“Because of the tender mercy of our God,
With which the Sunrise from on high will visit us,
To shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of
death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.” Luke 1:79
Dearest
Friends & Family,
December 23, 2016
Outside it
is dark, snowy and cold – oh what a winter we have been plunged into!!
Inside I am warm, pretty twinkle lights are shining and best of all I am
surrounded by “the tender mercy of our God”. He is everything, our
“Sunrise from on high” who pursues us relentlessly with His very great love.
That’s the big picture – the one that keeps me going in the nitty-gritty of
everyday life… We are part of a huge drama that is playing out, every
minute of every day. Our choices matter, how well we learn to love &
forgive really matters, and what we do with Jesus changes everything for us,
eternally.
We just
celebrated my precious Dad’s 91st birthday.
He’s doing pretty well and is still driving, picking up groceries and helping
mom to make delicious borscht and home-made bread. Who knows what talents will emerge next!? Mom’s
health has been challenging as her eyesight is progressively getting worse and
the arthritis in her back makes walking very painful but she spends time
listening to books on tape, looking after Dad, praying and keeping the rest of
us cheered up. They still live in their condo downtown and dear Elsie is
a loving, servant hearted, “chauffeur” and helper who gets Mom to appointments
and over to visit Tante Hilda who is doing remarkably well; living on her own,
making delicious soups and spending her life loving Jesus and those around
her. It’s also always a treat when Vic and Marcia come to visit from
Calgary. They are so helpful and loving to all of us and we cherish our times
together. What a wonderful family I have!
Daniel
& Nicole are doing well. Daniel is finishing up his Psychology degree
and then applying to become an Occupational Therapist, which will take 2 more
years. He’s also been renovating their kitchen when he finds a spare minute and
Nicole is working at a detox centre helping people who are coming off of drugs.
She is very well loved by those precious souls. She’s also enjoying
snowboarding this year as she needs to do something while Daniel is
studying!
Patrice has
spent much of the year interning at “A Rocha”, a Christian environmental/
organic farm centre in Surrey where she has learned all about gardening and
creation care. She blessed them with her fabulous cooking skills and is home
now deciding what’s next while she works for her Dad doing renovations.
She’s been talking about building a “tiny house”! Apparently that carpentry gene in the family
is a strong one! We are quite the modern family; Opa has started
cooking and Patrice is enjoying building…
I’m
continuing to work with children who struggle with reading and it is a
highlight in my life. I also had the privilege of going to Europe with
Patrice this Spring to attend a friend’s wedding in Holland and to meet up with
very dear friends all along the way – from England to Germany. We even
got to spend time with my beloved cousin and his family in Germany as well as
re-uniting with some YWAM friends at the Bad Blankenburg base where they had
installed a wheelchair accessible room and bath at my request! Travelling
is always a challenge, but connecting with people and seeing the world on the
way is tantalizing enough to get me to do these crazy things. My dear
Patrice was amazing at getting me on and off planes and trains and even
navigating the roads in Amsterdam in a wheelchair accessible van someone lent
us. She will get a HUGE reward from God for her kindness to me. God is truly my
good Shepherd and even though life is sometimes hard, He gets me through with
JOY and with a lot of help from my amazing family & friends!
As I deal
with life in a wheelchair and everything that accompanies that I am forever
grateful to know this is not the end of the story! The best is truly yet
to come for those of us who choose Jesus with all of our hearts. I pray
that His grace & peace will be multiplied in your lives and that He will
strengthen you daily in your journey.
Always in
Jesus...
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