Matt Hoffland

You think with the ease of technology that there would be no excuse for updating your own blog.  There tends to be the idea that nobody reads it anyways.  And then you find someone that says…“Hey…update your blog!“  Wow…somebody cares.

Here is the update from ...ahem…a year ago.  I’m going to keep my thoughts to the events within the last month.

1. Both David and Johnny entered the big world of public school this semester.  They are both enjoying it tremendously.
2. The Christmas Dinner Theatre went very, very well.  We had to turn almost 200 people away which was both sad and exciting.
3. We just finished Winter Family Camp.  We had Jay Seegert-Creationist as a speaker.  What pile of knowledge that he poured out on us.  I enjoyed it a lot.  It rings more and more true that wold view always
    goes before science.  We don’t find all of our truth in the laboratory.
4. I head to Oak Forest Center this weekend to do 2 Sweetheart Banquets.  I think there are still openings so give them a call!

That’s about it for now.  Keep coming back.

 

Well, those of you who are regular visitors to my website probably wondered what cliff I fell off of. I was always encouraged when some would say, “You need to update your blog!“ Well, here’s to a start of a new year, new website, new blog! Of course, the old stories will still be on there but the new website will now host all the entries. It is under construction right now but should be up soon. As a good sum up, I decided that this entry will be our 2008 catch up letter. Stay tuned for more to come.

2008 was probably the most difficult year the Hoffland family has had to date. There were a number of trials that we didn’t see coming but as darker the storms are, God’s light seems to shine even brighter.

HOME: TRIALS AND PRAISES

1. As many of you know, our eldest son, David (10) is on the autistic spectrum along with having some Obsessive Compulsive disorders. He is a very creative, delightful child but for most of 2008 he had fallen into a black hole in his mind which left him terrified and, for the most part, non-functional. After many very intense battles, mentally physically and spiritually, we are on the upswing and David is back! We are so thankful for the Camp Forest Springs staff and the folks of Woodland Community Church for their love and support and for those of you who prayed for us throughout the year.
2. One early morning in January at about 2:30 AM Tarah and I woke up to find smoke in our house. We found out it was our 40 year old furnace that was dying a slow death. We nursed it for a few more weeks until it finally died right before the coldest weekend last winter. The local heating and cooling guy was able to have a new steam unit installed the next day and God eventually provided the money for to pay for it.
3. I was on the road one weekend in February ministering in Iowa and western Wisconsin when I received a call from my wife one evening that the sewer had backed up into the basement. Some of the staff men came over with a snake to try to fix it with no avail. The same day our youngest daughter, Leah, was being admitted into the hospital for pneumonia. The sewer pipes got fixed and so did my daughter.
4. This Fall, our garage door split in two. (Fiberglass door) Again God provided the funds and a friend to help me install a new one.
5. This summer, our 3 oldest kids played on the same T-Ball team in Rib Lake. They had a winning record!
6. David and Johnny both attended Youth Camp this summer at Camp Forest Springs. They had a great time.
7. I am thankful for my wife who continues to take on the challenge of schooling our children from home. This year Johnny and David have started doing the Virtual Academy which is a charter school based out of Medford, WI. They still school at home but they do certain things on-line and take their tests at a different location. It has really been a great option and has helped out Tarah a lot.

MINISTRY:

MINISTRY ON THE ROAD:

I had many great opportunities for ministry this year throughout the Midwest. I had 26 programs at the following locations (concerts and speaking).

• Curits, IA- speaking and music
• Whitehall, WI- concert
• Chilton, WI- concert
• Wisconsin Rapids, WI- concert
• Rochester, MN- concert
• Embarrass, MN- concert
• Eau Claire, WI- speaking
• Platteville, WI- concert/worship leading
• Grandview, IA- speaking and music
• Medford, WI- concert
• Mason, WI- concert
• Iron Mountain, MI- concert/speaking
• St. Louis, MO- Family Camp speaker and worship leader
• Grand Rapids, MN- Youth Retreat Speaker/worship leader
• Hogarty, WI- concert

MINISTRY AT CAMP FOREST SPRINGS:

• Winter Family Camp- worship leader
• Ladies Retreat- worship leader
• TAKE 7- worship leader
• Junior High Camp – speaker and worship leader
• SUPERhigh- worship leader
• 9 Family Camps- worship leader
• Ladies Day-worship leader
• Colorama (Sr. Citizens)- worship leader
• Pastor’s Retreat- worship leader
• Dinner Theatre- writer, director, actor
• Wintertainment- worship leader

