A Memorial of a Life Well Lived for Christ

Sunday, November 23rd, the day of Allan's memorial service, turned out to be a beautiful, crisp day and full of God’s love. We had the joy of the presence of family and friends and the knowledge that dad’s life was a life well lived. The Rotunda, Main Lodge, and Good Shepherd were all packed. Words could not express how much dad had been a spiritual father to so many.

We paid tribute to the patriarch of the family and the founder of CRC with sadness and joy. Pastor Allan was a spiritual giant in his day, who fulfilled God’s purposes for his life in his generation. We are convicted and convinced that we can do no less for our Savior. Allan was an example to us. Now it is up to us to pick up the baton and carry on the task, being godly leaders in our areas of influence in our day. As Allan always said, “You are no ordinary person; God is going to use you, that you will see people with His eyes, hear people with His ears and love people with His love. Remember, the best is yet to come!”

All of the family would like to thank you, our dear friends, from the bottom of our hearts for your love expressed in your kind posts, phone calls, memorial gifts, and letters. We love you, and may God be with you until we meet again!

Video courtesy of Carina Wood. Thank you Carina!

"The Best Is Yet To Come"

A memorial service, celebrating the life of Pastor Allan Hansen, will be held on Sunday, November 23rd at 3 pm (PST). The celebration service will take place at Christian Renewal Center in the Rotunda, with overflows in both the Main Lodge and the Good Shepherd Lodge. The two overflow locations will have a live video feed coming from the Rotunda so those in the Main Lodge and Good Shepherd will be able to participate in the entire service.

After the service, there will be refreshments in all three buildings, with an opportunity for guests to mingle from building to building. We hope this will give you the chance to reminisce on Allan's life with others. The Hansen family will be in the Main Lodge after the service to greet and fellowship with all.

Pastor Tim Hansen will officiate the service, and there will be sharing by various family members. Worship music will be played by Arlene Harouff, with a slideshow presentation as well.

There will be limited parking near the buildings, so we encourage anyone who can to car pool. Extra parking is available up at Hilltop Lodge (you can drop guests off, then park). While we know that many of you may want to dress for the service, it would be a good idea to wear shoes that would be suitable for the CRC terrain and possible wet weather.

For those who would like to volunteer to help with parking, chairs, refreshments, etc, please contact Tim and Julie Hansen at either info@christianrenewalcenter.org or 503/873-7743. We need about 10 people.

If you have questions about the service, you may contact the center at the email or phone number above. You can also visit the website for address, map, and other information. http://www.christianrenewalcenter.org/. The Hansen family and the CRC staff look forward to spending this special time with those who share their love for Allan Hansen.

Going to His Eternal Home

On the evening of November 13, around 8:30 Allan went to bed for the night in the hospice bed that had just been placed in Allan and Eunice’s living room at CRC two days earlier. A little later, Eunice curled up on the adjacent couch with pillow and blanket, staying nearby her husband in case he needed her during the night. November 13th had been a particularly lovely day. After a rainy wind storm had swept through the Cascade foothills for several days, the sun came out that morning, and the air was fresh and clean. As Allan lay in his hospital bed during the day, he asked for the front door to be left open part of the time.

Allan had learned just a few days earlier that the bone cancer had spread to his lungs, and he was not expected to live long. While such news was initially shocking to Allan and the family, family members noticed a peace come over him a few days later, and it became apparent that he was ready to go. During the last two days, he was able to pray a blessing over his children and his grandchildren as well, including some of the out-of-state grandchildren who did not get back to Oregon in time to see him. They were all included in his last special blessing prayers.

Just around midnight on the 13th, Allan woke up and told Eunice he wanted to get some fresh air and asked her to help him. Together, they walked over to the front door, while Allan leaned on his wife’s arm. Eunice opened the door, and for about a minute the two stood side by side. And then suddenly without notice, Allan slumped into Eunice’s arms. She laid him down on the floor and quickly phoned Tim and Julie (who live on the grounds). At that point, she wasn’t sure whether he had just fainted or was gone. When the kids arrived, the three of them determined together that Allan had indeed gone home to be with the Lord.

Phone calls were made to Allan and Eunice’s two daughters, Marilyn and Ellen, who immediately came to the center with Allan's son-in-law, Terry. The family was able to spend two hours of precious and tearful time together before the funeral home arrived. While it seems very amazing that just like that he is suddenly gone, sooner than had been hoped for, there is a real blessing in that he did not suffer or go through any kind of pain. The Lord had His timing, and it was the perfect time. Be that as it may, it is hard to let go of a husband, a father, a father-in-law, and a grandfather like Allan Hansen. While we know with full confidence that he is in his wonderful eternal home now, he will always be missed. And the imprint of his life will remain in our hearts till the end of our own lives when we are once again reunited.

Note: The date and time for Allan’s memorial service will be announced sometime in the next couple days on this blog. Also a video of Allan is being put together. If you have photos or video clips of Allan with your family, please email copies to Carina Wood (CRC staff member) at carina.wood@gmail.com or contact CRC as soon as possible.

Farewell to Allan

We wanted to let you know that early this morning Allan Hansen went home to be with the Lord. He passed away peacefully in the arms of Eunice in their home at Christian Renewal Center. We will be posting more here later today. Thank you for your prayers during this time.

It was just a little more than a month ago that Allan seemed so healthy and amazed all of us that at nearly 91, he was still going strong and feeling great. In fact, Helen , Eunice, Allan, Ardy and Zelpha took advantage of a special introductory weekend offer at the local Oregon Gardens in the brand new luxury hotel, something Allan and Eunice rarely enjoyed. Upon the first evening, they took a stroll through the gardens and later played an exciting game of Rummy Cubes, another rarity in their lives. In the morning, Allan and Eunice made their way to the outdoor hot tub, where they enjoyed the early morning sounds of the beautiful surrounding gardens.

A few weeks later in October, they attended their grandson Nico’s homecoming football game, which Nico’s team won taking them to the playoffs. It was an exciting game and a proud evening for the grandparents. Even though Allan had just been told by doctors that his prostate cancer (that he had been able to ward off for several years) had spread to the bones, Allan wasn’t fazed, looking to God for healing and His will. That is how Allan had always viewed adversity, and he was going to do the same this time too. They were at peace.

Less than two weeks later, Allan began experiencing symptoms, evidence that something serious was taking place. On November 7th results from a CT scan showed that the cancer had spread into his lungs and was an aggressive form of cancer. Amazingly, up to this point, aside from some discomfort, he has had relatively no pain.

We know that for many of you reading this Allan holds a special place in your hearts as he does in ours. Let us join together in prayer at this time for a very special man of God, whom we are privileged to call a friend.

Blessed are those who are invited

We have created this blog for the friends and family of Allan Hansen, as a way to keep you updated. Allan has been diagnosed with fourth stage cancer. Doctors have told us that this is a very aggressive form of cancer, and the prognosis is not good.

While no time frame has been given by doctors, and we know only the Lord knows the number of our days, we are treasuring every moment with him as those moments remaining may be few.
Please feel free to post comments on this blog, which we will share with Allan and Eunice.

We appreciate your prayers and concern at this time. We hope you understand that Allan cannot receive phone calls and visits right now. But please know that he and Eunice care very much for all of you.

"Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. " Revelation 19:9