April 28, 2025 • 42 mins
The moment a doctor diagnoses your child with an incurable cancer marks a dividing line in life—everything that came before, and everything that follows. For our family, learning about Richy's alveolar soft part sarcoma transformed our world completely. But what emerged from that devastating news was a remarkable nine-year journey that taught us profound lessons about living in the face of death.
This raw, emotional episode chronicles Richy's story—from his ambitious plans for studying in China and building a future, to the painful reality of clinical trials, increasing limitations, and eventually hospice care. Yet through it all runs a powerful thread of determination. When faced with his diagnosis, Richy embodied the line from Shawshank Redemption: "You either get busy living or get busy dying." He chose living, continuing to travel to national parks, Disney World, and numerous adventures with his beloved dog Lexi by his side.
What makes this story extraordinary isn't just Richy's courage in facing terminal illness, but the peace and purpose he maintained throughout. Despite excruciating pain from treatments and the cancer itself, "you never heard him complain." Even as his body failed him, his spirit remained strong—culminating in his decision to be baptized during the pandemic, surrounded by family and friends in a deeply moving ceremony.
The true heart of this podcast, however, lies beyond Richy's passing in June 2020. How does a family continue after such profound loss? How do we keep someone's memory alive for future generations? Nearly five years later, we're sharing our ongoing journey of grief, healing, and finding unexpected joy in remembering. Because while losing a child creates an irreplaceable void, we've discovered that hope persists—and that honoring a loved one's memory can become a powerful foundation for moving forward.
If you're walking through grief or supporting someone who is, this series offers not just our story, but practical insights on navigating life after devastating loss. Because even in our darkest moments, there remains the possibility of light breaking through.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Rick Williams (00:00):
To day like to tell you a little bit about
Richy's story, and we're goingto start a little bit of lead up
to where we found out about hiscancer.
So he had a lot of plans.
He had finished his third tripto China.
He was considering doing a yearat Wuhan University yes, the
(00:24):
same Wuhan that the world nowknows about.
That's a city of 10 millionalong the Yangtze River.
He had been taking Mandarin andlearning not only how to speak
it but to read and write it andwas looking forward to learning
where he could.
He was looking forward tolearning how to translate things
(00:49):
like idiomatic expressionswhere we say something that has
a literal meaning but is not themeaning we use it for.
And he was really learning howto navigate language, culture,
customs.
He was really learning how tonavigate language, culture,
customs, and that was kind ofthe plan where he was at.
(01:11):
He had a plan for buying a home, a plan for family, just a
long-term plan in his life, andwhat he had found was he was
having trouble in his shoulder.
He'd been lifting weights, heworked out on a regular basis,
(01:31):
it was what appeared to be verygood health, but he kept having
this pain in his shoulder andhe'd been to the doctor several
times and they just seemed tothink you know, maybe it's a
muscle tear.
I couldn't really find anythingthat was wrong with it.
Finally, they did an MRI.
(01:53):
This is about a year after hisinitial complaint from it and
the doctor said this doesn'tlook right, something is off.
It looks more like a sarcoma.
And, lo and behold, through aseries of events they did this
(02:14):
MRI.
Where we live, in Carmel,indiana, there is the Indiana
University Medical Center andthe school the doctoral schools
that are part of IndianaMedicine and they had on staff
at the Simon Cancer Center anorthopedic oncologist, and so
(02:36):
what was set up was to go andhave a biopsy.
And when we got there and metwith the doctor his initial
discussion with us he said don'tbe surprised if it's just some
kind of scar tissue or tear fromthe weightlifting things that
you've done.
It would be pretty rare if it'sa cancer, but the only way for
(02:57):
us at this point to know is todo a biopsy.
So he did the biopsy and wewent back for the consultation
and that's kind of when lifereally changed for Richy and for
us.
We got the assessment that thiswas not only was it cancer, it
(03:19):
was a very rare form of cancercalled our velar soft part
sarcoma, and the doctor hadalready taken the initiative to
contact the National Instituteof Health.
They had several clinicaltrials going on and see if Richy
was a candidate to participatein that.
(03:39):
So you can imagine hearing thatRichie and I were together.
We went out, sat in the car.
Both of us just sat and kind ofsobbed, like it just was
completely different expectationthan both of us had had for his
life, and it was kind of anoverwhelming sense of dismay,
(04:08):
sadness, how could somethinglike this happen?
But as we sat there and startedtalking about it there was a
choice to be made and there's aline from the Shawshank
Redemption where it says youeither get busy living or you
get busy dying.
It says you either get busyliving or you get busy dying,
and so at that point we talkedthrough what would this look
(04:28):
like if you do the clinicaltrial?
Let's learn a lot more about it.
This is the first time we'veever had a cancer diagnosis that
we were aware of in our familyand it was just very challenging
.
So kind of Richy's story.
(04:50):
That's the background to wherewe're going to start his story
and how he dealt with thiscancer over the next nine years.
So the thing we found this isan end-of-life cancer.
There is no cure for it,there's no chemo that affects it
(05:11):
, no radiation.
It was a slow-growth cancerthat affects your lungs and your
brain, and so at least we hadan idea and knew what we were up
against.
So at least we had an idea andknew what we were up against.
So, as we started through allthose transitions and treatments
, we set up our initial meetingat the National Institute of
(05:34):
Health and Richy, along with histwo brothers, her younger
brothers, we drove to Bethesda,Maryland, and ended up making a
week of it.
We had the consultations withdoctors.
We found out a little moreabout our velar soft part
sarcoma, how we deal with it,what potential treatments, what
(05:58):
are the options for theseclinical trials.
But we also, because we were inDC, we decided to do another
visit there.
We had gone a few years priorwith all the kids.
We took the motor home on amulti-week journey and one of
the stops that we stayed was inthe DC area for three days.
(06:20):
But some of the kids wereyounger and we decided let's go
visit some of the monuments.
Let's uh, let's enjoy some ofthis time uh that we have, which
was just fantastic with, withall three of the boys.
Then we we came home and we hada plan.
(06:42):
He was going to start an initialtreatment at the National
Institute of Health which meantthat every two weeks he would
fly to Bethesda, maryland, hewould have certain kind of
injections.
He had to weigh himself daily,he had to take blood pressure,
take a journal Again.
This is a kind of a completechange of life.
(07:05):
There's pain medications thathe's starting on different other
kinds of medications and one ofthe things you quickly find
with these clinical trialsthey're fantastic to get to
results but there's a lot ofpain along the way.
(07:25):
You're, in essence, a humanguinea pig.
And he tried the first clinicaltrial for upwards of may have
been a year and a half to twoyears and there was virtually no
change in the cancer and it wasstill growing at a very slow
(07:47):
pace.
