2017 Christmas Letter

Merry Christmas!

We hope this letter finds you well and that you have had a good year. 2017 has been quite the year for us. The Hitchhikers, Miriam’s robotics team, did well in their district competitions and qualified for the District Championships where they qualified for the FRC Championships in Houston. The Pitt Pirates with Christian as one of their mentors also qualified for the FRC Championships and did very well there. While in Houston, Dan, Leslie-Jean and Miriam took the Level 9 tour at Johnson Space Center. This was a five-hour tour with only 12 people. We saw an unused Saturn V rocket, the Neutral Buoyancy Lab (where astronauts train for space walks), new and old Mission Control, and Building 9 where we saw robots and the planned Orion capsule. We also got to eat at the employee cafeteria where Dan got a “Hi” from Gene Kranz. We also visited the San Jacinto Battleground where Texas won its freedom from Mexico.

Dan and Leslie-Jean celebrated their 25^th anniversary by going on a cruise on the Majesty of the Seas. This was the same ship they cruised on for their honeymoon. Back then it was the newest and largest ship in the fleet. Now it is the oldest and smallest. We had a great time cruising out of Port Canaveral with stops at Coco Cay and Nassau. We took with us a commemorative bottle of champagne we had gotten on our honeymoon. Unfortunately, we did not store it properly and it did not taste good. The cruise line gave us complimentary glasses which tasted much better.

Miriam attended Summer Dance Company in Atlanta for two weeks. Dan, Leslie-Jean and Bethany drove to Atlanta to pick her up and see her performance. While there, we visited the Coke Museum and tried all the sodas they had for sampling from throughout the world. We also had a great visit with one of Dan’s cousins and his wife. Another family visit was with Dan’s sister’s family who came to visit us and Dan’s parents. While here, we had a great time (and wipeout) at the U.S. National Whitewater Center and travelled to Wilmington to see the USS North Carolina and spend some time at the beach.

In August, we took an extended weekend trip to the mountains to camp, hike, and see lots of waterfalls. Bethany and Dan were brave (or insane) enough to slide down and over Turtleback Falls with its 20-foot drop. We all slid down Sliding Rock which is very popular with a long slide and no drop into a pool of very cold water. The last day we saw waterfalls in Dupont State Forest some of which were used in the movies The Last of the Mohicans and The Hunger Games. In November, Dan and Leslie-Jean took the short trip to Winston-Salem to visit Old Salem and see Illinois play basketball against Wake Forest. Old Salem is a living history museum of an old Moravian community showing how they lived and worked. We spent the whole day there and learned a lot. The basketball game did not end well, but it was fun to see the team up close and in person.

The health of Dan’s parents was a big concern for us the last few months. Dan’s Dad fell and broke his femur near his hip in August. It needed surgery with rehabilitation after that. Dan’s Mom stayed with us during this time. They were unable to return to their independent living situation and moved into an assisted living facility together. Dan’s Mom then had a stroke and is now in memory care. Dan’s Dad is now doing quite well and working on getting even better. Dan’s Mom has lost a lot of her abilities but is always very pleasant and happy to see us when we visit. A bonus of these situations was some extra, unplanned visits from Dan’s sister.

Christian graduated from Eastern Carolina University in the Spring and was given the Outstanding Senior in Computer Science Award. He is now a firmware engineer at Lenovo. Carl participated in the Research Experience for Undergraduates at Notre Dame this summer and is now a co-author on a published paper. Bethany has worked very hard this year with her studies and teaching and has chosen to major in industrial engineering. Miriam was selected as one of the co-captains for her robotics team and has done a good job getting them ready for the upcoming season.

This entire year Dan has been studying Psalms in depth. There is a great variety of messages and styles throughout. The following is Dan’s attempt to write a Psalm of testimony applicable to this time of year when we celebrate the coming of God to earth through the birth of Jesus at Christmas. We hope you have a very, merry Christmas and a great 2018!

A Psalm of Testimony at Christmas

O Lord, I praise you for your amazing creation, the world and all that is in it.

I praise and thank you, Lord, for creating me and bringing me into your world.

My desire is to be with You all my days here among your creation.

And when my days are done, to be with you in heaven for eternity.

Therefore, I have decided to do good, be good, and earn my way into heaven.

Lord, let me know what good things I can do for you and I’ll be your servant.

The Lord then opened his word to me to show me the error of my ways.

What I had thought were my righteous acts, He showed me to be filthy rags.

Instead of working my way into heaven, I then decided to be good enough.

I will learn and follow all your ways and to earn my way into heaven.

Once again the Lord opened his word to show me the error of my ways.

You have to be perfect as I am perfect was His reply.

Lord, I see now that I fall way short in being and doing what you require.

I am grieved that I cannot earn my way into eternity with You in heaven.

How does anyone meet your requirements? I fear it is impossible.

Then God told me that what is impossible for man is possible for Him.

O Lord, please explain to me how you can do what seems impossible.

How can I bridge the gap between You and me caused by my sin?

The Lord showed me that while I cannot cross the chasm, He can.

While I cannot go to God because of my sin, He can come to me.

God came to me by being born as a baby in Bethlehem.

God came to me by living a perfect, sinless life.

God came to me by becoming the perfect sacrifice on the cross for my sin.

God came to me by overcoming death by rising again on the third day.

Praise be to God for Jesus, who left heaven to become a man.

Praise be to God for Jesus, who lived among us as a man without sin.

Praise be to God for Jesus, who took my sin upon Him and died for it upon the cross.

Praise be to God for Jesus, who rose again opening the path to eternal life.

What I could not do, God did for me.

What I could not be, God became for me.

What I desired most, God freely gave me.

Praise be to God for all He has, is and will do.