December 2016
Dear Friends and Family,
Greetings
from the mildly temperate climate of Summerville South Carolina. As the final signs of autumn color drift down
from the sweet gum trees, and the remaining blossoms fade from the confederate
rose, we welcome the seasonably mild chill that accompanies December in the
south. We miss the silence of fresh falling snow as it drifts down under the street lights, but not
the aftershock that comes after its arrival.
And so we settle in for a mild winter season and appreciate
an occasional cold snap that forces us into our winter jackets and listen to
the latest winter storm watch and thank the Lord he directed us to a warmer climate for this
season of our lives.
2016 has been a full year and we have enjoyed the Lord’s
favor. He blessed us with two darling
grandchildren this year bringing our covey of grands to nine. Victoria Jane Humphries was born to Rebecca
and Corey on my mother’s birthday, January 12th. Actually, Corey was blessed with the privilege
of delivering her since her arrival preceded the arrival of the mid-wife! Victoria is a precious child with the mild
manor of her Grandfather.
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| Victoria Jane |
Jasper Lee
Scott was born on August 16th to Maribeth and Ben. He checks in at number nine and the third
grandson on the team. He had the looks
of his big sister Olivia at first but has begun to take on his own identity
over the last couple of months.
Rebecca and family still are serving at Shorter University
in Rome GA. They have three girls, Ella
Mae at 5 is our oldest grandchild, and then Isabel, who turned 3 in August, and Victoria. Julie and Eli are at Southeastern Baptist
Seminary in Wake Forest NC. Julie is
expecting her third child in February, an arrival eagerly anticipated by Micah
(3) and Veda who turned one this year. Maribeth and Ben finished their first year in their new mountain home in
Asheville NC with Olivia (4) and Wren (2) along with new brother Jasper.
Rachel and Mark are still in Bonita Springs
FL and, along with Bowen (2), are anticipating the birth of a brother in mid-January. That will make eleven grandchildren under five. What a quiver we have! Jason is still holding down the fort here in
Summerville growing his Snap-On Tool business.
We were able to gather to enjoy a July 4th
celebration at the Center for Intercultural Training CIT in Union Mills NC, which is just east of Asheville. We have
been blessed to serve with Sowers at CIT for a number of projects. Since the holiday fell between training sessions they
graciously rented us accommodations that enabled each family to have their own
apartment, while giving us a great place to be together for fellowship around
the table and the swimming pool.
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| These guys were all 2 at the time |
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| Victoria, Wren, Veda Ella Mae, Olivia Bowen, Isabel, Micah |
We hope
to make that an annual tradition since it is harder for us to accommodate the
whole clan at our house at the same time.
Jane’s dad passed in mid-August. This image of Pop was done by Rebecca for the
memorial service. The verse that is
written on his coat is “whoever restraining his words has knowledge and he who
has a cool spirit is a man of understanding”.
The face is created with words that highlight various character qualities
that she saw exemplified by her Grandfather.
We were privileged to be able to minister to him for the last
month of his life and we miss his presence in our family. He turned 93 in April and soon after Father’s
Day it became apparent that the natural process of passing from this life was
settling in. He lived a full life and
has left a legacy of family that is quite a tribute to his love and care for
each of us. We gathered at his house for
Thanksgiving for one last time at the home place. The baton has been passed to the next
generation to carry on by extending his wisdom and kindness to the succeeding
generations.
Thanksgiving Blessings
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| Jasper Lee and Giga |
Jane and I have been privileged to serve with Sowers again this
year and will be setting out to Florida in January for the farm at Sherry White
Ministries in central Florida. We will
be about two hours away from Rachel and look forward to the arrival of our
tenth grandchild while we are there. One
of the blessings of serving with Sowers is that our weekends are free which
allows us to spend time with loved ones living near the projects.
We celebrated our forty first wedding anniversary in
March. I have been richly blessed to
have such a special partner in life who constantly reminds me of God’s grace
and mercy. The Bible reveals that the
marriage covenant relationship mirrors the relationship that Christ has with
his bride, the Church. Jesus is the consummate
grace giver and lover of my soul.
He commands me to live with Jane in an understanding way
which requires my constant attention as our lives and habits are continually
evolving with age. He gives her plenty
of opportunity to develop patience. What
a great journey we are on!
As we see 2016 come to a close, we are grateful for family
and friends who over the years have provided us with such fond memories. Each of you holds a special place in our
hearts as we think back across time, which seems to take on wings and fly with
ever increasing speed. So goes the cycle
of life.
We are grateful as well to our Heavenly Father for his
provision of life for us. Not only in
this age but, more importantly, in the age to come. We eagerly anticipate his second coming. We eagerly appreciate the celebration of his
first coming, two thousand years ago. Born
of a virgin according to the prophetic scriptures, he lived a sinless life, then
died a horrific death in place of sin cursed folks like us, that he might
reconcile us to a Holy God.
And so I would encourage you to read the good news account
of Jesus’ birth in the Gospel of Luke. The
heavenly host appeared to the shepherds who were in the fields tending their
sheep and proclaimed “today in the city of David a baby has been born who is
Christ the Lord”. God made him who knew
no sin to be sin for us.
Jesus death on the cross of Calvary is the complete payment for the sin debt that we owe God. Paid in Full! That is the message of Christmas.
Jesus is that perfect
Christmas gift! Won’t you receive him
into your heart this Christmas? He so
desires your worship. You will be so
glad you did, and we will be ecstatic as well!
Remember – Wise Men still seek Him!
Merry Christmas,
Glenn and Jane