Most of his cancer growth wasin his lungs, so we were
fortunate that it hadn't spreadto his brain, but they were
nodules on his lungs.
So that clinical trial didn'twork and it was somewhat
discouraging.
But he was still in decenthealth and Richy again continued
(08:11):
to live.
He did make some drastic changesin his life, made decisions of
not going to marry, not going tobring children into the world,
children into the world Thingsthat are just heartbreaking as a
parent, but decisions that hemade, knowing well you know in
(08:32):
your head of I'm probably notgoing to be here, even though
you know in your heart all Iwant to do is survive and live
and try anything to do that.
Survive and live and tryanything to do that.
So during this time he hadmoved into a new apartment and
(08:53):
he, within a week's time ofmoving into that apartment, his
home was broken into and webelieve it was broken into
because he had drugs in theapartment that were prescription
drugs like oxycodone, otherthings for pain, and so he.
(09:15):
So at that point he decidedthat he really needed a dog for
security and we're going to talka little bit about the dog in a
separate episode because Lexi,this big great Pyrenees mix,
(09:35):
became his love of his life.
Basically she was with him allthe time from then on and stayed
with us for four plus yearsafter he passed and was just
again the pride and joy of hislife.
(09:56):
But we'll save Lexi for alittle bit later.
And so one of the things thathappened when he got Lexi is the
apartment that he had took dogs.
But then what we found outsubsequently was that there was
(10:17):
a weight limit on those dogs andshe was much larger than the
weight limit.
Well, at that point he hadalready bonded with her.
This apartment complex didn'tfeel safe at it, so had
discussions with the apartmentcomplex.
They let him out of the leaseand he moved to an apartment
(10:38):
complex that allowed bigger dogs.
And as we share some of thethings with Lexi, she is quite
the character and has been quitethe character.
But again she became hisdriving love life for the rest
of his time on earth.
So he stayed in that apartmenta few years before he purchased
(11:03):
a home and his home that hepurchased had to have a large
yard for Lexi to stay in so shecould run around in and talk a
little bit about his home heredown the road.
But he really tried to model hislife around the how do I
(11:24):
continue to do all these rightthings and live like I'm going
to live?
But I still understand I'mdealing with these issues.
So after the first clinicaltrial I waited a six to eight
months and an additionalclinical trial came specifically
(11:45):
for this cancer, camespecifically for this cancer,
and so Richy joined thatclinical trial and after another
two, almost three years therewas no change in how it was
affecting him.
(12:06):
So neither one of the clinicaltrials really presented any
option for him to get over thiscancer.
So you have to wait forclinical trials to actually even
be open.
So there wasn't another trialthat was coming up on this
particular cancer and duringthis time the cancer still
(12:28):
continues to get worse.
It's in a place in his shoulderthat it continues to grow and
becomes more painful During thattime when you're on some of
these painkiller drugs likeoxycodone.
He really became addicted to itand he realized that.
(12:50):
So he took the steps to decideI do not want to be addicted to
these drugs and started workingmethodically to distance himself
from the addiction to anappropriate amount of
painkillers to deal with theissues he had, but not to overdo
(13:15):
it.
So he also going back to bothof the clinical trials.
Being a human guinea pig, it ismassively painful on your body
and does some incrediblydestructive things to your
(13:36):
physical being, even though youunderstand it's having to do
that to try to counteract thishorrible disease that's inside
of you.
So one of the things thatreally affected on both of these
clinical trials was Richy'sfeet.
Like it made it very difficultfor him to walk and to stand,
(13:57):
and over time you know that painwas almost as bad as the
thoughts of what would happen ifI wasn't in a clinical trial.
And we met with his oncologistmultiple times and they tried
again different things here inIndianapolis at the Simon Cancer
(14:20):
Center, different kind oftreatments.
Nothing really really workedfor him, really really worked
for him, and there was a periodof time that it just the cancer
wasn't growing, it was seemed tobe stabilized and then it was
really about pain management andhe did well with that.
(14:43):
He again continued to work, hebought a home, still tried to
make as much planning in life ashe could, but at the same time
knowing that this still isaffecting your body.
So during this entire period mywife's family is from California
(15:07):
that's where she's from and hermother still lived there and we
would make a yearly trip toCalifornia and Richy loved to go
on those trips and so you'llsee some of the pictures that
we've shown here If you listento this on voice podcast.
This will be in our YouTubewhere you can see some of the
(15:28):
pictures of our trips Love thetrips to Yosemite, to San
Francisco, to Los Angeles, toSequoia National Park, to a
number of these places that arejust incredibly beautiful
wonders of the world.
So that was normal trips forhim.
Throughout this time he alsowent to Denver.
(15:49):
He loved to travel.
As I said earlier, he hadreally looked at wanting to
study for a year in China.
He had been all through Chinato Beijing, shenzhou, hong Kong,
wuhan, a number of areas inChina and I was very intrigued
(16:13):
by it.
He took a trip right after highschool with one of his friends
that he graduated with or was inhis life group at church.
Their family took Richie withthem to Hawaii, which was again
a magnificent trip for him.
But he really loved to traveland so all through this time
(16:35):
there were a number of tripsthat he took, even took one by
himself to Florida.
He went to Treasure Island andstayed there for a week just
hanging out and discoveringdifferent things in the Florida
area.
But as this continued toprogress, we did realize that
(16:58):
the cancer had come back and wasstarting to grow again, so we
were having more trips that wetook to Indiana University, the
Indianapolis Simon Cancer Center, regular trips there, and
eventually he started to haveproblems where his arm was
(17:18):
starting to become unusable.
He would have to keep it in asling and get just more
challenges with life as thiscancer progressed.
Now one of the things aboutRichie is, no matter what stage
that he was at, you never heardhim complain.
(17:39):
You could tell from justphysically how he looked or how
he was trying to walk orinteract that he was in pain,
but you never heard him complain.
He really made a consciouschoice of I'm going to really
(18:01):
comfort others more than worryabout what this pain is.
I know I have to deal with itand I'm just going to get it out
.
I'm not going to complain aboutit, I'm just going to deal with
it the best I can.
But as the cancer progressed weknew we were getting to a point
(18:21):
where it would be morechallenging to travel.
So one of the things him and Ihad talked about was we wanted
to go to Yellowstone.
We had a big trip planned withall the family.
Everybody was flying toCalifornia to go visit Mary
Lou's mom and Richy and Idecided that I would drive our
(18:48):
motor home out and meet him.
He would fly to Denver so hedidn't have to have any extra
time with the travel and I'ddrive to Denver, he'd fly there,
I would pick him up, him and Iwould go through Yellowstone.
