Dear Family & Friends, December 2019
Isaiah 7:14
Hebrews 3: 13
“…encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today,
so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.”
I
have called our year, the year of surgeries.
John has been in an operating room six times this year but can now
report that all is healing very well and he is able to resume all of his usual
activities.
1. March 26, 2019 Left hip joint replacement – most bone spur Dr. Veurink had ever seen
2. March 27, 2019 Left hip dislocation manipulated back into place
3. March 28, 2019 Left hip joint replacement completely redone – Additional bone spur removed
4. August 5, 2019 Right knee joint replacement
5. Sept. 17, 2019 Right eye cataract surgery –John’s one eye with useful vision
6. Oct. 15, 2019 Left knee joint replacement surgery
Dr. Veurink was his surgeon in Kerrville for all orthopedic surgeries and we are very pleased with him. Cataract surgery was done in San Antonio and we were pleased with Dr. Lehmann also. There have been quite a few home visits for Physical Therapy and many more sessions of PT at a local facility. These workouts have brought a new appreciation for the excellent work of PT professionals. John has diligently responded to their work so that he has excellent range of motion and mobility with his new joints. Dr. Veurink’s words: “I couldn’t be happier!”
Other highlights of our year are the following:
May
Veritas graduation of Joanna Lee Worden (Freshman at Campbell College in NC) in
Richmond, VA. Brothers Phillip (Junior
at VA Tech) and Stephen (Sophomore at Messiah College in PA) returned to TX
with us to be summer staff for Laity Lodge Family
Camp. Son John continues with Good Feet which is
rapidly expanding in VA. Diane continues
as a kindergarten teacher at Veritas School.
Lydia is a Junior at Veritas. We
will be spending a week with them for Christmas this year.
June
14th was a very special day because that is when Tirzah Sophia
Worden arrived in Detroit. We were on
our way there when we learned of her birth and arrived the next day as she was
arriving home from the hospital with her grateful parents, James and April and adoring
big brother, Constantine Worden. Tirzah
is 6 months old now and we’ve just helped her celebrate her first Thanksgiving
as we flew there for a few days of sweet family time.She is wearing glasses in order to provide
developmental help for her far-sighted crossed eyes. She’s off the charts for length and low in
the charts for weight. Seems she will
grow to be tall and slender like her godly, beautiful Mother. While in Detroit,
we also celebrated Christmas with James, April, Cozzie and Tirzah. Ari is now 18 years old and lives with
friends outside of Detroit. James
continues as administrative assistant to the principal at Charlotte Mason
Community School. He is busy as a deacon
at Hope Church and active in helping April manage their popular AirBnB – the
attached quarters on the other side of the duplex they have fixed up as their
comfortable, lovely 100 year old home.
He has also decided to enter a Master of Divinity Program with North
Park Evangelical Covenant Seminary. Many
classes will be on-line with some on-site in Chicago.He will begin in Jan. with
an intensive week long class on site. 3. 4. 
In
late June, Sarah and I flew to Estes Park, CO.
This was a very special trip for me as it was 55 years since the first
summer I worked there following my freshman year in college. I wanted Sarah to
meet a very dear friend of mine who still lives there. Joyce Bennett took me under her wing during
the summer of 1964 and has remained a life-
long
encourager and godly woman mentor for me.
God orchestrated many memorable things for Sarah and me to experience in
our few days there. It was a taste of
what I expect heaven may be like. Doing
the trip with Sarah, in her 10th year as the librarian at Ft. Sam
Houston Elementary School in San Antonio, made the trip even more special.
John and I are continuing to live in our home of 30 years in Kerrville, TX. We are very grateful for the remodel work we had done a year ago. The wider doorways and more convenient bath area have been very helpful to John in his recovery weeks following his surgeries. We continue to serve at Trinity Baptist Church in a number of ways – especially in ushering and greeting during services. I continue to work part-time for the H.E.ButtFdn which operates Laity Lodge, the adult retreat center where I work some weekends as a guest care attendant. I also cover some days in the Kerrville office for a gal who works a 4 day week. Each role provides me with opportunity to continue being involved in very meaningful work with a wonderful ministry that serves many families and individuals of all ages throughout the year.
We look forward to 2020 as we think joint replacement surgeries are over though the right hip could need attention at some point. 2019 has been a year of finding out what “in sickness and in health” means in our marriage vows. We are grateful for the life we have together and trust that God will continue to show us His path for continued Kingdom work in the future. John will continue to gain strength as he returns to more frequent use of the Center for Fitness where he has a membership and enjoys their swimming classes and work-out machines. He also exercises his voice by singing in the church Prime-time choir. He continues on one medication for his Parkinson’s disease and that controls his right side tremor.
We are very grateful to have our daughter, Sarah, live in San Antonio so that she is often able to spend weekends with us. She has been very loving and helpful this year by taking time from her job to be with me during the surgeries. She also came one weekend with all the supplies for at least 4 crock pot meals which she made and put in our freezer to provide delicious, thoughtful support for our “year of surgeries.”
With Love & Gratitude, John & Linda Worden
