THIS ONE'S FOR SCOTT

This letter appeared in the June newsletter for Rev. Dan Rasmussen's church.  He shared this with us and I feel I must pass it on.
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The backstory:  In June of 1978 my father was appointed to serve Old Capitol UMC in Corydon, Indiana.  He and my mom moved there alone.  I was 19 and had a decent job and my friends all lived in Indianapolis.  I stayed on a friend's couch that whole summer.  My friend and his mom had a very small house on Post Road and so I stayed with them, and outside of having no actual bed, she took good care of me.  Dad quickly had success at Old Capitol, and I visited them a few weekends that summer.  In August of that summer, I was hired as the youth director of Shelbyville First UMC.
The next summer (1979) I lived with my mom and dad while I worked in Corydon building grain bins.  I drove to Shelbyville First each weekend, with a few exceptions.  Very early in his time at Old Capitol, my dad met a young man (at the time) named Scott Kemp whose mother Doris was at the church every time the door was open.  Scott was always there at church with her.  Dad and Scott struck up a relationship that is rare.  They were very close.  I got to know Scott pretty well too.  In fact, I drove God's Nightcrawler (for those of you who know what that was) on a trip for Old Capitol, and Scott went along.  My dad moved from Corydon to Washington in 1983.
Fast forward to 2013, March 17th to be exact.  I was now standing in the receiving line for my dad's visitation at Gill Funeral Home in Washington, Indiana.  Person after person came through the line that I did not know so I introduced myself well over a hundred times by saying, "I'm Dan, Lyle's youngest son."  I heard all new stories about my dad's life in Washington where he had lived for almost 30 years (by far the longest he had lived anywhere).  As the line became less organized and we all had a little more freedom to walk around, a woman came up to me and said, "You probably don't remember me."  I could see familiarity in her face, but given the moment I was a little stuck.  I asked her not to tell me her name.
More backstory:  Pastors are at a distinct disadvantage when trying to remember people.  Since 1983 I have pastored four churches, whose average attendance combined is over 900.  With those who were not regular, that number goes well over 1300.  Now in each of those churches (including Center) I have had weddings and funerals and met hundreds and hundreds more in those communities.  I have been a counselor at church camp, been involved in Conference-wide youth events, District wide youth events, and dozens of other situations where I have met hundreds and hundreds more (including the preaching of two revivals).  My point?  There are thousands and thousands of names and faces that roll through this pastors' mind when someone says, "You probably don't remember me."
As the names and faces over the years were flashing through, I said to this woman: "I cannot remember your first name, but your last name is Kemp."  Her eyes brightened because I remembered, and then I saw standing behind her, her son Scott.  I hugged her quickly, and then as fast as I could get to him, I hugged Scott.  We just held each other for a long, long time.  I wept as I hugged him.  He rubbed my back and patted me as we hugged.
As Doris Kemp and I spoke, she informed me that she was now over 90 years of age.  She sure doesn't look it, and she is as sharp as ever.  We reminisced as Scott and I stood with our arms across each other's backs.  I hugged him again, as he did me.  We repeated this many times before they had to leave.  If you cannot tell, Scott and I are fond of each other.  The years just melted away.  This (now older) man was very close to my dad, and he and his mom cared enough to come to my dad's visitation even though he had not been their pastor for 30 years!  Even as I write this I had to close my office door as the tears have flowed again.  Words are pretty inadequate in trying to express to you the emotions packed up in this story.
The Bible tells us that God will give us all that we need to carry on with our faith.  The Bible tells us that God will not forget us or forsake us, that He loves each one of us.  For some though, the road is harder than for others.  Fair or not, that is the way it is.  God has answers to all the questions we want to ask Him, but often the answers are in eternity.
So to parents like Doris, who for their whole lives must give freely and completely of themselves to care for their adult children:  God must have a special place in heaven for you!  You see, Scott has never been able to drive a car.  He has not been able to live a life like many get to.  But Scott has made so much impact on people because to meet him is to love him.  He sees no color of skin, no age, no life circumstances can cause him to not love you.  If anything, he is the closest person I have ever known who can do what God asks of us all: to love everyone we meet.  Scott has beat all his challenges!  He has overcome what many would call an insurmountable deficiency.  Not for Scott.  It has only made him more exceptional, more incredible, more notable.  Scott has an advantage over us all; he has Down's Syndrome, and Scott, this one's for you!
Love, Dan