“Come, dearest child, into our hearts, and leave your crib behind you!” December 2016 Dear Family, Friends, Neighbors & Colleagues around the World: It’s time to celebrate! In this country with all of its divisions and vitriol and in this world with all of its poverty and strife, it is especially important for us to once again tune into the Angle’s message: “Behold, I bring you tidings of great joy. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord!” Yes, Emmanuel is still with us and still offering peace, light, love, salvation and hope to our broken world. So we bring you Christmas greetings and a hope that your New Year, and our world’s New Year, will be filled with healing, blessings and joy.  |  | The highlight of our year was the celebration of two milestones – our 25th wedding anniversary in June and Wendell’s 80th birthday in November. We decided to hold one big blast here at Penney Retirement Community in October to celebrate both occasions. Some 160 of our neighbors joined us for a two-hour party that included two power point presentations, a guitar number by grandson Seth Reynolds, several duets by us (including the piece we sang to each other at our wedding) and a time to enjoy some goodies. Sons Phil and Andrew represented the family, while long-time friend and colleague, Em Cummins, came all the way from California and played the piano. As the saying goes, “A good time was had by all.” As we look back over Wendell’s eight decades and our quarter of a century together, we give thanks to God for his faithfulness in showering us with so many blessings and getting us through a number of challenges.  |  | The concern of the year was our oldest son Steve’s discovery in October that he had a cancerous tumor in his jaw that required him to leave family and school in Qingdao, China and return to the States for treatment. He is blessed with some of the best treatment available at the Barnes Medical Center in St. Louis to which he can commute from their home in Anna, IL. He is undergoing four chemo infusion treatments at three-week intervals. The prognosis is encouraging – a 90% cure rate for this type of tumor, and an 80% chance that he will not need surgery or radiation. So far, the tumor has shrunk to half its original size, so we are encouraged and grateful. We’re also grateful that the school is providing transportation costs for his family to come home for three weeks during the holidays. We look forward to a visit with them then. Thank you for keeping Steve and his family in your prayers.  This past summer we went on our usual jaunts to Illinois, Michigan and California to visit family and friends and to enjoy some time away from our usual busy schedules here at Penney Farms where we continue to have many opportunities for preaching, singing, serving, teaching and the like. We especially enjoyed volunteering at the RCA’s Kentucky mission, Grace Covenant Ministries (formerly Jackson County Ministries) for a month. Renske worked in the resale shop and did some painting while Wendell learned how to steer a zero turn mower up and down hill and dale to cut more grass than he had ever cut in his 80 years all put together. He also preached in two of our three RCA churches there and we were the “go to” persons for a few work groups. In a way, this was another anniversary celebration since it had been exactly 50 years since Wendell had first visited the mission with his church youth group in tow. He would eventually go on to become the RCA’s staff liaison person with the mission for five years when he served on the denomination’s staff. So it was like coming home for him.
 We also enjoyed our annual spring jaunt to Orlando to spend a weekend with cousins Ruth & Larry Custer which this year included a visit with Rock Group buddies Roger & Virginia Kleinheksel as well. In November, we drove to Illinois for our annual Thanksgiving visit to sister and brother-in-law Nancy and Tom Long and family. The clan gathered at the File farm for some great food, fun and fellowship. Son Steve and granddaughter Katrina (now in college) were also able to join us there. A highlight of the evening was Wendell’s annual Thanksgiving auction where he wraps up mystery gifts and auctions them off to the team making the highest bid – using Monopoly money, of course! The event also includes a “dress up” number by the younger members of the family which is always a hoot. We look forward to our holiday visit to the Hughes family in Greenville, SC and especially to the clan gathering which now fills a large house to capacity with three generations. Son Phil will also come from Connecticut.
Steve hopes to re-join Pelesia, Penney and Courtney in March if his treatments go as hoped. They are teaching and in administration at a Christian-sponsored international school in Qingdao, China. Phil continues to oversee a massive five-year highway construction job in near his home in Glastonbury, CT where he also plays a pretty good game of golf at his country club there. Andrew continues his work as a chimney repair specialist in New Haven, CT. Rachel, Nik, Anastasia, Lola and Alexander continue to live in Los Angeles in their home on the side of a mountain with a great view of the city. Rachel is engaged in counseling while Nik is involved in art education and organizing art events.  Wendell has been busy all year working on another book – Christianity Under the Microscope: Is Christianity Still Worth Believing in a Postmodern World? A quote from the preface: “My deepest hope is that non-Christian readers will be helped to better understand the case for the Christian faith and perhaps want to take the first step towards making that faith their own. It is also my hope that Christian readers will interact with it in a way that will shed some light on their doubts, help them come to a fuller understanding of what the Christian faith is all about and enable them to develop deeper convictions about their faith as it applies to life today.” The book is designed as an interactive study book that is ideal for both personal and group study. Each of the 21 chapters contains plenty of thought questions for personal or group reflection. The 400page book is scheduled to be published in January and will be available on Amazon. If you would like a copy (or copies), let him know and he can order them for you at the author’s price of only $10.00 each and have it (them) shipped directly to you.
We send our greetings and our love to each one of you. Thanks for being a part of our lives. May you have a Blessed Christmas and a Hope-filled New Year. Wendell & Renske “Let this be where the new life starts for all who seek and find you… Come, conquer and deliver this world, and us, forever.” |