Dear Friends Of St. Francis Lodge:

As some of you know, this past Monday, November 14th, our home in Minneapolis was broken into. We lost a lot of valuables and our house was trashed. it was very hard for my wife and me to come home to see we were violated. It was her mother’s and grandmother’s jewelry that was most valuable in what it meant to Beth.

The person who did this was staying at a neighbor’s home and decided to rob us. We actually helped the family out where this person was staying on multiple occasions and even let them stay at St. Francis Lodge for a week at a time for two summers. That’s what probably hurts the most. The people who took this person in have brought other bad people in before and it has blown up as well. Needless to say, we are upset with this family for making such bad choices on who to help and for bringing these people into our neighborhood.

Through this hardship Beth and I have realized that God is teaching us a lesson from this. Although it would be easy to say that it doesn’t pay to help others out, I am reminded that I am the recipient of a lot of kindness from many people who helped me along the way. When I speak to Rotary Clubs, Lions Clubs, Serra Clubs, etc. about my life, I tell them to “keep giving. Everything you have given, has been received. You are making a difference. My life is proof of that from all those who gave to me. Not everyone is going to thank you. But, I am for all of us”.

We are praying for the person who robbed us and for the family that harbored her. Please pray for them too.

Finally, with Thanksgiving coming this month, I have launched a new web site called www.didIeverthankyou.com (did I ever thank you), as a place where people can go to reflect on their lives and post a note to thank someone in their lives (living or deceased) for something they did that made a difference. I am convinced gratitude is healing and contagious and can change our perspective on life. Please help us direct people to this site. Our goal is to have a large amount of “thank you’s” by Christmas.

You are in our Prayers. Please Keep us in yours.

God Bless You and & HAPPY THANKSGIVING!