Christmas 2023
News from Georganne
Happy 2024! The years are galloping along with ever increasing speed, while my life slows down somewhat to accommodate all of those piled up years. But my life has not slowed down too much.
I am still involved in a monthly Bible study, teach Sunday school once a month, and I have started singing in the choir at Calvary Lutheran Church. Singing in our little choir has been such a delight. The choir director, organist, and two soloists, are top notch musicians, but they welcome people like me who are rather amateurish in our musical abilities. And the music we sing is so beautiful and worshipful.
I also continue to serve on the board of our local spina bifida association. One of the association’s services is to collect donated used durable medical equipment, and new consumable medical supplies to give to people who need them. Normally we give these items to people with spina bifida, but this year we received such an abundance of donations that we have found other organizations that can distribute our overflow. We donated about 60 boxes of catheters to an organization who sent them to a dialysis clinic in Central America. Then we were told that the staff at the dialysis clinic had been praying for more catheters, and were very grateful to get ours.
Our grandchildren who live locally are really growing up. Grace, age 14; Caleb, age 13, Samuel, age 11, and Matthew, age 9 were a real help to us as we tackled some big household chores in the spring and late summer. In the spring they helped us clean window blinds from fourteen windows and did a little yard work. In late summer, they helped Ron paint our kitchen, dining room, a hallway, and two bedrooms We paid them for their work, and they earned every penny.
We saw our out-of-state grandchildren at our summer family reunion in Kentucky. They are growing up fast, too, and it was fun to see their new accomplishments. In addition the Duke family visited us here in DC, and we took a trip to Wisconsin to see the Roberson family. We are thankful for these opportunities to spend time with them.
I am still involved in a monthly Bible study, teach Sunday school once a month, and I have started singing in the choir at Calvary Lutheran Church. Singing in our little choir has been such a delight. The choir director, organist, and two soloists, are top notch musicians, but they welcome people like me who are rather amateurish in our musical abilities. And the music we sing is so beautiful and worshipful.
I also continue to serve on the board of our local spina bifida association. One of the association’s services is to collect donated used durable medical equipment, and new consumable medical supplies to give to people who need them. Normally we give these items to people with spina bifida, but this year we received such an abundance of donations that we have found other organizations that can distribute our overflow. We donated about 60 boxes of catheters to an organization who sent them to a dialysis clinic in Central America. Then we were told that the staff at the dialysis clinic had been praying for more catheters, and were very grateful to get ours.
Our grandchildren who live locally are really growing up. Grace, age 14; Caleb, age 13, Samuel, age 11, and Matthew, age 9 were a real help to us as we tackled some big household chores in the spring and late summer. In the spring they helped us clean window blinds from fourteen windows and did a little yard work. In late summer, they helped Ron paint our kitchen, dining room, a hallway, and two bedrooms We paid them for their work, and they earned every penny.
We saw our out-of-state grandchildren at our summer family reunion in Kentucky. They are growing up fast, too, and it was fun to see their new accomplishments. In addition the Duke family visited us here in DC, and we took a trip to Wisconsin to see the Roberson family. We are thankful for these opportunities to spend time with them.
Update from Ron
...still “retired,”
still doing Deaf prison ministry,
still providing pulpit supply to hearing congregations a couple times each month,
still producing lessons and videos for online Deaf ministry training,
with Georganne, still doing errands of mercy for Deaf & DeafBlind community members.
...doing fewer science lessons with grandkids, as their other academic commitments intensify.
still doing Deaf prison ministry,
still providing pulpit supply to hearing congregations a couple times each month,
still producing lessons and videos for online Deaf ministry training,
with Georganne, still doing errands of mercy for Deaf & DeafBlind community members.
...doing fewer science lessons with grandkids, as their other academic commitments intensify.
News from Mark
2023 has been another eventful year, but it has also been a year with trips, and some surprises along the way.
My family and I are still with the Spina Bifida group, and we had our annual bowling party in April, and our picnic in August.
Around June we had our family reunion in Florence, Kentucky. We had families from Maryland, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Illinois all in one place. The place that we stayed at had a swimming pool. The kids all swam, and we did s’mores, played games, and did some science experiments.
July was also a busy month for us. Around the second week of July, my mom, dad and I went on our Midwest trip. We went to Indiana, Wisconsin, and Michigan. During our trip, we visited the Roberson family in Neenah, Wisconsin which is not far from Green Bay, Wisconsin. While we were there we went to a park near Lake Winnebago.
Later in July, the Duke family from Illinois visited us in the DC area. One of the biggest events of that week was that we all went to see my nieces and nephews in Virginia, and we all went to the local swimming pool. The second event that we did during the week was visiting Washington DC to show my sister and her family the sites in DC. My nieces and nephew rode on the Metro for the first time.
In October, the Deaf church hosted a small regional conference. And I was a part of the host committee for that. I had never been part of the host committee for any conference, and it opened my eyes to what goes on in setting up a church conference.
My family and I are still with the Spina Bifida group, and we had our annual bowling party in April, and our picnic in August.
Around June we had our family reunion in Florence, Kentucky. We had families from Maryland, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Illinois all in one place. The place that we stayed at had a swimming pool. The kids all swam, and we did s’mores, played games, and did some science experiments.
July was also a busy month for us. Around the second week of July, my mom, dad and I went on our Midwest trip. We went to Indiana, Wisconsin, and Michigan. During our trip, we visited the Roberson family in Neenah, Wisconsin which is not far from Green Bay, Wisconsin. While we were there we went to a park near Lake Winnebago.
Later in July, the Duke family from Illinois visited us in the DC area. One of the biggest events of that week was that we all went to see my nieces and nephews in Virginia, and we all went to the local swimming pool. The second event that we did during the week was visiting Washington DC to show my sister and her family the sites in DC. My nieces and nephew rode on the Metro for the first time.
In October, the Deaf church hosted a small regional conference. And I was a part of the host committee for that. I had never been part of the host committee for any conference, and it opened my eyes to what goes on in setting up a church conference.
Click on pictures to see full size.
We pray that you and your loved ones will have a blessed new year.