months about what he would like to have done and what he would not want done should the need arise to visit this issue. Chris, who was never one to want a lot of medical intervention, decided that he did not want to be artificially prolonged.

If the doctors had told us they needed to put him on a ventilator, even though Chris said he did not want to, I would have asked them to do it, but only so that our children could be with their daddy before he goes home to be with the Lord.

Chris is close to going home we believe. He is fairly unconscious, non-responsive and has had no nutrition since Thursday except hydration and electrolyte and glucose supplementation.

He is not stable or responsive enough to move from the ICU unit here at St. Francis Medical Center in Colorado Springs. With almost complete certainty, he will not be coming home to Virginia.

Because of this, we flew Bethany, Megan, and John out here to be with their daddy. Chris parents just flew in early this morning. In addition, our family life pastor is flying in today at noon.

We don't know how much time we have left with Chris, but we believe it is not long. As a family, we all knew that Daddy was getting worse; we just didn't expect him to be getting ready to go home to be with his Abba Father quite this soon. We are all at peace with whatever God has planned, knowing that because He is there, it is all good.

Thank you for your prayers as we prepare and spend our last days and hours with Chris. May they be filled with many precious moments and sweet fellowship with him!

The Klicka Family