Summer 2016 Update

Summer 2016

Carol with Sammy and quilt she made for her.

It has been one of the most demanding seasons of our time in Europe, and our communication to you has suffered as a result. We’re sorry this update is so late in coming! There has been a lot of activity in both our personal lives and in the ministry – we’ll try to give you a brief but full update.

Personal News: On 3 February at 7:00pm, our first grand-daughter, Samantha Rodman Marsh, was born.  She weighed 9 lbs., 7 oz. and was 19 inches long. She joins her big brother Levi, who was just 2 weeks shy of his first birthday.  Rachel and Andrew are understandably thrilled, as are we!  We had a chance to be at their home in Annapolis, Maryland, in May for a visit. At that time, Nicole and Eric, with their boys, Asher and Cayden, came to join us from New York; and John and his girlfriend Kefei came from Arizona for a full-family gathering!  It was the first time for everyone to be together!

Bob & Samantha

Just after Samantha was born, we received word that Bob’s dad was ill. He contracted a bad cold that developed into pneumonia, which severely weekend his heart.  Multiple body systems began to be strained, and fail. When told that he was not going to recover, and that he had only a few days to two weeks to live, he paused for just a moment, then said, “Well, ‘To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord!’ We should celebrate!”

We flew to West Virginia on 15 February, and were with dad and mom through dad’s last days on this earth.  He was in great spirits when we arrived, making jokes, sitting in his chair, and resting on his hospital bed in the living room of their apartment. But by Wednesday, he began to slip into more of a semi-conscious state, and in the early hours of Friday morning, 19 February, he went home to be with Jesus. Even in his semi-conscious state he quoted a verse of Scripture: “Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord…”  What a testimony! We are blessed to know dad is in heaven with Jesus!