Then, after we got done inYellowstone, we would drive
(19:11):
through Montana, idaho, nevada,into California and pick
everyone else up at the airportin Sacramento.
And Richy had to be back at acertain time because of
additional treatments.
There was regular scheduledtreatment, so he was going to
(19:32):
fly back from San Francisco.
We were going to take him inthe middle of our trip, take him
and drop him off there.
So him and I started on thistrip and I'm going to share in a
separate episode just ourYellowstone and that travel
adventure because it wasspectacular.
Now when you travel toYellowstone the weather's very
(19:57):
unpredictable.
So this is in July, late June,early July.
So when we traveled there itwas late June.
Many times we had traveled andspent 4th of July with my
in-laws and her brother wouldcome in.
(20:19):
Mary Lou's brother would comein from Oregon.
Her sister lives in Modesto andwhere they were at in Atwater
we would all meet there and gowatch fireworks and do it over
the 4th of July.
So early June Richie and I wentthrough Yellowstone and then
(20:40):
drove to pick up the rest of thefamily and, arriving in
Sacramento, we picked them up atthe airport, then drove from
Sacramento a couple hours southto Atwater in the Central Valley
.
So the first night there or thesecond night we went to a local
(21:00):
park and had a big cookout Justa really good time with all the
family that was there that hadcome in for that normal
gathering.
So the following day we weregoing to Sequoia National Park
and we drove.
(21:22):
A group of us went in themotorhome to Sequoia.
As soon as we got there, Richyand Mary Lou's brother Phillip.
Soon as we got there, Richy andMary Lou's brother Philip and
our nephew Stephen.
They just went off exploring.
(21:43):
Richy was so excited to seethese massive living trees this
was our first trip with him toSequoia and um, just so excited
to see them, so they were off.
Just you could see the thrillin his eyes, the excitement,
just to be around thesemagnificent living creatures,
(22:04):
from Yosemite to Monterey Bay,going out whale watching, or
going to Carmel, going throughthe different passes.
Just love to explore new areas.
When we were in Santa Monica orwhen we went to Los Angeles and
(22:30):
we were at the tar pits andthings that he just really
enjoyed the history and thegeography and just learning.
So we came back from Sequoia.
He was there another day or soand then Mary Lou and I took him
to San Francisco to fly back.
Then we went back, had the restof our vacation time with
(22:51):
family, I took everyone to theairport and then I drove from
Sacramento home by myself in themotorhome, which was an
interesting trip because weencountered at one point
straight-line winds that youcouldn't even see straight line
(23:13):
winds that you couldn't even see.
And semis were going down themiddle of the interstate because
it was so windy and straightline rain.
So I finally found an underpass, got off and just sat and
waited it out.
The good thing in a motor homeis you can fire the generator up
, just sit back and relax andwait till it was all over.
So that was Richy's second tothe last trip and then a few
(23:38):
months later, meeting with hisoncologist, came.
The worst kind of news of allis that there are no other
treatment options available foryou and so if there's any place
else you want to go.
You need to make peace withkind of everything in your life,
(23:58):
and one of the things he reallywanted to do he loves Star Wars
is go to Orlando.
They'd open the Star Warsexhibit at Disney World, and so
we booked a trip.
This was in October.
We stayed on-prem so that wecould go early and see all the
(24:19):
sights, and Disney World wasfantastic.
We got a wheelchair for him, amotorized wheelchair.
At first he didn't want to getin it, but his body was just
really you could start to seethe effects of this cancer
breaking down his body.
So he had a fantastic time atDisney World.
(24:41):
He got to go through all theStar Wars exhibits.
We went to a number of otherlocations within the Disney
environment, but that was thelast trip that he was going to
be able to make.
So when we came back a fewmonths later, it continued to
get worse.
We were having additional tripsto the hospital.
(25:04):
There was a point that therejust was really no other options
for him and we met with thehospital staff and the decision
was made, or the decision waspresented, to go on hospice,
because they're really at thispoint, all you could deal with
(25:27):
was pain management for him.
So after a lot of consultation,prayer just again kind of
heartbreak the decision was madeto go on hospice.
Now he started out in his ownhome.
They had to bring in breathingmachines.
He was at this point not ableto breathe fully on his own.
(25:48):
He had to have the oxygenattached to him in a breathing
machine.
He was coming over nightly toour house.
I would go pick him up and thenbring him over.
He would spend the evening atour house and then I would take
him back home.
And he lived about 10 minutesfrom where we live and we would
(26:10):
enjoy driving down 126th Street.
There where River Road meets,there's a soccer field that was
put in and a big woods behind it, and almost nightly we would
watch the 30 to 50 deer thatwould be out grazing in the
fields.
And it was just a time that himand I every night would go back
(26:31):
and pick him up.
And after we did that, probablya few months, we started talking
.
One night Mary Lou said Richy,would you just like to move in
here, would it be easier?
His first question is can Lexicome?
And of course she could come,and so he ended up moving in
(26:53):
with us and as we startedhospice, I still was traveling
some, not as much as I had been.
I was in Salt Lake City for aconvention and the pandemic hit
and so when I came back, as youknow, the world kind of shut
(27:14):
down.
So we weren't traveling andMary Lou her job at a public
accounting firm.
She had moved to her homeoffice I'm in my home office and
Richy had moved in with us,along with Lexi.
So the pandemic afforded us thetime that we were with him on a
(27:35):
continual basis and some of thethings that happened during the
pandemic.
He was very close to his smallgroups pastor and one of the
things he had asked Dave, is Ireally want to be baptized?
I've never been baptized andwhat could we do to make that
(27:57):
happen?
And so our church, NorthviewChurch in Carmel, Indiana they
set up one of the campuses.
We did it at the Fishers campus.
They set a special baptismal upfor him campus.
They set a special baptismal upfor him and a number of our
(28:17):
family and friends all came andcelebrated.
He was in a wheelchair at thispoint and on oxygen, but was
able to step down in thebaptismal and be baptized and it
was a really a very specialtime for all of us and we'll put
that up as a video as part ofthis series just to see you know
(28:38):
.
You'll definitely see thedifference in his body from a
very healthy young man to a bodyjust being eaten away by cancer
.
He also the pandemic hit inMarch.
A month before his birthday was, February 8th.
we had a big party for him atthe house with a number of his
friends came over and they putthese signs where he was the
(29:04):
star of the show and they alldid pictures with him and it was
really special for him, didpictures with him and it was
really special for him and overthe next few months a number of
people would still come in andvisit, even though this during
the pandemic you know you'rehaving to wear the mask and with
him being so susceptible to anykind of thing that could happen
(29:26):
we were very cautious about howpeople came in and you know
make sure that you've not beensick or exposed to things and
even shopping for groceries andthings like that was all a there
was a routine of it, of thesterilization and making sure
that we kept everything nice andclean.
