Lee Christmas Letter 2025

 

Friends and family,

“It’s that time of year, when the world falls in love”, from the tune by Doris Day, is upon us again and the sentiment or wish at the conclusion of the song is, “may your New Year’s dreams come true.” Looking back over the past year, many of our dreams came true with the normal struggles we all face. It is great to catch up with you and let you know some of the positive events of 2025, with a few pictures.

Jace finished out his junior year and began his senior year. With high school graduation on the horizon, he was accepted into the engineering school of Indiana Wesleyan University. So far this year, he received academic honors, was academic all-state athlete for the cross-country team, earned a letter, and was given the Rock-Solid Award for his tough and consistent approach to races, and an Oar Award for a race where he showed incredible effort and poise for his team. He continues to play the piano and picks up his saxophone for Wind Symphony of Westfield High School, for their concerts. His personal growth has been evident through this year. His attendance at Tuesday evening Bible Study and his small group on Sunday evenings, has been enriched by his friends with whom he feels most comfortable. Penn Station is a place where he earns a paycheck, and he is often closing the store with other team members in the evenings.

Jace had his senior pictures taken at the end of the summer.

At the front of the pack in the Flashrock Meet.

Feeding a giraffe that took a liking to him in Kenya.

Gwyneth is in the last half of her sophomore year. She enjoyed stage crew for the Show Choir at Westfield High School and plans to have a managerial role for that crew in the New Year. She loves volunteering in the children’s Sunday School class at College Park Church and dancing with the In-Step Dance ministry. She is on the way to being a licensed driver soon, so we’ll have to balance more drivers than cars in our home, as she plans to apply for jobs. She is bold about her faith, loves her friends, and achieves at a high academic level, she is a member of multiple clubs at school, and volunteers as a tutor for other students.

Gwyneth’s photography was displayed a local coffee shop.

She won our family bow and arrow target competition in the Masai Mara.

First day of sophomore year!

Quinn is finishing out her eighth-grade year and is looking forward to working out with the high school team for the upcoming track season. She ran cross country and stayed active with In-Step dance at the church as well.  She is disciplined, enjoys her friends, and serves in the kids’ Sunday School program as a volunteer, allowing her to complete some of her National Jr. Honor Society hours.  More recently she is involved in SALT (Student Athlete Leadership Team) and has sung with the Show Choir for Westfield Middle School.

Quinn with her Show Choir friend, Norah.

First day of eighth grade for Quinn.

School dance pic.

It was a dream to return to Kenya so that the kids could see where their dad spent most of his childhood and where family members served the Kipsigis tribe, where we were able to see former mission stations where they served. It was great to see sights in Kijabe, Nakuru, Tenwek, the Masia Mara, and the capital, Nairobi. During the week we helped to install a portion of the Calvary Africa Gospel Church’s floor. We finished with a trip sightseeing animals in the wild, highlighted by encountering two leopards.

The kids love time with their cousins, and it was great to spend a few days in the Wisconsin Dells with the Rieman’s, (Sarah’s sister and bro-in-law). These times together, though short, are treasured.

Sarah continues to work with Fisher Veterinary Associates as a veterinarian, practicing in integrative medicine. Thankfully, she is working less Saturdays and can make it to more sporting events to see the kids and assist John.

John continues to serve the adult online students of Indiana Wesleyan University, enjoying the opportunities to encourage and point them toward Jesus Christ, the way, truth, and life.

May your Christmas season be blessed and ‘may new year dreams come true’, The Lees

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6

 

 

 

Lee Christmas Update 2024

(photo credit: Pixabay)

 Hello family and friends, 

They say time flies when you are having fun. When I (John) look over the pictures of the past year, I’m amazed that the experiences seem so long ago. While saying that, I can peruse other pictures from ten years ago that feel like they took place yesterday. Here’s an attempt to offer some highlights from this past year. 

It isn’t like skiing in UT or CO, but we were grateful with time away from school on a long weekend to ski the slopes at Perfect North, just outside of Cincinnati. 

Ashville, NC was a great get-away for Spring Break. We rented a VRBO cabin in the area, toured some small towns, saw Billy Graham's Cove, the Biltmore and Vanderbilt Estates, hiked, and enjoyed food we don't normally eat.

