My wife Patti wrote a Christmas letter that I thought pretty well summarized our2012 year. Here it is:
Dear Family and Friends,
We experienced a 2012 filled with God’s goodness, answered prayer, some tension and lots of rejoicing. Greg and I celebrated 25 wonderful years of marriage and 24 years of ministry at Valley Fellowship Church (VFC). I love Greg’s preaching and you can listen to many of his passionate sermons at valleyfellowship.com. Greg has moved into the techno-world; follow Greg’s twitter @GregLovesPatti. I greatly enjoyed teaching Bible studies for ladies and mentoring high school student leaders. I serve as VFC missions pastor, Valley Fellowship Christian Academy (VFCA) administrator, and as an ICAA/SACS representative, spurring academic and spiritual improvement in Christian schools through the accreditation process.
Rozy, an Oral Roberts University junior, is only one semester from student teaching. She joyfully serves as a student chaplain and directs an ORU student prayer movement team. Kimberlyn is a high school junior at VFCA. She plays basketball, heads the youth worship band, prays as a student leader with the Children’s Prayer Network, and spends countless hours playing guitar – her passion.
Our family experienced God’s healing power in multiple ways. On July 7th, God spared Kimberlyn from serious injury when she crashed a four-wheeler off an Idaho mountain trail. The emergency room visit uncovered a bone tumor on her right shoulder blade. After months of uncertainty, countless tests, multiple trips to St. Jude’s in Memphis, and successful surgery in September, we greatly rejoice the tumor was benign. I felt the flood of God’s grace resulting from the prayers of so many people. Prayer and God’s promises carried us through. Praise the Lord!
In November, Kimberlyn and I enjoyed a tremendous Guatemalan mission trip, and our whole family is preparing eagerly for a 2013 summer mission trip to Tanzania. We anticipate God’s move in 2013 in our family, our ministry, and our nation. Our world appears in turmoil, but He’s got the whole world in His hands, hands able to hold all of us together too. We pray that you and your family will be blessed, healed, and filled with expectancy for God’s presence.
Expecting Miracles in Your Life,
Patti Simon and the Simon Family