The Dinner Theatre Outreach that is listed above has become a more greater and challenging endeavor than I could have ever imagined. The philosophy of the Dinner Theatre was to use Camp’s environment and provide an attractive program to share the Gospel to those in our local community and to improve the relationship between Camp and the community. After doing the same program for 2 years in a row, the Camp staff felt it needful to do a new one. I took it upon myself to write it and I started the process in March. The concept was the relationship between light and dark using the way we put up lights at Christmas to ward off the darkness as a platform. The task was daunting and took many more hours than I had planned, but God’s hand was on it and He brought many along side to help execute it. He also taught us many important truths throughout the journey including not being afraid of the darkness. We used the title, “The Light Before Christmas.” We were surprisingly sold out a week before Thanksgiving and we added one more showing. Many of the people that came were folks that I had never seen before. It was very rewarding to have many people say that it would be a yearly tradition for them to come. I am hoping to publish it this year. The end of the program included a glowing manger while I sang a song I wrote for the production. As people left, we handed everyone a free CD copy of the song as a farewell. Tarah and I felt led to include a copy of it along with this letter to hopefully minister to you and to thank you for all that you do for us.

Another note of interest is that I have started the process of recording a new CD project. I have hired an arranger and I am praying and hoping to have it done by next summer.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

1. I have a 1998 SUV that I use for traveling with my equipment that has been a huge blessing. It was a donation to me a few years ago at just the right time. The 4 wheel drive has gotten me out of some very bad weather situations. However, it is close to crossing 200 thousand miles and is starting to show it’s age. I am praying that God will, in His time, provide another vehicle to do the ministry I need to do.
2. Continue to pray for wisdom as we try to help our son, David.
3. Pray for all of our kids that they may all be saved and continue to grow in Christ.
4. Pray for wisdom and guidance as I write another Dinner Theatre program for next year.
5. Pray that Tarah can be encouraged as she schools the children.
6. Pray for the provided funds to finish the CD by June.

Summer has now officially ended as far as Camp Forest Springs is concerned. Labor Day marks the last day of Family Camps and the beginning of my vacation. Of course, as soon as I get home, 4 of us Hofflands, including myself, come down with a high fever. I guess God’s timing is good. He knew I would have time to rest. Today marks day 3 of the 101 degree temps for all except Anna who flared up even higher this afternoon accompanied with bad abdominal and chest pain. Well, there were no appointments open at the normal clinic with our usual physician so we had to go to the…... “walk-in clinic.“ Those of you who are too familiar with this word know the eerie vocal inflections that I use when I write it. (if that’s possible) Bless the hearts of those that work at the ....“walk-in clinic” because they are the ones that work the hours no-one else wants to work. Regardless of how nice the folk are that work there, it can be a long endeavor but humorous when telling later to my wife. Yes, I am the one who volunteered to take my little buttercup to the clinic thinking it would be a simple exam, a prescription and on we go. Well, we entered a little room with a door on the East and West walls where Anna had her temp taken and was weighed. Now her temp was up to 103.8. Yeesh. Of course this triggers the folk at the “w.i.c.“ to admit her to the E.R. which is actually just the next room. So we go through the other door into another small room. There we sit on a couple of cold chairs while I watch my 5 year old daughter shiver and shake and look like death. She is rather dramatic but I know that she is not needing to add much at this point. In this room there are 2 doors as well. The one we just came through which is on the East wall and the other one on the West wall. Both are closed. However the door on the West wall is the one that we will watch with great anticipation and angst. The doctor comes in rather promptly and begins to examine little Anna. He seems to be in a hurry which signals me that he’ll get down to business, we’ll get her some medicine and we’ll be on our way. He notices that her throat looks rather red so he decides to take a strep culture. There are 2 kinds of strep tests. (We Hofflands tend to get Strep a lot) The full culture test that takes at least 24 hours and the rapid test that takes about 10 minutes. No problem. So the doctor proceeds to swab Anna’s throat. Of course she calmly complies while gagging profusely and flailing her hands in the air. I was expecting the doctor to ask her “Is it safe?“ (Laurence Olivier- Marathon Man) Off they go with the West door shutting. Anna asks me, “Why did they do the choky thing?“ I explain to her about the test and what they are doing with the swab that they scraped her throat with. She seems ok with it but continues to ask me with fear and trepidation, “Daddy, do I have to get a shot?“

“No, Anna. Not today. I don’t think so. Probably just some medicine, that all.“ Thinking that there would be no need for a shot.

