Lynda Asplund is a teacher. James reminded her that she was always teaching her children, almost from birth, so that they were well prepared (if not ahead) for school. She was the first kindergarten teacher at New Covenant Academy in Springfield. She taught such courses as Speech Communication and the Education Ministry of the Church at Portland Bible College. She administrated the distance learning program at PBC. And since she started fighting cancer in 2015, she has been a vitally important partner with me as I have taught online courses at four colleges. I give her a class roster for each class and she posts them on the bulletin board in her War Room, praying for each student by name every day. Not only will her family miss her, but hundreds of students around the world will miss her as well.
Lynda Asplund is an adventurer. We have traveled wide in our 47 years together and she was always an enthusiastic full partner in our travels. We lived in Jamaica in the latter half of 1977, teaching in a small pastor's college. She didn't know it when we left but she was pregnant with our son. The smells made her sick every day, but she was faithful and strong. While at PBC we made two trips to Malaysia together. I'll never forget the "VBS" she conducted for the children of Sentul. She used colored cards from Child Evangelism to teach them the Gospel. When the kids brought cards home with no words on them, the church would not get in trouble, since most of the kids were Muslim. Then there was that beautiful trip to Uganda. Her heart was already weak at that point, but we made the trip together and taught in the RUN school of ministry and in the local church. We have made major moves together, from Springfield, Missouri to Portland, Oregon, and then from Portland to Georgia. Her faith and intercessions were a major reason we could bear fruit on our travels. Churches and schools around the world will miss Lynda.
Lynda Asplund is a woman of God. She has a rare, childlike faith and an ability to see God at work in almost any situation. And she is a prophetic intercessor. My faith can be a bit squirrelly at times. When we made the trip from Portland to Georgia in 2006, we had waited many months for multiple confirmations, since our dearest friends and family members were in Portland. The final confirmation was the sale of our home on Rocky Butte. So we packed up and started down the road. We didn't get as far as Cascade Locks before we received a call saying the sale had fallen through. In my great faith I told Lynda, "We're screwed!" But she would have none of it. She called our CBC Prayer Team to intercede with her, and by the end of the next day, the house had sold again. I have stories like that too numerous to mention. I'll never forget the time when she was going in for cardiac bi-pass surgery in 2012, not knowing she would survive since her heart was so weak. The elders of New Community Church gathered before the service to pray for her, but by the end, she had gone around the table, laid hands on each one, and prayed a prophetic prayer over them. Just last night, she asked me to pray for her, and when I couldn't because I was crying too hard, she laid her precious hand on my head and prayed a beautiful prayer for me. She has a rare and wonderful spiritual quality in every part of my life. All those who have been the beneficiaries of her faith and prayers down through the years, and especially myself, will truly miss her.
Lynda Asplund is a wife, Mom and Grammy. She gave herself selflessly to our two wonderful children. Charity Asplund Toombs and James Asplund filled our quiver, and she loved every minute of it. We sometimes thought of ourselves as a smaller version of the Waltons. (Good night, Jim Bob.) Then they got married and we were blessed with four wonderful grandsons. Dominick Vescio (19), Jonathan (17), Ian Asplund (15) and Joshua (9). How Lynda loves her grandsons. "Your children's children" have a special place in our lives. And Lynda has been married to yours truly for 47+ years. We have had many adventures together with a lot of changing and moving along the way. She has always been a positive, cheerful, hopeful, supportive partner every step of the way. She was my best friend before we got married, and she has remained my best friend. There is nothing I would rather do than hang out with Lynda. She is the rock and the anchor of my life. She is the light of my life, my sunshine. No man could ever ask for a better wife than Lynda. Only God knows how I will go on without her.
Lynda Asplund's Christlike character was formed through suffering. No one should have to suffer the way she has. I remember when we had our first appointment with an oncologist, who said, "Well, your digestive system wins the prize for being the most messed up," with acid reflux, celiac disease and IBS. In 1998 her heart became very enlarged and weak (EF 25) and she was confined to her bed. The doctor said that if she rested enough she might live 2 more years. She didn't want to neglect her PBC students so we set up a cot in her office in the classroom building with instructions that whenever she tired, she was to lay down. At the end of 2 years, her heart had recovered. Then she fell and broke her tailbone - twice. Later when she was experiencing severe pain in her lower back x-rays showed that she had been living with a minor form of scoliosis most of her life and that arthritis had formed where she had broken her bone. Eventually she developed chronic sinus infections and discovered a severe allergy to mold, and the doctor said, "You must have a warmer, sunnier climate." So here we are in Georgia. In 2012 he heart had weakened again (EF 15) and a coronary artery needed to be repaired with bi-pass surgery. That experience greatly weakened Lynda's overall stamina. In 2015, it was chronic lymphosytic leukemia - a ticking time bomb in her body. In 2016, breast cancer, with very painful tests, surgery and radiation. And 2 weeks ago, a very aggressive stage 4 liver cancer. One night I pointed out an interesting phrase in 1 Peter 4:1: "whoever suffers in the body is done with sin." Somehow suffering has the ability to perfect godly character. We've always known about Paul's claim: "suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope" (Romans 5:3,4). Lynda has always been a godly woman, but anyone who has had the privilege of relating and interacting with her during the last few years, and even today at Hospice, can testify that Lynda is a wonderfully loving, selfless, patient, compassionate, concerned, sweet woman, exuding the character of Christ. Even during these days she thinks only of others and their well-being. I know how much the Father values that and am not surprised that he is calling her home.
I married WAY UP when I married Lynda Asplund. I'll never forget the first time I met her. There was a coffeehouse ministry in Springfield, Missouri, an outreach of Central Bible College at the time, and my Dad was a member of the Board overseeing the ministry. So, when I returned from the west coast after spending the summer with an ORU outreach team, I went down to the coffeehouse to hang out. August 29, 1970. And there she was. Singing on the stage, her platinum blond hair glowing like an angel under the black lights. I took her home that night and we were immediate best friends. We were a matched pair. She was working as a model at the time, a very beautiful girl. She was also smart and godly, a people-oriented extrovert. We were married 8 months later. I can't tell you how many times students at PBC would come up to me and say, "Brother Larry, the fact that you were able to talk Lynda into marrying you gives me hope." She was always a bit taken aback by that, being a fundamentally humble person, but I totally agreed. She has always been the strongest, most stable, most mature part of our long relationship. She is by far my better half I've long known that Lynda Asplund was very spiritually mature, but I never really stopped to reflect on what that meant. I was just happy to live with someone who had great discernment and wisdom. I almost felt protected as a result of my relationship with Lynda, looking to her for confirmation and balance. (I felt equally unprotected without her.) It's amazing to see someone who is never concerned about themselves, who are always concerned with true compassion for others, and whose first and last instinct is always to pray for them. I suppose that is the definition of an intercessor. I witnessed that fact this evening in a beautiful way. A summer thunderstorm hit Lagrange, with the usual wind and thunder and rain. She seems very weak this evening, having difficulty even keeping a sip of water down. Nevertheless, she opened her eyes and reached out to me and said, "We need to pray for the people." Even though she rarely said anything aloud, I could see her lips saying over and over again, "Bring peace, bring peace, keep them safe, bring peace."
Lynda is HOME!
Here is a link to the slide presentation shown at Lynda's Celebration as well as the Celebration itself.
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