Dear Family and Friends,
The tree is up, but not yet decorated and there’s lots to do before Christmas Day arrives!
This new year started with Dan’s new Toyota Tacoma, which he immediately accessorized with running boards and extra lights. I was just thankful that he also lowered the height so I can climb in the passenger side!
In 2022, we’ve seen our doctors virtually and in person; we’ve exercised with online classes, in-person group classes at the Y with masks, and finally without masks. So far, we’ve avoided Covid and gotten all our immunizations for Covid, flu, and pneumonia.
Early in the year, I volunteered to help a small local Nazarene church with their bookkeeping when their bookkeeper passed away last December. There’s been a learning curve, but I managed to catch up their books on new software and improve their record-keeping. It actually has been fun for me! They’ve been pleased, so I was asked to continue as their church treasurer starting in January!
It was also fun for me to help organize, with 2 other women, BFCN’s (Belleville First Church of the Nazarene) Easter Breakfast. There, Dan attends monthly Men’s Breakfasts, and we are part of 2 Life Groups for fellowship and Bible study. JoyFM, where I used to work, offered a women’s concert in May; several of us girls from BFCN attended and had a wonderful evening.
May also brought a missionary family (friends of ours) our way, so we hosted them for a couple of nights, even taking them to a Cardinals game before they went on with their time in the U.S. before returning to the Philippines.
We were asked to attend some training sessions in Kansas City to assist missionaries as they use new financial software. Still a part of the Nazarene Missions Tech Team, Dan is often referenced to help make technical things work as he assists others around the Illinois District as well. It is good to be useful.
It was a wet spring and a HOT summer, but we grew lots of blackberries! Dan spent many hours keeping the yard and gardens thriving! We attended several Cardinals games in person (we watch the rest on TV), along with several wonderful musicals at The Muny in Forest Park. My favorite was “Mary Poppins” – so professional and fun! Summer also included Food Truck Fridays in Tower Grove Park – yum! And we always invite folks to join us on our screened porch to enjoy 4th of July fireworks that we can see for miles!
In July, we attended the Illinois District Assembly. Unfortunately, we lost the District Missions President the day before the meeting. A few weeks later, Dan was asked to be the new District President of Nazarene Missions International (NMI). The district area is the southern
2/3 of the state. While we’d been volunteer missionaries for 12 years, he’s never been involved in this support organization. He’s facing a significant learning curve but has a good council of folks to go through all the experiences with him, as they rebuild interest and activities of the NMI that were limited during the Covid years. We’re hoping for some Missions Team (Work & Witness) trips in 2023!
July was a busy month – we finally got to celebrate our 25th anniversary (a year late) with our dream of an Alaskan glacier cruise and it was wonderful on Royal Caribbean’s Ovation of the Seas.
This year was an expensive one as well – we had to replace our computers (over 10 years old), our cell phones, and our home’s HVAC system.
In October, Dan was able to attend several training days for NMI presidents in the US. And, on Districts each fall and spring, there’s usually been a missionary speaking tour scheduled. Covid had precluded any early scheduling of a missionary so, a few days after Dan returned, we spoke in 9 churches/zones (in a 2-week period) around the Illinois District about our missionary journey in “God’s retirement plan”. I helped by sharing some of our blog entries of our experiences.
In November, Dan drove us out to Marcy’s home for Thanksgiving (5 days of driving and 2 days of visiting). She’s now an SRO (school resource officer) while serving as a local police officer. It was great to spend some time with her! Monica is the only one living near us now, but she’s a very busy lady in a serious relationship, sings at her church, runs races literally all over the country, and seems to enjoy her full-time job in the county auditor’s office.
Erica visited for Mother’s Day and my birthday in August and in November as she ran her 7th Hot Chocolate 15K Race. Janet enjoyed a surprise Facetime call with Adam on her birthday that we all enjoyed. Derick and Darin are both still in North Carolina. We have
Looks like we’ll celebrate Christmas a few days later this year, when we can get a few family members gathered here! Skype, Zoom, Facebook, and other social media will have to do for the others others.
As the years keep going by more quickly, we surely do wish to see more of our friends and family! As God continues to bless us with good health, we keep busy but love to make time for those we care about. Please let us know when you’re near the St. Louis area so we can connect!
Wishing you all God’s blessings in this wonderful season!
With Love and Appreciation for all,
Blessings, Dan & Janet