(29:47):
And then his body againcontinued to just get worse and
worse and worse.
And on Memorial Day we had anumber of our.
We had the grandkids over, thekids were over.
We set up some tents out in thebackyard some pop-up tents and
(30:07):
some fans so he could sitoutside with us.
He had some of his cousins cameover and just the time that you
know, he could watch the dogrun around the backyard, just
hang out outside.
The temperature was fairly niceand when you looked at him,
incredibly frail.
When you're living it every dayyou didn't notice as much.
(30:31):
When you look back in picturesit's pretty obvious the decline
of his body as his cancer justate it up.
And so then a few days later hecontinued to.
You could tell he was gettingworse and worse.
He was getting worse and worse.
(30:51):
And the night before he passedaway, up until that point he had
really been focused on how do Ilive, how do I keep living, how
do I keep fighting?
And then, before he passed away, some things in his body just
(31:14):
completely failed.
And it was at that point thathe realized that there's just
nothing else that can be doneand I slept in his room that
night.
We set new furniture and chairsand things in there for him
that were comfortable, peoplecould come in and hang out with
him, but I slept in the roomwith him that night and during
(31:35):
the night he passed away, andthat was June 1st 2020.
So we're coming up on close tothe five-year anniversary and,
again, most of the premise ofthis podcast is not going to be
about Richy's illness.
It's about how, from that pointon, have we as a family, with
(32:01):
our friends and with familyacquaintances, been able to live
our life, while you have thismassive pain and loss of someone
that was so precious in yourlife, a part of your flesh and
blood that will no longer behere with you?
(32:21):
But how do you honor thatmemory?
How do you keep them alive?
How do you keep them alive forgrandkids and for additional
family that comes along?
And so that's going to be thejumping off point for this
podcast and hopefully sharing alot of things that we found a
(32:47):
lot of actual joy in rememberingthe things that Richy did, the
wisdom that he had, how he livedhis life has been a great
example to our family and toothers, and we want to give
people hope that you lose achild.
It is a traumatic loss in yourlife, but there is hope
(33:09):
afterwards in your life, butthere is hope afterwards.
We are going to have oneadditional story that'll be kind
of leading up to this, andthat's going to be about Lexi.
Because Lexi was such anintegral part of Richy's life
that we are going to share thatas a story of how she not only
was an incredible comfort forhim, but when he passed she was
(33:34):
just such an incredible reminderand she made us feel like he
was still there at times, and sowe are gonna do just a segment
on her.
So I appreciate you watching.
Please like and share if thisis something that is helpful or
beneficial to you.
(33:54):
Thank you.
Dave Choutka (33:56):
My name is Dave Hootke and I've been blessed to
know Richy.
We first met when he was 16,sophomore in high school, and he
plugged into my small group,and so I was so grateful to
journey along with him throughhigh school and to be his youth
pastor, and we had a lot of funtoo.
(34:19):
We had a lot of fun throughthose years, and so actually
last week, you know, I've beencoming and hanging out with
Richy and we talk about a lot ofthings.
You know, we talk a lot aboutNetflix and sports and life, and
we also talk about faith aswell.
(34:40):
And you know, I was just askingRichie on some things and he
said I'd like to be baptized.
And I said, richie, that's,that is awesome.
I said we're gonna, we're gonnamake that happen, and so so I'm
grateful for for John and Randyopening up Northview here and,
(35:01):
Richy, the water is warm, sothat's going to be good.
And I'm just so encouraged byRichy's step of faith here and
to say you know what I want tomake this step and to let
everybody know that Jesus Christis my Lord and Savior of my
life, and I want to go into thewaters of baptism and to know
(35:24):
that when I go under the water,it represents Christ's death,
and when I come up out of thewater I'm raised to new life,
representing Christ'sresurrection.
And so I'm just so proud of himand his decision to do this and
his faith.
And, you know, I'm so gratefultoo that God's led me back here
(35:46):
in this moment.
You know, I was in Colorado andGod's led us back and our paths
have been able to cross again.
And you know, richie inspiresme, you know, and how he is
going through all of this.
It's an inspiration and anencouragement to me, and so I'm
just really proud of him.
(36:08):
And so I wanted to read Romans 6.
This is the message version,and just try to just picture in
this moment of what this momentsymbolizes, of what this moment
symbolizes.
But I also want you to picturetoo that, as Richy takes place
in this baptism, and thinkingabout heaven rejoicing.
And not only are we gonnacelebrate and rejoice, but that
(36:33):
heaven is also celebrating andrejoicing because of Richy and
his decision and his faith andhis life.
So it says so what do we do?
Keep on sinning so God can keepon forgiving?
I should hope not.
If we've left the country wheresin is sovereign, how can we
(36:53):
still live in our old housethere?
Or didn't you realize?
We packed up and left there forgood?
That is what happened inbaptism.
When we went under the water,we left the old country of sin
behind.
When we came up out of thewater, we entered into the new
country of grace a new life in anew land.
That's what baptism into thelife of Jesus means.
(37:16):
When we are lowered into thewater, it is like the burial of
Jesus.
When we are raised up out ofthe water, it is like the burial
of Jesus.
When we are raised up out ofthe water, it is like the
resurrection of Jesus.
Each of us is raised into alight-filled world by our Father
so that we can see where we'regoing in our new grace,
sovereign country.
Could it be any clearer?
Our old way of life was nailedto the cross with Christ a
(37:39):
decisive end to thatsin-miserable life, no longer at
sin's every beck and call.
What we believe is this if weget included in Christ's
sin-conquering death, we alsoget included in his life-saving
resurrection.
We know that when Jesus wasraised from the dead, it was a
signal of the end of death asthe end.
(38:01):
Never again will death have thelast word.
When Jesus died, he took sindown with him, but alive, he
brings God down to us.
From now on, we think of itthis way Sin speaks a dead
language that means nothing toyou.
God speaks your mother tongueand hang on every word.
You are dead to sin and aliveto God.
(38:23):
That's what Jesus did, and wecelebrate that today.
That's what Jesus did for us,and we have that hope and belief
in him, and so we're going towalk into these waters now, and
so, as Richy comes out of thatwater, let's celebrate.
Let's celebrate what Jesus did,and let's celebrate just as
(38:48):
heaven is celebrating with us.
Come and get the tablets.
(39:40):
Okay, there's that, spot on hisback where his tumor.
Rick Williams (39:43):
You did like on that upper side just watch it.
Dave Choutka (39:45):
Yeah, just watch grabbing that have you made
Jesus Christ lord and savior ofyour life, based upon your
profession of faith, and thatyou love Jesus.
