Yes, I know that all caps means I’m yelling, but that is pretty much what we were doing in the neuro ICU at Mayo Clinic at about 7:30 tonight.
To be honest, I was quite discouraged today. Not because anything bad happened, but because it was so frustrating to not even be able to communicate. When the neurosurgical resident stopped by late afternoon, Mike had said “one” and “two,” although not in a natural voice.
As my sister and brother-in-law were getting ready to leave, several of us were in the room. Mike had been trying to do things like push the boots that prevent blood clots off of his right leg with his left leg. My mom said, “If you are bored, did you ever consider watching T.V.?” Mike then said, “Not really.” It was hard to refrain from hootin’ and hollerin’ right there in ICU!
He then proceeded to say “international” as we were for some unknown reason discussing airports. When I went in to tell him goodnight, I prayed with him. At the end he held his arm up to indicate he was praising God. I said, “Yes, praise the Lord,” to which he replied, “Praise the Lord.” Enough said.
Mike Evans' blog 
How wonderful! So good to hear of this progress and to say, even to shout, to smile at this progress. Have a good night Mike and Karla.
John and Marilyn
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Dear Karla and Mike,
PRAISE THE LORD, INDEED!
In His Love,
Joe and Diane
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Praise the Lord. I can’t wait to share this news with my congregation in the morning. We know there is still a journey ahead, but this is such encouraging news. What A Mighty God We Serve!
Brent, Laurie, and Hunter
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Mike, Karla and Family,
This moves me to tears! We will miss you at church tomorrow, but know we will be praising the Lord with you and for you. What a glorious day!
We love you all,
Kayla
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Hallelujah!! What a glorious sound that had to be! Prayers were answered, not being able to communicate had to be so frustrating for all of you. Patience is not something most of us are very good at in times like these, but God & our bodies know when the time is right. I’m so pleased that everything is progressing so well. I hope & pray that the blood pressure stays under control. Take Care.
Vicky Boyle
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Wahoo! Go God! Thanks for sharing. We rejoice with you and will continue to pray. The Lord knows every nerve and synapse in Mike’s body. We are praying He would blow on each and every one of them to work in a strong and healthy fashion. Stay encouraged, Karla. I loved the verse from Exodus you shared. In the midst of the dark, when the Israelites couldn’t see, God was working and moving the waters. Hang onto Him when you feel tired and discouraged. Allow those that love you to stand for you when you’re weak. Consider yourself hugged, friend.
Love, Paul and Adele
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Praise the Lord indeed. Our God is an Awesome God and he is not going to let a strong soldier like Mike not get his voice back. God has too many plans for you Mike.
GOD ROCKS!
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Praise the Lord!! That says everything! The tears of joy must have been flowing, they are here. Praise the Lord!!
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Praise the Lord!!!!!! I was SOOOO excited to hear this! Still praying!
~Jen
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Alleluia! So happy to hear that!! That is very good news indeed.
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What Awesome News! Praise God Indeed! Continuing to pray for you & yours, Rhonda
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Great news! As I get up to “talk” this morning, I’ll have an extra bounce in my step.
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Praise the Lord!! What an awesome thing to find this sunny Sunday morning! We are continuing to pray for Mike’s complete recovery!!
God bless you all!
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Praise God! Our hearts have been very heavy regarding this – but now the sun breaks forth! We will miss you this morning, Pastor Mike and Karla, and will be thinking of you and praying for you and singing praises to Him this morning during church!
In Christ,
Carroll and Kathy
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Praise the Lord indeed!!!
God always answers prayer but usually not according to our timing. We have a glorious future to share. Denny and Jeri
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Yahoo!! We’re cheering and praying in Missouri for you!
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We are so happy for you! God works in mighty ways! Brian and I continue to pray for all of you. I’ll be praying as I drive from SW Minnesota to Des Moines this afternoon. God is good, all the time.
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We are praising God with you this morning! We felt like yelling, too, when we read your post this morning. Continuing to lift you all up in prayer.
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There must be a mighty “Praise the Lord” echo all over the world today in response to those precious few words from you, Mike. Tears are flowing here, too. We are humbled by the Almighty God and His power over every little neuron and synapse in your brain! Looking forward to your return – in so many ways.
Still praying,
Lynne and Dale
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Karla & Mike,
Just read the good news, and quickly shared it with my wife. We are praising our great God for the return of Mike’s speaking ability. We will continue to pray as we know the recovery will be long. God bless, our prayers and thoughts are with you. Bob & Paula Spilger
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Jeff and our family prayed for you last evening. How exciting to see God work. When we explained your situation to our 18 yr old, he stated,”oh that would be terrible if he could never talk again.” Now we can show him God’s amazing power.
I can not wait to tell Jeff!! He will be so happy for you.
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Well I am not a blogger but this call for Blog Worship!
With much joy in our hearts,
The Gurwells
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Praise the Lord!! As soon as I heard this the first thing that popped into my head was the song.
I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever, I will sing,
Your faithfulness, your faithfulness to all generations!!
Mike & Karla, may God bless you over and over for your faithfulness to Him. You both have been an inspiration to so many. Mike, your prayer has been answer more than you could have even imagined. God has been glorified through this in so many ways it will take a lifetime to show. God bless you and your family as we continue to pray.
Alana Kirkman
Newton, CHESS Homeschool group
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“let the words of my mouth be acceptable in thy sight O’ Lord.”
Those few words from Mike definitely were that!!!!
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Dean and I are so excited to here the news! Praise the Lord indded! Dean will enter the pulpit this morning with renewed joy and excitement and I am sure all the congregation will be singing praises and praying this morning with joy for what the Lord is doing within your life. Wish I could be there…
“You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosened my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!” Ps. 30: 11-12
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We got the news early this morning and we’re so THRILLED and praising the Lord that you talked! Looking forward to seeing you – God is answering prayer.
