God has been faithful to us in
2012. We have tried our best to be
faithful to Him.
Rowen continues to work in the
Microscopy Lab at Carestream. He has
been very busy with work from around the globe this year. He is presently learning how to use a
Scanning Electron Microscope, which is new to his lab. He also remodeled our upstairs bathroom this
summer. His tenure as treasurer for the
Johnstown Historical Society (JHS) is coming to a close the end of the year.
Janet made five quilt tops this
year! She also made three bridesmaid
dresses. Every three months, she had an
oncologist appointment and blood work and always got a good report. Now she is allowed to go six months between
appointments. Her hair came in wavy and
curly, and though it is much different to deal with, it is a blessing to have! She got to be election judge for the towns of
Johnstown and Milliken elections, and also for the county for the General
Election. She also helped with
membership and fundraiser committees for the JHS. She only has one student in her homeschool.
Jeffrey, 21, has been at God’s
Bible School (GBS) in Cincinnati most of the time this year. He did spend the summer in Joplin working for
his brothers at ABE Painting. He came
home for the weekend of his 21st birthday in July. He missed Thanksgiving with the family, but
will be home for Christmas. We are very
grateful that he received a full tuition scholarship for the remainder of his
missions degree program. He keeps very
busy there, with studying, his work hours, and Bible studies and prayer station
ministries. Rowen, Janet, and Emily went
to GBS in May for camp meeting and to take Jeffrey to Joplin for the
summer. It was great to see relatives
there and get acquainted with the campus.
Beth, 19, has almost completed a
year of working at Ace Hardware. She is
a cashier, works in the office, and helps with the feed department of the
store. She loves working there four days
a week. She and Jason took a trip to GBS
in November since they didn’t get to go in May.
She also was an election judge for the town of Johnstown and the county
for General Election. After much prayer,
Beth decided to take an opportunity to move to some friends’ house to their
basement apartment here in Johnstown.
She will be providing child care two days a week for their three
children, ages 5, 3, 1.5. The apartment
is very nice and Beth is settling in. We
know she will be a blessing there. She
has given up her God’s Girls’ Newsletter ministry (after doing it for 8.5
years) because she will not have time to publish it in the future. This year, Beth did all the designing of
flyers, tickets, and ads for the Johnstown Historical Society events and fundraisers. She won’t have time for that next year,
either. She recently bought a Suzuki Esteem
station wagon, which is a stick shift, so she has been learning how to drive
it.
Jason, 17, has enjoyed working
full time at Ace (will be two years March 1).
This fall, he and Emily have been in orchestra class at our homeschool umbrella
school on Wednesdays. In January, they
will start orchestra and choir classes together. Jason has been out of school since May 2011,
but wanted the opportunity to do orchestra and choir before going away to GBS
next fall. He also completed his driver
training this year and bought a minivan of his own. In July, Beth and Jason used their vacation
to go to Kansas State Holiness Association Camp in McPherson, Kansas. They let Emily and Janet come along too, and
we all enjoyed the camp services. They
drove Emily and Janet over to Joplin and left them there.
Which brings the letter to
Emily: Emily, 14.5, thoroughly enjoyed
the trips she went on this year, to GBS, Joplin, McPherson, and Joplin
again. She and Janet stayed in Joplin
for 3.5 weeks! The main reason for the
long visit was the birth of Jonathan Randall Albertson, born to Randy and Joy
on August 2. Emily stayed at Tim and
Brenda’s house most of the time and loved getting to know Charissa better,
while Janet spent most of the time at Randy and Joy’s helping out there. They flew home, which was special since Emily
never had flown before! Emily bought a
very nice camera and has been taking some incredible pictures which she makes
into picture cards. She has them for
sale 10/$10. She is working on putting
samples on her photography blog: forhisgloryandhonorphotography.blogspot.com
Emily has continued to enjoy playing her
violin, and particularly loves accompanying Jason, who plays cello and piano. She and Jason played their instruments for the
JHS Tea in September and have been asked to play for the Seniors’ Luncheon next
week. She is in 9th grade
this year. This year, Emily discovered
God has given her a gift for drawing.
She looks at photos of family members and draws them amazingly
well.
We have made energy efficient
changes to our home this year: solar
panels and a new furnace. The new
furnace was a definite necessity, and should save a lot on our gas bills this
winter. The solar panels have made
nearly all of the electricity we have used since they were turned on in June.
Our family has continued to
minister to children at Federal Heights every Sunday evening. The attendance varies quite a bit from time
to time, and we have lost some of our most faithful children when their
families move away. We are trusting that
the Word planted will grow in their lives.
We enjoyed having Randy and Tim’s
families here for Thanksgiving and were especially blessed that no one was
injured in the rollover that the girls and the grandchildren were in on their
way here. Quil and Micah are growing up
so much, already homeschooling with their mommy, and Jonathan is a sweet and
cooperative third son. Charissa has
learned to walk and she loves to Skype with us on the computer.
God has been so good to us. We intend to keep trusting Him through the
days ahead. God is already there; He
already knows what the future holds. We
are especially grateful for the gift of Jesus, Immanuel, God With Us.
We are trusting that you have a Christ-filled CHRISTmas,
Rowen and Janet Albertson
Jeffrey, Beth, Jason, and Emily