We now baptize you in the nameof the Father, the Son and the
(40:07):
Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Rick Williams (40:17):
Thank you, amen, amen.
Hey, lauren, do you mindkeeping this as recording?
(40:40):
Just keep holding it.
I'm going to go ahead and getthis one.
Dave Choutka (41:03):
Oh yeah, you can take that one.
Rick Williams (41:10):
Thank you.
Thank you that one.
I was feeling a little, youwere feeling a little.
I got one more.
I'll put it over here.
I'll put it over here.
Dave Choutka (41:26):
I'll put it over here.
I'll put it over here.
I'll put it over here.
I'll put it over here.
I'll put it over here.
I'll put it over here.
I'll put it over here.
I'll put it over here.
Rick Williams (41:56):
I'll put it over here, thank you.
To day like to tell you a little bit about
Richy's story, and we're goingto start a little bit of lead up
to where we found out about hiscancer.
So he had a lot of plans.
He had finished his third tripto China.
He was considering doing a yearat Wuhan University yes, the
(00:24):
same Wuhan that the world nowknows about.
That's a city of 10 millionalong the Yangtze River.
He had been taking Mandarin andlearning not only how to speak
it but to read and write it andwas looking forward to learning
where he could.
He was looking forward tolearning how to translate things
(00:49):
like idiomatic expressionswhere we say something that has
a literal meaning but is not themeaning we use it for.
And he was really learning howto navigate language, culture,
customs.
He was really learning how tonavigate language, culture,
customs, and that was kind ofthe plan where he was at.
(01:11):
He had a plan for buying a home, a plan for family, just a
long-term plan in his life, andwhat he had found was he was
having trouble in his shoulder.
He'd been lifting weights, heworked out on a regular basis,
(01:31):
it was what appeared to be verygood health, but he kept having
this pain in his shoulder andhe'd been to the doctor several
times and they just seemed tothink you know, maybe it's a
muscle tear.
I couldn't really find anythingthat was wrong with it.
Finally, they did an MRI.
(01:53):
This is about a year after hisinitial complaint from it and
the doctor said this doesn'tlook right, something is off.
It looks more like a sarcoma.
And, lo and behold, through aseries of events they did this
(02:14):
MRI.
Where we live, in Carmel,indiana, there is the Indiana
University Medical Center andthe school the doctoral schools
that are part of IndianaMedicine and they had on staff
at the Simon Cancer Center anorthopedic oncologist, and so
(02:36):
what was set up was to go andhave a biopsy.
And when we got there and metwith the doctor his initial
discussion with us he said don'tbe surprised if it's just some
kind of scar tissue or tear fromthe weightlifting things that
you've done.
It would be pretty rare if it'sa cancer, but the only way for
(02:57):
us at this point to know is todo a biopsy.
So he did the biopsy and wewent back for the consultation
and that's kind of when lifereally changed for Richy and for
us.
We got the assessment that thiswas not only was it cancer, it
(03:19):
was a very rare form of cancercalled our velar soft part
sarcoma, and the doctor hadalready taken the initiative to
contact the National Instituteof Health.
They had several clinicaltrials going on and see if Richy
was a candidate to participatein that.
(03:39):
So you can imagine hearing thatRichie and I were together.
We went out, sat in the car.
Both of us just sat and kind ofsobbed, like it just was
completely different expectationthan both of us had had for his
life, and it was kind of anoverwhelming sense of dismay,
(04:08):
sadness, how could somethinglike this happen?
But as we sat there and startedtalking about it there was a
choice to be made and there's aline from the Shawshank
Redemption where it says youeither get busy living or you
get busy dying.
It says you either get busyliving or you get busy dying,
and so at that point we talkedthrough what would this look
(04:28):
like if you do the clinicaltrial?
Let's learn a lot more about it.
This is the first time we'veever had a cancer diagnosis that
we were aware of in our familyand it was just very challenging
.
So kind of Richy's story.
(04:50):
That's the background to wherewe're going to start his story
and how he dealt with thiscancer over the next nine years.
So the thing we found this isan end-of-life cancer.
There is no cure for it,there's no chemo that affects it
(05:11):
, no radiation.
It was a slow-growth cancerthat affects your lungs and your
brain, and so at least we hadan idea and knew what we were up
against.
So at least we had an idea andknew what we were up against.
So, as we started through allthose transitions and treatments
, we set up our initial meetingat the National Institute of
(05:34):
Health and Richy, along with histwo brothers, her younger
brothers, we drove to Bethesda,Maryland, and ended up making a
week of it.
We had the consultations withdoctors.
We found out a little moreabout our velar soft part
sarcoma, how we deal with it,what potential treatments, what
(05:58):
are the options for theseclinical trials.
But we also, because we were inDC, we decided to do another
visit there.
We had gone a few years priorwith all the kids.
We took the motor home on amulti-week journey and one of
the stops that we stayed was inthe DC area for three days.
(06:20):
But some of the kids wereyounger and we decided let's go
visit some of the monuments.
Let's uh, let's enjoy some ofthis time uh that we have, which
was just fantastic with, withall three of the boys.
Then we we came home and we hada plan.
(06:42):
He was going to start an initialtreatment at the National
Institute of Health which meantthat every two weeks he would
fly to Bethesda, maryland, hewould have certain kind of
injections.
He had to weigh himself daily,he had to take blood pressure,
take a journal Again.
This is a kind of a completechange of life.
(07:05):
There's pain medications thathe's starting on different other
kinds of medications and one ofthe things you quickly find
with these clinical trialsthey're fantastic to get to
results but there's a lot ofpain along the way.
(07:25):
You're, in essence, a humanguinea pig.
And he tried the first clinicaltrial for upwards of may have
been a year and a half to twoyears and there was virtually no
change in the cancer and it wasstill growing at a very slow
(07:47):
pace.
Most of his cancer growth wasin his lungs, so we were
fortunate that it hadn't spreadto his brain, but they were
nodules on his lungs.
So that clinical trial didn'twork and it was somewhat
discouraging.
But he was still in decenthealth and Richy again continued
(08:11):
to live.
He did make some drastic changesin his life, made decisions of
not going to marry, not going tobring children into the world,
children into the world Thingsthat are just heartbreaking as a
parent, but decisions that hemade, knowing well you know in
(08:32):
your head of I'm probably notgoing to be here, even though
you know in your heart all Iwant to do is survive and live
and try anything to do that.
Survive and live and tryanything to do that.
So during this time he hadmoved into a new apartment and
(08:53):
he, within a week's time ofmoving into that apartment, his
home was broken into and webelieve it was broken into
because he had drugs in theapartment that were prescription
drugs like oxycodone, otherthings for pain, and so he.
