God has been good to us this year despite great sadness early on. We thank Him for His sustaining grace. Here is a sketch of our lives this past year.
WINTER
The New Year unloaded on us with a great grief. Scott's mother, Judy Bashoor, passed away on Jan. 10th near Tampa, Florida. Judy, 82, had been diagnosed with heart disease just a couple months before, and she declined rapidly. Scott flew out to be with her and his brothers, John & Marc. Marc lives in that area and bore that brunt of medical and financial decisions. John flew in from Spokane, and together with some of the grandkids, we all had a poignant and prolonged goodbye with Mom as she slipped into hospice. We greatly miss her, but we rejoice that she is in the Savior's presence.
In February, all four of us flew back to Tampa for her memorial service. Scott preached the sermon while Heidi and the girls prepared a Scripture recitation of Mom's favorite passage. She was laid to rest in Sarasota, near Marc's home. Fortunately, her estate settled without much difficulty as Marc did a fantastic job negotiating all those affairs.
We brought home from Florida a few treasures from Mom's. It's no replacement for her, but we're thankful for some keepsakes from her and her family, including the wooden rocker of Scott's great-grandmother.
Meanwhile, ministry and school occupied most of our time, as usual. Scott continues to co-pastor at Community Bible Church (Anaheim), and Heidi homeschools our girls using the Classical Conversations curriculum. The girls are excelling in history and geography, and they're being exposed to Latin as well as more traditional subjects. Each Tuesday they meet with other CC students for group classes, and Heidi serves there as a teaching tutor. It's a paid position that requires hours of preparation, but she's enjoying the experience.
On Wednesdays, the girls take several hours of music classes with Orange Coast Musical Arts. Rebekah has gotten quite good on flute and violin, and Hannah is learning flute as well. Sometimes Rebekah plays violin with a worship team at church. OCMA presents concerts at least twice a year as well as other opportunities including marching band.
We marked our 2nd anniversary in our lovely home. We're so thankful for this peaceful community and our good neighbors. Heidi loves going for jogs in nearby La Mirada Creek Park. Here she trained for a half-marathon she ran later in the Fall, and she's hoping to run a full marathon in 2023. Her running routine includes memorizing large amounts of Scripture, and she's on a quest to memorize 66 key chapters, one from each Bible book. She has 30-40 more to go.
Scott has been hitting the mountain bike trails here and in nearby Coyote Hills. His bike has suffered a lot of incidents, though. Since May, he's had one cracked frame, a snapped chain, and 15 flat tires (yes, he's checked the inner walls). It's been a vicious cycle. :)
SPRING
Scott co-pastors with a good friend, and they take turns in the Sunday pulpit, trading off every couple months. Scott's sermons take us through the books of Samuel. Heidi is a co-teacher in the children's ministry, presenting lessons geared for kids on hermeneutics (the art and science of interpretation) and hymnology.
Scott continues teaching a couple Hebrew classes each semester at The Master's Seminary as well as recurring online classes for The Master's University.
Scott's doctoral studies were stalled this semester due to his mom's passing, but he continued to prod a little in his own research.
In March, the girls delivered major presentations in CC's, "Faces of History." Each student writes a speech in the words of a historical character, creates a costume, and delivers the monologue from memory before the whole campus. Rebekah presented biblical "Jael," the woman who had a point to share with a pagan's temple. Hannah presented her biblical namesake, "Hannah," the mother of Samuel.
Heidi and Scott celebrated their 15th anniversary on April 24th. We were very busy, but we enjoyed a night at a lovely seaside hotel near Laguna Beach. We're so thankful for the Lord's bringing us together and growing our love.
SUMMER
With the winddown of school, we were able to travel and receive some company. In mid-June, Scott's brother and sister-in-law, John and Terri, flew down from Spokane to stay with us for about a week. It was Terri's first visit to SoCal, so we tried to do some special things. We spent a couple nights at a lovely inn-style Air-B-and-B off the central coast where we saw sea otters, elephant seals, and parts of famed Big Sur. During their time with us, Scott turned 50, and we had a great time of mourning. Despite that, it was wonderful having them with us.
In late June, we drove to Albuquerque, NM, for the annual convention of our fellowship of churches (IFCA International). Scott presented a seminar, and we enjoyed a rich time with friends and made new contacts. On the way there, we visited the Grand Canyon after taking a train ride through the roof of Arizona. Further east in the more arid climes, we bought some petrified wood for sale near a Native American community. On the way back, we drove through Roswell, just in time for the 75th anniversary of the alleged UFO sighting. Strange place. Neat, but strange. We had hoped to visit Carlsbad Caverns, but the girls were not feeling well. Really not well, it turned out. On the last day of our drive home from Tuscon, we discovered they had Covid. Fortunately, their cases were somewhat mild, and neither Scott nor Heidi got it. Rebekah had some lingering brain fog, and it has occasionally recurred.
Our church hosted a great VBS program this year, and our whole family was involved. Attendance was the best in a long time. A number of other outreach ministries have popped up throughout the year, giving us opportunity to try new things as well as refine proven programs.
In August, we received a long-term guest into our home. Charlene Choy is the adult daughter of dear missionary friends of ours in Fiji. She's in the States working on a college degree, and it's working out very well having her stay with us. Her maturity and sweet spirit is such a good example for our girls.
All throughout the year, our church has enjoyed a steady flow of new and returning visitors. We received over two dozen new members this year, so we are encouraged by the growth we've been praying for since our church merger 4 years ago.
FALL
It's always surprising how busy the Fall gets. Church events, holiday related rehearsals and concerts, and the holidays themselves on top of the regular work and school is pretty demanding.
In addition to that, Rebekah joined a YMCA basketball league where she had weekly practices and games. It was a fun, low key experience which she's set up to do again at another center this winter. Hannah has been taking gymnastics classes once a week and really enjoys the activity and learning new skills.
Scott began his 21st year of teaching classes at the seminary, and late in Fall reached his 23rd year of pastoring. He's in a dash to complete some PhD research before the next semester gets underway--please pray for him.
Thanksgiving brought time to reflect and enjoy time with family, including Heidi's parents. In 2021, they suffered some very major health challenges. We're happy that they're more stable now, but we'd appreciate your prayers for them.
Hannah turned 11--can you believe it? And Rebekah is set to become a full-fledged teenager soon--pray for us :). Both of them are growing in their talents and interests. Hannah is a great show-and-tell person, ready to take on roles and parts, or just put on a good show. Rebekah is flourishing as a budding artist, and her abilities have really sharpened since this time last year.
December came in like a flood with concerts at school and church and other year end events. The girls did great in their OCMA concerts, and all 4 of us were involved in our church's major Christmas productions.
Christmas falls on a Sunday this year--the last time it will do so for another 11 years. Scott will be preaching, and his text is an unusual one--the story in Revelation 12 of the Dragon trying to eat baby Jesus. This chapter is like a parable of the spiritual realities surrounding Jesus' infancy and beyond--definitely not visions you see reproduced in Christmas cards! In conjunction with the message, Scott conceived of an image that Heidi drew and turned into an ornament that shows the Dragon falling from heaven at the sight of the Christmas star. It's an impression of the passage that we'd like to share with you.
(c) 2022 Heidi Danielle Bashoor
May this Christmas bring you the peace and joy that only Jesus, the Victor over sin, death, and Hell, can bring.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Scott, Heidi, Rebekah, and Hannah
SOCIAL MEDIA & ONLINE LINKS
YouTube: Community Bible Church
YouTube: Heidi's Bible Memory channel