View from the Appalachian Trail

Chapel at The Cove

Tulips at The Biltmore Estate

Sarah and I enjoyed The Lion King, in Dayton, OH. The Chop House lunch was delicious, a restaurant we would recommend for a nice meal.

In early summer, we took a road trip to IA to attend the wedding of Sarah's cousin and see her sister's family. Since her sister is a photographer, we arranged for some family pics.

                                                                                   

Jace, our junior, earned his driving license this year. He keeps fit in track and cross country, while carrying a very heavy academic load, preparing for an engineering degree in college. He enjoys hanging out with his friends at youth group. He is continuing to develop as a pianist and saxophone player. 

Gwyneth is a high achiever in the classroom, as she prepares for college in her freshman year of high school. She misses show choir from her eighth-grade year, yet dances in a ministry of the church called InStep. She'll soon have a permit to drive. She stays active with friends, participates as a tutor within the school, piano lessons, and youth group. 

Quinn is our seventh grader who moved up to middle school this year. She memorized the whole book of James in her Sunday School class. She ran cross country, plans to run track this Spring, and stays active in dance, piano, youth group, and school choir. 

Jace and I were able to take a cruise to celebrate Jace's sixteenth birthday. The ports were CoCo Cay, San Juan, and St. Thomas in the Caribbean. Sarah should be able to enjoy some kind of outing with each of the girls. 

On August 3, at mid-day, John's mother, Anna Verne, passed on to her eternal reward. You can read what I wrote for her eulogy in the entry before this Christmas update.

In November, we added a schnauzer from a rescue home, and we named him Gideon, "Giddy". Our cat, Boaz is not impressed.

I'm in my tenth year as an online chaplain for Indiana Wesleyan University, where thankfully, we are serving a record number of students. Sarah is in her 22nd year of service for Fishers Veterinary Associates, centering on some non-western medicine techniques for the practice. Though both of us consider our jobs to be 'work', we also consider it our calling, so we are grateful for the opportunities to be of value, that come our way.

Into a dark and fallen world, Jesus brought light. As you celebrate this season, may you be filled with the hope and peace He gives lives that are surrendered to Him. Have a Merry Christmas, a wonderful new year ahead!

John, Sarah, Jace, Gwyneth, and Quinn Lee

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. Isaiah 9: 2 NIV

Tribute from John Lee, Anna Verne Lee's son, August 10, 2024.

Anna Verne Lee (February 25, 1933- August 3, 2024)

One of the earliest memories of my mother was her leading me in a prayer, at my bedside, for Jesus Christ to forgive my sins and make me ready for heaven. It was my privilege to be at her bedside as she transitioned to heaven, on August 3^rd around noon, the same date of her Aunt Anna’s birthday, with whom she shared the same name.

When I walked into her room last Friday afternoon, Esther and I found two teary eyed LPNs or CNAs, likely paying their final respects before a weekend away from work, holding her hands and showing her lots of love. It seemed they had just washed her up and fixed her hair before our visit. They both expressed that she was a sweet and favorite patient. Esther, or any other sibling who visited, had devotions everyday with mother. Mother would request prayer to be a blessing to those who cared for her.

My mother was a caring person. She showed her care in unique ways, that you’d have to experience for yourself. My niece, Laura, was enamored with a bottle of perfume, shaped like a rose, with a lid that looked like a portion of the rose’s stem that sat on her grandma’s dresser. After noticing that the level of the contents in the bottle never changed, she questioned Anna Verne about it. Mother said that our dad had bought it for her, and since it was so special to her, she didn’t want to use it. It was evident, in conversation, how she adored her siblings and parents. She was almost like a mother hen for her brothers John and David, and for her sister, Sarah Margaret, though she was the second oldest child in the family. When we were at boarding school, as kids, she would go through lengths to pack just what we liked to snack on, in our chow boxes/tins. Too bad that mine was gone in a few days😊. She had started a box of cards, sent from my kids, before she began to decline significantly, and I remember her saving all our birthday cards from many of our family and friends as keepsakes. Her care showed in ways that were unique.

She wasn’t just caring but she was consistent and committed- All of us kids remember receiving her hand-written letters, each week at boarding school. Those letters were fresh air to our souls, to receive words from home. You can see that specific Scripture, from the book of Ruth in your bulletins inserts, about her commitment to our dad, and service to the Lord that says, “where you go, I will go, and wherever you make a home, those people will be my people, and your God will be my God”. Her consistency and commitment showed when I would get up in the morning and see her Bible open with a pen in it, alongside her crossword puzzle book. Dad and her also prayed through prayer calendars religiously.

