For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. What an incomprehensible blessing! The more we study this and sing it, the more our appreciation deepens for the gift of Immanuel, God with us.
Greetings! We hope that this finds you doing well and
delighting in the blessings of Advent.
We‘re doing well and enjoying this precious season of life. As
others have discovered, retirement doesn’t mean that grass grows beneath our
feet. It means that we get to choose how we’re going to invest our time. The
basic structure of our weeks revolves around church, Bible study, exercise, and
yard work. It’s tough to ask for a day off when you don’t have a job, boss, or
paycheck!
We remain deeply grateful for our Christian communities.
Worshiping, serving, and fellowship with our Hope Lutheran family brings
abundant blessing. We sing in the choir and are in our second year as mentors
for our confirmation group. We enjoyed serving at Tim Tebow’s Night to Shine, a prom for
developmentally delayed adults; Touched
by Hope, a free medical/dental clinic; and spending a week in the mountains
with our mission team helping to build a Habitat house. The Hope women’s and
men’s retreats are always a highlight. Ann sews with the Nifty Needleworkers
and had a special treat this year when granddaughter Ella joined her to help
with VBS. We celebrated the 500th anniversary of the Reformation
throughout the year. We continue in leadership with our Community Bible Study
class where we dive deeply into the book of Romans. Blessings abound through
this community and our studies! This summer Ann studied Faithful, Abundant, and True with her summer Bible study small
group.
Part of our mission crew in front of the house we helped paint.
Some also worked hard to clear the lot for the next house.
It will be right across the road from the Campbell Folk School.
Some also worked hard to clear the lot for the next house.
It will be right across the road from the Campbell Folk School.
Tom led a hike across Stone Mountain (NC) at the Men's Retreat
Our VBS team - Granddaughter Ella on the right
We’ve pursued another mission dear to our hearts this year.
In 1992, we led Grace church’s sponsorship of a refugee Montagnard family of
ten and have continued to help them through the years. Son Duen, who was 16
when they arrived, walked with a limp because of an untreated hip fracture
resulting from a fall at age 3. Because he has never received treatment his hip
joint is now also compromised, so he cannot work or even walk far without
excruciating pain. In April we helped him apply for Medicaid, which was granted
in December. We pray that Duen will soon have hip replacement surgery to reduce
the pain. There has been so much uncorrectable damage to his leg because his
fracture was not treated that it’s unlikely he will be able to work, so we
recently applied for disability. This experience
has heightened our sensitivity to the plight of many people in the world. We
have always enjoyed the privilege of excellent medical care. How many worldwide
suffer terribly like Duen? In early October, Duen’s father died of a heart
attack. We are helping apply for Social Security survivor’s benefits for his
wife. The challenge is that there were no official records of births and marriages
in the jungles of Vietnam. God has provided compassionate SS intake people and
a doctor with a compassionate heart. We pray that He will overcome the
obstacles both Duen and his mother face in getting benefits.
The NC mountains and Savannah were delightful vacation
destinations! After our spring mission trip, we stayed to explore the Newland
area. Highlights included perching on a valley overlook at Wiseman’s View to
watch a cloud bank sneak into Linville Gorge enshrouding the mountains, valley,
and us before quietly stealing away, hikes along the Blue Ridge Parkway, and
Grandfather Mountain’s Profile Trail. Son Jay had tried to convince us to
tackle this hike years ago, but we didn’t take the challenge. For years we had thought
that Grandfather was famous for his reclining profile, but were delighted to
discover the namesake profile from the trail. We still didn’t tackle the steep,
rocky summit trail with its chains and ladders, Jay; but, we thoroughly enjoyed
the impressively engineered Peregrine’s
Flight section of the trail to Profile View made of hundreds of huge, flat
stones that were laid with hand tools – iron rods, pulleys, and winches. It is
billed as being as outstanding in the world of trail building as the infamous Linn
Cove Viaduct is to roadbuilding. We agree!
We're overlooking Linville Gorge.
Waterfall on the Stack Rock Trail
View of Table Rock and Hawksbill from the Blue Ridge Parkway
Profile Trail. These are the steepest steps.
They're over knee high.
They're over knee high.
View of Grandfather's profile
We celebrated our anniversary in Savannah
after Thanksgiving. It’s a great city to explore. We enjoyed trolley tours, an
architectural walking tour and a guided tour of Bonaventure cemetery. Our
timing was perfect as we got to watch a boat parade. Delicious Savannah fare
included a low country boil, soul food at Sisters
of the South, and our intro to DIY oriental hot-pot cooking. We missed the
famous Leopold’s ice cream, so must return!
Videos of the boat parade
Two trips to South Dakota gave us precious time with Tom’s
brothers and their families. In August we attended brother Oscar’s big birthday
bash. What fun it was to prepare for the party with his daughter Karla and her
family! Tom was excited to see people from the community that he hadn’t seen in
years. Though organized for Oscar, the party turned out to be very special for
his wife Dory, who had been homebound most of the year due to poor health. She
thoroughly enjoyed the festivities and visiting with friends. Most guests never
suspected she was ill. The brothers also enjoyed a day together reminiscing.
While visiting brother David and his family in Omaha, we went with David to
Iowa to explore ancestral land, do primary source research, and visit their 2x great
grandfather’s grave. In mid-September we returned to South Dakota when our dear
Dory went Home. It was good to share that special time with Oscar and his
family. We are deeply grateful for the opportunity to have been together and for
the joyous celebration in August.
Our last picture together before our circle was broken.
Dave and Tom at the grave of Thomas A Thompson,
an immigrant ancestor
an immigrant ancestor
Raleigh is a great place to live. Local favorites that we
enjoyed included Carolina Ballet, Artsplosure, the International Bluegrass
Festival, the International Festival, and the North Carolina State Fair. Southeastern
Baptist Theological Seminary is nearby. We were privileged to attend their commencement
exercise when Tom’s cousin Jim Berg was conferred his doctorate degree.
More Katena Photographs
Artsplosure Photographs
A new band emerged at the bluegrass festival
Jim and Patty Berg with daughter Michelle
We’re also close to Chapel Hill where daughter Sally’s family lives. It’s always delightful to share time with them. This was a banner year for her oldest Ella. We celebrated with her at her confirmation and middle school promotion. We always enjoy watching her play high school and club volleyball. Her sister Anna plays tennis and swims. We celebrated with her at her bridging ceremony in Girl Scouts. Grandpuppy Ruby sneaks away to hang out with us on occasion.
We’re looking forward to a 2018 summer family gathering in
Raleigh when son Jay and family visit from Finland and daughter Sarah and her
family visit from Franklin, TN.
We eagerly anticipate sharing Christmas and our traditions with
Sally’s family followed by an Escape Room adventure with the girls. May we call
you to bail us out if we can’t escape?!?
We wish for you abundant blessings
through Advent and Christmas. May you be blessed with well-being and joy
through the coming year.