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“”For this I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations,and sing praises to your name.”
2 Samuel 22:49-51
Praise the Lord! We are so happy to hear his progress. Levi and I have and will continue to pray for a peaceful recovery.
With all love and prayers
Rochelle
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Let everything that has breath Praise the Lord!
What a Glorious God we serve!!
Pastor Mike, Karla and family, know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep this commandments, to a thousand generations. Deut. 7:9
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WAY TO GO MIKE !!! My tears are flowing but my heart is full. We are cheering for you Mike. I know you can hear us all the way from Texas. WAY TO GO, BROTHER !!!!
We will continue to pray for your complete recovery. As I said a few weeks ago, you still have a lot to accomplish in this world, but it can wait until your family, friends and doctors say you are ready.
God Bless You, Mike. (It seems apparent that he has and continues to do so.)
Brad Versteegh in Texas
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With a happy tear in the eye, I also rejoice with you! Those two simple words, “not really”, coming from Mike last evening have impacted many today, and are so encouraging! I’m so happy for all of you who are physically with Mike in Rochester, as I’m sure this positive step has lifted your spirits.
We’re praying… Mike’s fighting… and God is working! Praise the Lord indeed!
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If this is the first time I’ve left a comment, I’m sure there are others as well who–while not posting comments–are praying.
How merciful of God who, while not obligated to answer our prayers as we think they should be formed, nevertheless hears and shows His love and compassion. New every morning is His great faithfulness.
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Wonderful News!!!! We had good feelings when your Mom called last night and her voice sounded happy – what excitement for all of you. We have been praying for you and Karla: Mike is struggling and fighting a tough fight – and Karla is being such a strong, faithful and loving wife. Tears of joy are flowing in many homes and among those friends at WHLC. Blessings and love, John & Sue
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We have been following your blog after reading your NICHE column. We are continuing to pray for a full recovery for you. Your news of being able to speak brought tears to our eyes this morning. Praise God.
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PRAISE THE LORD!! He knows our needs, and he provides! We are so happy to hear that Mike is speaking! Healing takes time in these situations, but God is doing this in His time! May God continue to hold you in His hands during this time of trial, wrap His arms around you, and give you His peace!
In Christ’s love,
Dick and Ivadean
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Even though your names were not mentioned at our service last night as we prayed for our world and people in need. There was that moment to pray for others in your life that you were concerned about silently. I know that both Doug and I had the same prayer at that time. Is it possible that at that very moment a miracle happened? We are thrilled for all of you and will continue to keep you and your family in our thoughts and prayers. How lucky you all are to have the blessings of a wonderful family and many, many friends. Peace and Love, Jan & Doug
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Praise the Lord indeed! What a wonderful Valentine’s day present to you Karla! I’ve been faithfully reading this blog to hear updates. Thank you for keeping us all in the loop. Needless to say, we are praying for you and for family often, and thanking the gracious Lord above for all he has brought you through so far.
Your Sister in Christ,
Emily
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Good for him!
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So many responses! Just wanted to add that we were so grateful that Terry could report this great news to our congregation this morning! They have been praying!! We know there is a long road ahead, but each hurdle brings you closer to the ‘flat home stretch!!’
All our love,
Terry & Karol
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This is great news! We have been reading the updates and praying everyday. Keep up the good work Mike!
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Very encouraging words for Sunday morning! We are grateful to God and are hopeful that we will continue to hear good news as your body heals.
When do you start preaching again? 🙂
Affectionately,
Alan & Mary Huber
Monroe, Washington
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This is wonderful news! God is wonderful! Keeping you and your family in my prayers.
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WOW! We are SO happy to hear the news that you talked, Mike! Our hearts have been very heavy for you…in fact, Pat has had a hard time sleeping just thinking about all you are going through.
It’s so good to hear that you can once again harrass your fellow man with your jokes again!!!! Can’t wait to hear your voice!
Praise God Almighty, who is capable of anything!
Love Much, DAWN and PAT
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Dear Mike and Karla,
I am so glad that the time with the kids and your mom and dad went so well. Mike I am glad that your feeling more like yourself each day. Now the news about you trying to take those stockings off did not go well with me. Don’t make me come back and have to deal with you. Yeah, I would come back. I am so glad that your progress is coming along. You are all in my prayers. Kurt did get the e mail about your surgery. I am sure I will be updating him again. Be patient now Mike, one day at a time. I am sure it is not easy for you, but you don’t want any setbacks now. Take care. Karla you take care of yourself and think of me when you are eating those crepes. Love you both. God bless and Praise God. He is sooo good. Love Kathy
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More good news, more words; Mike will be back at the pulpit before we know it! I believe I heard his goal was to be back on Easter Sunday? Not a problem. God will get him there!
Thinking of you all,
John and Janet
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What wonderful news!! It brought back wonderful memories, those first words, wiggling toes and fingers after surgery,it was great!! We all know that Mike has a long road to recovery ahead of him, but what a wonderful beginning. We’re hoping that soon he can let loose that competitive spirit, as it will serve him well in therapy. Those therapists at Younkers Rehab. loved the high spirited, competitive ones! It’s truly amazing how they can encourage those muscles and nerves to work again. They taught Marty to sit up, then to walk on two separate occasions, once in 2006 and again in 2008.
We are hoping and praying for Mike’s continuing progress. Hang in there Karla, we’re so happy for you to get this encouraging news. Hoping to see you back in Earlham soon.
Rod and Connie Ramsey
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Wow – Sure beats roses for Valentine’s Day.
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