(09:15):
So at that point he decidedthat he really needed a dog for
security and we're going to talka little bit about the dog in a
separate episode because Lexi,this big great Pyrenees mix,
(09:35):
became his love of his life.
Basically she was with him allthe time from then on and stayed
with us for four plus yearsafter he passed and was just
again the pride and joy of hislife.
(09:56):
But we'll save Lexi for alittle bit later.
And so one of the things thathappened when he got Lexi is the
apartment that he had took dogs.
But then what we found outsubsequently was that there was
(10:17):
a weight limit on those dogs andshe was much larger than the
weight limit.
Well, at that point he hadalready bonded with her.
This apartment complex didn'tfeel safe at it, so had
discussions with the apartmentcomplex.
They let him out of the leaseand he moved to an apartment
(10:38):
complex that allowed bigger dogs.
And as we share some of thethings with Lexi, she is quite
the character and has been quitethe character.
But again she became hisdriving love life for the rest
of his time on earth.
So he stayed in that apartmenta few years before he purchased
(11:03):
a home and his home that hepurchased had to have a large
yard for Lexi to stay in so shecould run around in and talk a
little bit about his home heredown the road.
But he really tried to model hislife around the how do I
(11:24):
continue to do all these rightthings and live like I'm going
to live?
But I still understand I'mdealing with these issues.
So after the first clinicaltrial I waited a six to eight
months and an additionalclinical trial came specifically
(11:45):
for this cancer, camespecifically for this cancer,
and so Richy joined thatclinical trial and after another
two, almost three years therewas no change in how it was
affecting him.
(12:06):
So neither one of the clinicaltrials really presented any
option for him to get over thiscancer.
So you have to wait forclinical trials to actually even
be open.
So there wasn't another trialthat was coming up on this
particular cancer and duringthis time the cancer still
(12:28):
continues to get worse.
It's in a place in his shoulderthat it continues to grow and
becomes more painful During thattime when you're on some of
these painkiller drugs likeoxycodone.
He really became addicted to itand he realized that.
(12:50):
So he took the steps to decideI do not want to be addicted to
these drugs and started workingmethodically to distance himself
from the addiction to anappropriate amount of
painkillers to deal with theissues he had, but not to overdo
(13:15):
it.
So he also going back to bothof the clinical trials.
Being a human guinea pig, it ismassively painful on your body
and does some incrediblydestructive things to your
(13:36):
physical being, even though youunderstand it's having to do
that to try to counteract thishorrible disease that's inside
of you.
So one of the things thatreally affected on both of these
clinical trials was Richy'sfeet.
Like it made it very difficultfor him to walk and to stand,
(13:57):
and over time you know that painwas almost as bad as the
thoughts of what would happen ifI wasn't in a clinical trial.
And we met with his oncologistmultiple times and they tried
again different things here inIndianapolis at the Simon Cancer
(14:20):
Center, different kind oftreatments.
Nothing really really workedfor him, really really worked
for him, and there was a periodof time that it just the cancer
wasn't growing, it was seemed tobe stabilized and then it was
really about pain management andhe did well with that.
(14:43):
He again continued to work, hebought a home, still tried to
make as much planning in life ashe could, but at the same time
knowing that this still isaffecting your body.
So during this entire period mywife's family is from California
(15:07):
that's where she's from and hermother still lived there and we
would make a yearly trip toCalifornia and Richy loved to go
on those trips and so you'llsee some of the pictures that
we've shown here If you listento this on voice podcast.
This will be in our YouTubewhere you can see some of the
(15:28):
pictures of our trips Love thetrips to Yosemite, to San
Francisco, to Los Angeles, toSequoia National Park, to a
number of these places that arejust incredibly beautiful
wonders of the world.
So that was normal trips forhim.
Throughout this time he alsowent to Denver.
(15:49):
He loved to travel.
As I said earlier, he hadreally looked at wanting to
study for a year in China.
He had been all through Chinato Beijing, shenzhou, hong Kong,
wuhan, a number of areas inChina and I was very intrigued
(16:13):
by it.
He took a trip right after highschool with one of his friends
that he graduated with or was inhis life group at church.
Their family took Richie withthem to Hawaii, which was again
a magnificent trip for him.
But he really loved to traveland so all through this time
(16:35):
there were a number of tripsthat he took, even took one by
himself to Florida.
He went to Treasure Island andstayed there for a week just
hanging out and discoveringdifferent things in the Florida
area.
But as this continued toprogress, we did realize that
(16:58):
the cancer had come back and wasstarting to grow again, so we
were having more trips that wetook to Indiana University, the
Indianapolis Simon Cancer Center, regular trips there, and
eventually he started to haveproblems where his arm was
(17:18):
starting to become unusable.
He would have to keep it in asling and get just more
challenges with life as thiscancer progressed.
Now one of the things aboutRichie is, no matter what stage
that he was at, you never heardhim complain.
(17:39):
You could tell from justphysically how he looked or how
he was trying to walk orinteract that he was in pain,
but you never heard him complain.
He really made a consciouschoice of I'm going to really
(18:01):
comfort others more than worryabout what this pain is.
I know I have to deal with itand I'm just going to get it out
.
I'm not going to complain aboutit, I'm just going to deal with
it the best I can.
But as the cancer progressed weknew we were getting to a point
(18:21):
where it would be morechallenging to travel.
So one of the things him and Ihad talked about was we wanted
to go to Yellowstone.
We had a big trip planned withall the family.
Everybody was flying toCalifornia to go visit Mary
Lou's mom and Richy and Idecided that I would drive our
(18:48):
motor home out and meet him.
He would fly to Denver so hedidn't have to have any extra
time with the travel and I'ddrive to Denver, he'd fly there,
I would pick him up, him and Iwould go through Yellowstone.
Then, after we got done inYellowstone, we would drive
(19:11):
through Montana, idaho, nevada,into California and pick
everyone else up at the airportin Sacramento.
And Richy had to be back at acertain time because of
additional treatments.
There was regular scheduledtreatment, so he was going to
(19:32):
fly back from San Francisco.
We were going to take him inthe middle of our trip, take him
and drop him off there.
So him and I started on thistrip and I'm going to share in a
separate episode just ourYellowstone and that travel
adventure because it wasspectacular.
Now when you travel toYellowstone the weather's very
(19:57):
unpredictable.
So this is in July, late June,early July.
So when we traveled there itwas late June.
Many times we had traveled andspent 4th of July with my
in-laws and her brother wouldcome in.
(20:19):
Mary Lou's brother would comein from Oregon.
Her sister lives in Modesto andwhere they were at in Atwater
we would all meet there and gowatch fireworks and do it over
the 4th of July.
