Worden Christmas Letter 2019

    

 

Dear Family & Friends,                                           December 2019

Isaiah 7:14

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign:  

The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

Jesus is the child that was prophesied about hundreds of years before his birth.  We celebrate his birth and believe that the Bible is inspired truth which shares His story providing us with the redemption plan for all sinful humans.  The original sin was committed because Satan’s deceitfulness was believed.  

 

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 14^th 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 10^th 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