So, she was caring, consistent, committed, and she was courteous and cultured- we were raised with a mom whose lifestyle, from being raised under British influence was evident. We knew what fork to use during a higher-class meal. Or how to set a table. Every time people blessed us with a gift, we were to respond with a hand-written thank you note. When I say cultured, it wasn’t like she became saturated with culture in the United States, once we moved back here. In fact, we could tell she rejected segments of our culture, but she was very aware of what was classy and proper and expected us to act appropriately. She wasn’t given to fashion- she started taking more of Esther’s advice in her later years, but she certainly had this aura about her, “if I have to change for you to accept me, it just won’t happen…”😊 One missionary wrote me and said she was invaluable with orienting new missionaries to the way of life in Kenya, because she knew missionary and Kenyan cultures. She was aware of those around her and wanted to act appropriately.

She was concise- I often had mother look over anything that I wrote and publicized. She was skilled at picking out grammatical errors. I’m sure that she helped many write better articles for The Call to Prayer at WGM or support letters that conveyed a focused message. She was known for helping missionaries learn tribal languages and customs in the country of Kenya. I remember missionaries staying at our home or checking in for language study. Her concise knowledge of the English language helped to instruct regarding first, second, third person, singular and plural, verb tense, etc… When she did something, she would do it well, and I was aware she was VERY able, even if she didn’t believe she was. Maybe some of her resistance to being more forthright about her gifts was because she expected perfection out of herself. And we felt that as kids too, wink, wink😊😊.

Anna Verne was a confidant. She was trusted with information that wasn’t to be shared with others. She and my dad didn’t dig up dirt at family discussions. It almost softened our world, since we didn’t hear about people’s interpersonal struggles or what people who confided in her (or with dad as a couple) were processing. I know I talked plenty with my mom on the phone. She listened. Dad attempted to give answers, she allowed me to process.

So, we have caring, consistent, committed, cultured, courteous, and confidant. I needed a strong word, so I’m going to use Becky’s, and that is courageous. She was strong. Children of pioneer missionary parents who begin their ministries out of tents in remote areas learn to survive. They must work through emotional adjustments of much separation from their families and friends, especially coming to terms with that as adults. It takes strength and fortitude. I’ve seen my mother deal with driving home on Kenya roads at night and saying “thank you Jesus” for evading contact with a truck parked in the middle of the road with no reflectors. I’ve seen her say goodbye to her parents for long periods of time, or her kids, or my own dad for short stints of remote ministry. I’ve seen her in traction for her back, for months in a bedroom as a missionary. I’ve seen her paralyzed on one side of her body from a car wreck and her fulfilling a goal to walk in my wedding, which happened because of her strength. From 2003- 2022, Esther has a record of eight procedures/surgeries, and some weren’t simple.  She dealt with cancer until her dying day, and dementia from her late 80s into her 90s, but she kept upbeat. Esther says, “All the way to her dying day she held a positive outlook. She did pout a bit when I told her I needed to go from our afternoon visit. She perked up and said, "The bathroom is right over there."”

 

Christine Stanfield, former missionary to Kenya and Uganda, shared that she appreciated these qualities about mother: “her always sweet smile and gentle demeanor, her ready laugh, the wise words of encouragement she so freely shared, and her willingness and readiness to tell stories of life in Kenya.”

In conclusion, for a missionary kid, there is one question that stirs the soul rather deeply. That question: Where is ‘home’ for you? All of us are dealing with the fallenness of this life, so that we long for something better. Psalm 90: 1 speaks of God being our home. For right now, we find our dwelling place- or our home, in God, who has been our dwelling place throughout all generations. It’s our place of deepest contentment on this earth, in who He is and in His will for us. Yet, we continue to long for complete satisfaction, unaffected by any negative circumstance. I’m grateful that Anna Verne isn’t on her back doing dot-to- dot drawings or maneuvering to get her crossword puzzle book at just the right angle, to see the next word clue, wondering when Esther will arrive with the tea and chocolate.  Her journey here is done. She’s truly home, and for that we can be grateful.