So early June Richie and I wentthrough Yellowstone and then
(20:40):
drove to pick up the rest of thefamily and, arriving in
Sacramento, we picked them up atthe airport, then drove from
Sacramento a couple hours southto Atwater in the Central Valley
.
So the first night there or thesecond night we went to a local
(21:00):
park and had a big cookout Justa really good time with all the
family that was there that hadcome in for that normal
gathering.
So the following day we weregoing to Sequoia National Park
and we drove.
(21:22):
A group of us went in themotorhome to Sequoia.
As soon as we got there, Richyand Mary Lou's brother Phillip.
Soon as we got there, Richy andMary Lou's brother Philip and
our nephew Stephen.
They just went off exploring.
(21:43):
Richy was so excited to seethese massive living trees this
was our first trip with him toSequoia and um, just so excited
to see them, so they were off.
Just you could see the thrillin his eyes, the excitement,
just to be around thesemagnificent living creatures,
(22:04):
from Yosemite to Monterey Bay,going out whale watching, or
going to Carmel, going throughthe different passes.
Just love to explore new areas.
When we were in Santa Monica orwhen we went to Los Angeles and
(22:30):
we were at the tar pits andthings that he just really
enjoyed the history and thegeography and just learning.
So we came back from Sequoia.
He was there another day or soand then Mary Lou and I took him
to San Francisco to fly back.
Then we went back, had the restof our vacation time with
(22:51):
family, I took everyone to theairport and then I drove from
Sacramento home by myself in themotorhome, which was an
interesting trip because weencountered at one point
straight-line winds that youcouldn't even see straight line
(23:13):
winds that you couldn't even see.
And semis were going down themiddle of the interstate because
it was so windy and straightline rain.
So I finally found an underpass, got off and just sat and
waited it out.
The good thing in a motor homeis you can fire the generator up
, just sit back and relax andwait till it was all over.
So that was Richy's second tothe last trip and then a few
(23:38):
months later, meeting with hisoncologist, came.
The worst kind of news of allis that there are no other
treatment options available foryou and so if there's any place
else you want to go.
You need to make peace withkind of everything in your life,
(23:58):
and one of the things he reallywanted to do he loves Star Wars
is go to Orlando.
They'd open the Star Warsexhibit at Disney World, and so
we booked a trip.
This was in October.
We stayed on-prem so that wecould go early and see all the
(24:19):
sights, and Disney World wasfantastic.
We got a wheelchair for him, amotorized wheelchair.
At first he didn't want to getin it, but his body was just
really you could start to seethe effects of this cancer
breaking down his body.
So he had a fantastic time atDisney World.
(24:41):
He got to go through all theStar Wars exhibits.
We went to a number of otherlocations within the Disney
environment, but that was thelast trip that he was going to
be able to make.
So when we came back a fewmonths later, it continued to
get worse.
We were having additional tripsto the hospital.
(25:04):
There was a point that therejust was really no other options
for him and we met with thehospital staff and the decision
was made, or the decision waspresented, to go on hospice,
because they're really at thispoint, all you could deal with
(25:27):
was pain management for him.
So after a lot of consultation,prayer just again kind of
heartbreak the decision was madeto go on hospice.
Now he started out in his ownhome.
They had to bring in breathingmachines.
He was at this point not ableto breathe fully on his own.
(25:48):
He had to have the oxygenattached to him in a breathing
machine.
He was coming over nightly toour house.
I would go pick him up and thenbring him over.
He would spend the evening atour house and then I would take
him back home.
And he lived about 10 minutesfrom where we live and we would
(26:10):
enjoy driving down 126th Street.
There where River Road meets,there's a soccer field that was
put in and a big woods behind it, and almost nightly we would
watch the 30 to 50 deer thatwould be out grazing in the
fields.
And it was just a time that himand I every night would go back
(26:31):
and pick him up.
And after we did that, probablya few months, we started talking
.
One night Mary Lou said Richy,would you just like to move in
here, would it be easier?
His first question is can Lexicome?
And of course she could come,and so he ended up moving in
(26:53):
with us and as we startedhospice, I still was traveling
some, not as much as I had been.
I was in Salt Lake City for aconvention and the pandemic hit
and so when I came back, as youknow, the world kind of shut
(27:14):
down.
So we weren't traveling andMary Lou her job at a public
accounting firm.
She had moved to her homeoffice I'm in my home office and
Richy had moved in with us,along with Lexi.
So the pandemic afforded us thetime that we were with him on a
(27:35):
continual basis and some of thethings that happened during the
pandemic.
He was very close to his smallgroups pastor and one of the
things he had asked Dave, is Ireally want to be baptized?
I've never been baptized andwhat could we do to make that
(27:57):
happen?
And so our church, NorthviewChurch in Carmel, Indiana they
set up one of the campuses.
We did it at the Fishers campus.
They set a special baptismal upfor him campus.
They set a special baptismal upfor him and a number of our
(28:17):
family and friends all came andcelebrated.
He was in a wheelchair at thispoint and on oxygen, but was
able to step down in thebaptismal and be baptized and it
was a really a very specialtime for all of us and we'll put
that up as a video as part ofthis series just to see you know
(28:38):
.
You'll definitely see thedifference in his body from a
very healthy young man to a bodyjust being eaten away by cancer
.
He also the pandemic hit inMarch.
A month before his birthday was, February 8th.
we had a big party for him atthe house with a number of his
friends came over and they putthese signs where he was the
(29:04):
star of the show and they alldid pictures with him and it was
really special for him, didpictures with him and it was
really special for him and overthe next few months a number of
people would still come in andvisit, even though this during
the pandemic you know you'rehaving to wear the mask and with
him being so susceptible to anykind of thing that could happen
(29:26):
we were very cautious about howpeople came in and you know
make sure that you've not beensick or exposed to things and
even shopping for groceries andthings like that was all a there
was a routine of it, of thesterilization and making sure
that we kept everything nice andclean.
(29:47):
And then his body againcontinued to just get worse and
worse and worse.
And on Memorial Day we had anumber of our.
We had the grandkids over, thekids were over.
We set up some tents out in thebackyard some pop-up tents and
(30:07):
some fans so he could sitoutside with us.
He had some of his cousins cameover and just the time that you
know, he could watch the dogrun around the backyard, just
hang out outside.
The temperature was fairly niceand when you looked at him,
incredibly frail.
When you're living it every dayyou didn't notice as much.
(30:31):
When you look back in picturesit's pretty obvious the decline
of his body as his cancer justate it up.
And so then a few days later hecontinued to.
You could tell he was gettingworse and worse.
He was getting worse and worse.
