A Great Day!

We had a great day today! Elder Schenk had a peaceful night and morning. In the afternoon things changed a bit. He had some visitors. His good friend who spent the first 4 nights and days in the hospital with him, hadnt seen Britt since then. When Britten responded to him he became emotional, with tears of joy streaming down his face. They had a awesome time together! Then Elder Schenks Mission President and his sweet wife came and it was another glorious exchange of love and devotion! Earlier in the day, we had explained to Britten that in order to get rid of the trach and gastronomy tube, he would have to learn to swallow. He would have to be able to drink and eat food. As we watched him through out the day he looked as though he was practicing swallowing. We wondered if that was really what he was doing. This evening he let us know that he wanted water. The nurse gave him half a cup of water and a tray to spit in. He held the cup all by himself and put it to his lips. He took a little water, and to all of our surprise, He swallowed it! He continued this until all the water was gone, and he did it without coughing or sputtering. I guess that was not good enough. He downed another half cup of water. We now know, he was practicing! Here we are at the end of another day, marveling at the miracles and blessings received from our loving Father in Heaven. We are thankful for the prayers of all our loving family and friends. Steven, Karla and Britten