I give her some Children’s Tylenol to help her fever.

About 20-25 minutes later the doctor comes back in and says that the rapid test was negative but that they want to run a blood and urine test on her just to make sure.

“Sure, no problem.“ I say thinking more about the quick urine sample and not much about the blood test.

Anna asks me, “What’re are they going to do.“

“They’re going to have you pee in a cup.“

“What?“ (giggling) “When? I want to do that. David and Johnny will think that is funny. When am I going to do that?“

“Soon.“

So after hearing about how badly she wants to pee in a cup for 20 minutes, in comes a lab technician pushing a tray full of little tubes and needles.

I had forgotten about the blood test.

“Um, Anna….remember that part about not getting a shot?“

Her eyes get big and taut. “Whimper...“

So after the WWE brawl, we get the test done and the Dora Dora bandage on.

It only took about 5 minutes when the nurse came in again to ask for the urine sample. Anna had just gone before we arrived so there so wasn’t much left on tap.

With all bodily fluids sampled and offered, the door closes again.

A half hour goes by.

Anna’s fever is starting to drop and she is looking better physically. But the long wait in the little sterile room is starting to mess with her mind and she starts babbling.

“Daddy, I want to Flooba dooba farber daba.“

I dare to open the door and peek out. I see a man sitting behind a desk.

“How long till the tests come back?“

“Oh, we’re waiting for one more.“

“Ok. Thanks.“ I shut the door and sit back down.

We wait for about 10 more minutes. There is a window right next to the West door but the blinds are shut on them. I bend my neck and try to get a glimpse between the slits. My conspiracy side is starting to conjure up images of them all talking to each other about how long they think it will take for me to open the door again.

My will is not that strong. I open the door again.

This time I say nothing as I see the doctor is there at the desk facing the man I had talked to before. They finally make eye contact with me and realize that they were mistaken and that the test they have been waiting for had come back.

“We’ll be right in with those.“ they inform me.

I close the door and sit down.

“How long are we going to be here, Daddy?... Doogie Floogie flapper doodle.“

We’re going to need a therapist after this visit.

The doctor comes in and lets me know that the Blood count was normal but there were a few “puss-cells” in her urine.

“Puss-cells?“ I ask.

“Yes. So we’re going to have the lab run a deeper culture on her urine. In the meantime we are going to put her on an anti-biotic and send you on your way.“

“Great! Thank you.“ Door closes. “Well, Anna we’re going to get to go soon. Just hang in there.“

Another half an hour goes by.

Again, I’m peeking through the blinds. How far did they have to go do get an antibiotic? Were they growing the mold as we waited?

Anna’s eyes are now crossed and she’s chewing on her toes.

I open the door.

There is the same man sitting behind the desk along the the original nurse but now a new lady standing in front of the desk. The man makes eye contact with me again. “Can we help you?“

“Yeah, um..are we waiting for the prescription? or…..“

The new lady spins around and immediately I get an image of Nurse Ratchet from One Flew over The Cukoo’s Nest.

Speaking to me as if I was on Romper Room, “They are getting the instructions.“

“Ok.“ I shut the door.

I sit back down. My mind can’t decide whether to be perturbed by the fact that the older I get, the more doctors and nurses speak to me as if I were in diapers, or the fact that it takes a half an hour to find the instruction manual for a medicine that I found out later they keep on their shelf all the time.

10 minutes later the original nurse walks in. She has the medicine and the instructions. As she starts to tell them to me I can’t help but to inquire about the infamous “puss-cells” they found in my daughters 2 ounces of urine which is why we ended up staying for another hour. I regretted my question quickly as she went into a disertation about vaginal folds and the bacteria that live there.

So finally, we have the medicine, we have the prescription, we have everything we need. We’re about to get up to leave when my daughter pipes up with…

“Daddy, do they have any stickers?“

“Sure.“ The nurse says and she starts heading for the door. It was like slow motion when it closed.

“NOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooo.“ my mind screams as I hear the click of it shutting.

We wait only 2 minutes this time and I open the door again. Of course as soon as I do, the East door, behind me, opens with the same nurse, stickers in hand and a scolding look on her face as I stand there with the West door ajar. It was almost like she ran around the hall, on-purpose, just to come in the other way just to catch me.

“Um..it’s just that when this door closes…um.(stumble, stumble)“

Anna thanks her and takes the stickers.

I don’t think I ever walked out of the doctor’s faster than I did this evening.

It’s going to be a long while before I buckle into going into the…

(thunder clap, lightning)

...“walk-in clinic.“