(30:51):
And the night before he passedaway, up until that point he had
really been focused on how do Ilive, how do I keep living, how
do I keep fighting?
And then, before he passed away, some things in his body just
(31:14):
completely failed.
And it was at that point thathe realized that there's just
nothing else that can be doneand I slept in his room that
night.
We set new furniture and chairsand things in there for him
that were comfortable, peoplecould come in and hang out with
him, but I slept in the roomwith him that night and during
(31:35):
the night he passed away, andthat was June 1st 2020.
So we're coming up on close tothe five-year anniversary and,
again, most of the premise ofthis podcast is not going to be
about Richy's illness.
It's about how, from that pointon, have we as a family, with
(32:01):
our friends and with familyacquaintances, been able to live
our life, while you have thismassive pain and loss of someone
that was so precious in yourlife, a part of your flesh and
blood that will no longer behere with you?
(32:21):
But how do you honor thatmemory?
How do you keep them alive?
How do you keep them alive forgrandkids and for additional
family that comes along?
And so that's going to be thejumping off point for this
podcast and hopefully sharing alot of things that we found a
(32:47):
lot of actual joy in rememberingthe things that Richy did, the
wisdom that he had, how he livedhis life has been a great
example to our family and toothers, and we want to give
people hope that you lose achild.
It is a traumatic loss in yourlife, but there is hope
(33:09):
afterwards in your life, butthere is hope afterwards.
We are going to have oneadditional story that'll be kind
of leading up to this, andthat's going to be about Lexi.
Because Lexi was such anintegral part of Richy's life
that we are going to share thatas a story of how she not only
was an incredible comfort forhim, but when he passed she was
(33:34):
just such an incredible reminderand she made us feel like he
was still there at times, and sowe are gonna do just a segment
on her.
So I appreciate you watching.
Please like and share if thisis something that is helpful or
beneficial to you.
(33:54):
Thank you.
Dave Choutka (33:56):
My name is Dave Hootke and I've been blessed to
know Richy.
We first met when he was 16,sophomore in high school, and he
plugged into my small group,and so I was so grateful to
journey along with him throughhigh school and to be his youth
pastor, and we had a lot of funtoo.
(34:19):
We had a lot of fun throughthose years, and so actually
last week, you know, I've beencoming and hanging out with
Richy and we talk about a lot ofthings.
You know, we talk a lot aboutNetflix and sports and life, and
we also talk about faith aswell.
(34:40):
And you know, I was just askingRichie on some things and he
said I'd like to be baptized.
And I said, richie, that's,that is awesome.
I said we're gonna, we're gonnamake that happen, and so so I'm
grateful for for John and Randyopening up Northview here and,
(35:01):
Richy, the water is warm, sothat's going to be good.
And I'm just so encouraged byRichy's step of faith here and
to say you know what I want tomake this step and to let
everybody know that Jesus Christis my Lord and Savior of my
life, and I want to go into thewaters of baptism and to know
(35:24):
that when I go under the water,it represents Christ's death,
and when I come up out of thewater I'm raised to new life,
representing Christ'sresurrection.
And so I'm just so proud of himand his decision to do this and
his faith.
And, you know, I'm so gratefultoo that God's led me back here
(35:46):
in this moment.
You know, I was in Colorado andGod's led us back and our paths
have been able to cross again.
And you know, richie inspiresme, you know, and how he is
going through all of this.
It's an inspiration and anencouragement to me, and so I'm
just really proud of him.
(36:08):
And so I wanted to read Romans 6.
This is the message version,and just try to just picture in
this moment of what this momentsymbolizes, of what this moment
symbolizes.
But I also want you to picturetoo that, as Richy takes place
in this baptism, and thinkingabout heaven rejoicing.
And not only are we gonnacelebrate and rejoice, but that
(36:33):
heaven is also celebrating andrejoicing because of Richy and
his decision and his faith andhis life.
So it says so what do we do?
Keep on sinning so God can keepon forgiving?
I should hope not.
If we've left the country wheresin is sovereign, how can we
(36:53):
still live in our old housethere?
Or didn't you realize?
We packed up and left there forgood?
That is what happened inbaptism.
When we went under the water,we left the old country of sin
behind.
When we came up out of thewater, we entered into the new
country of grace a new life in anew land.
That's what baptism into thelife of Jesus means.
(37:16):
When we are lowered into thewater, it is like the burial of
Jesus.
When we are raised up out ofthe water, it is like the burial
of Jesus.
When we are raised up out ofthe water, it is like the
resurrection of Jesus.
Each of us is raised into alight-filled world by our Father
so that we can see where we'regoing in our new grace,
sovereign country.
Could it be any clearer?
Our old way of life was nailedto the cross with Christ a
(37:39):
decisive end to thatsin-miserable life, no longer at
sin's every beck and call.
What we believe is this if weget included in Christ's
sin-conquering death, we alsoget included in his life-saving
resurrection.
We know that when Jesus wasraised from the dead, it was a
signal of the end of death asthe end.
(38:01):
Never again will death have thelast word.
When Jesus died, he took sindown with him, but alive, he
brings God down to us.
From now on, we think of itthis way Sin speaks a dead
language that means nothing toyou.
God speaks your mother tongueand hang on every word.
You are dead to sin and aliveto God.
(38:23):
That's what Jesus did, and wecelebrate that today.
That's what Jesus did for us,and we have that hope and belief
in him, and so we're going towalk into these waters now, and
so, as Richy comes out of thatwater, let's celebrate.
Let's celebrate what Jesus did,and let's celebrate just as
(38:48):
heaven is celebrating with us.
Come and get the tablets.
(39:40):
Okay, there's that, spot on hisback where his tumor.
Rick Williams (39:43):
You did like on that upper side just watch it.
Dave Choutka (39:45):
Yeah, just watch grabbing that have you made
Jesus Christ lord and savior ofyour life, based upon your
profession of faith, and thatyou love Jesus.
We now baptize you in the nameof the Father, the Son and the
(40:07):
Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Rick Williams (40:17):
Thank you, amen, amen.
Hey, lauren, do you mindkeeping this as recording?
(40:40):
Just keep holding it.
I'm going to go ahead and getthis one.
Dave Choutka (41:03):
Oh yeah, you can take that one.
Rick Williams (41:10):
Thank you.
Thank you that one.
I was feeling a little, youwere feeling a little.
I got one more.
I'll put it over here.
I'll put it over here.
Dave Choutka (41:26):
I'll put it over here.
I'll put it over here.
I'll put it over here.
I'll put it over here.
I'll put it over here.
I'll put it over here.
I'll put it over here.
I'll put it over here.
Rick Williams (41:56):
I'll put it over here, thank you.
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