LAST LESSONS #93 – BOB

 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” Genesis 2:24

December 5, 2014 was the saddest day of my life. It was the day that I lost my husband Bob. Although I had lost both my parents and some of my siblings, losing my husband was very different. After having been married for 60 years, when Bob died, I lost half of me.

But God showed his mercy in the way he took Bob home. It happened this way:

Bob had been suffering from Alzheimer’s for eight years and was declining. Then came the point where I knew that I could no longer care for him and I said to God, “I can’t do this anymore.” Two days later Bob had a massive stroke and died within 15 hours. So instead of my having to take my loving husband to a nursing home, God mercifully took Bob home to be with him. What a great God we have!

And what a great husband God gave me! Bob was strong physically, mentally, spiritually, and morally. He gave me three wonderful daughters and was always a loving and faithful husband.

Bob was a hero too. He enlisted as a young doctor and was sent to Korea during that war and served as a battalion surgeon and a regimental surgeon. He was highly decorated receiving a silver star, a bronze star, and oakleaf cluster. He wrote his memoirs of his 14 months in Korea in a well-documented fascinating book called Bloody Snow. You can get it from Rafiki (www.rafikifoundation.org). Bob was a brave man, and he was definitely my hero.

After Bob came home from Korea we met and were married in 1964. I remember one of the first things Bob said to me was, “Stick with me baby, and we will go places!” Truer words were never spoken.

We went all over the world together, living in four continents. But the most meaningful was living for nine years in Tanzania, East Africa as missionaries. While there, Bob worked with the President of Tanzania, the government Minister of Health, and the Presiding Bishop of the Lutheran Church to plan a 450-bed hospital on the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro. They named it the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC). That hospital is still there and stands as a beacon of Christian medical service and training. Besides the hospital for inpatients and outpatients, it includes a medical school, residency training, nursing school, and all the ancillary services. It is also noted worldwide for research, especially in dermatology. If Bob had not envisioned KCMC and raised the funds to build it, Tanzania would not have its best Christian medical services today. Furthermore, I am particularly grateful to God and my husband because without Dr. Robert Jensen, Rafiki would not be in Africa today.

There is much more I could write about Bob, but most important is that his name is written in heaven. He is there with his Lord, and I wouldn’t wish him back. He is in a much better place where I will join him someday soon.