(Tim) This Lord's Day morning, my dear friend, Robert Woodyard, will be installed as the pastor of First Christian Reformed Church here in Lynden, Washington--the oldest CRC congregation west of the Mississippi River. For the past fifteen or so years, Robert, his wife, Phama, and their five sons have been in Oklahoma City where Robert served Our Lord's Community Church, a congregation of the Reformed Church in America. During this present search, David and I had hoped Robert would be called to a PCA congregation, but the Lord had other plans.
Given the battles over sexuality within the Christian Reformed Church the past two decades, when I first heard of First Church's interest in Robert, I was concerned. But as things developed, it became clear First Church is one of the faithful CRC congregations still committed to the authority of Scripture despite the majority of the denomination having voted to repudiate God's command prohibiting woman exercising authority over man. In fact, it was partly because of Robert's commitments to honor the Word of God in this matter that First Church expressed interest in him.
Lynden is a Dutch community two hours north of Seattle and three miles south of the Canadian border. Surrounded by the Northern Cascades, on that rare day when the sun is shining Mount Baker's summit is visible ninety miles to the east...
My wife, Mary Lee, loves red raspberries and this is the berry capital of the country. So last night when Phama served a berry melange for dinner, Mary Lee was tickled red.
We had a wonderful day yesterday with Robert and Phama, their three youngest sons, Mark, Reed, and Zach; Phama's father and mother, Dwight and Shirley Hostetler; Robert's father and stepmother, John and Sally Woodyard; his younger brother and wife, Andrew and Claire; and his younger sister and husband, Suzi and Eric. On our way back to our motel last night, Mary Lee commented how sweet it was that the three siblings and their families loved being with each other and shared the same commitment to the Lord and His Word. How rare this is today.
Robert and Phama have graciously provided us the room at the very top
of this motel called the Windmill Inn. In 1950, the Inn was built as a full scale replica of a Dutch windmill. Our room is circular with a bunch of windows, one of which can be seen directly above Barbie's head, so we enjoy a panoramic view. We wish you
could share the view with us. (And no, I don't have the slightest idea why Ken and Barbie are in this pic. It's from a travel site, there they are, and I'm no Photoshop wiz.)
After a few days here with Robert and Phama, Mary Lee and I will be visiting two couples who are dear friends from years back: Kent and Sue Scudder from our days at First Pres. in Boulder, Colorado; and Tim and Anne Quiring who used to live in Bloomington and were members of Church of the Good Shepherd. Tim was one of our first elders and now serves as an elder at Mars Hill in Seattle.
Since this post has turned into a travelogue, I'll mention that Mary Lee and I are very thankful she was able to accompany me on this trip due to Michal, Hannah, and Elizabeth sharing the care of Aunt Elaine for the week. Aunt Elaine is my father's ninety-three year old sister who has lived with us for six years now. Quite feeble, she is unable to stand or walk, and only barely able to feed herself, so this is a much-needed break for Mary Lee. Thank you Lizzie, Hannah, Michal, and also Ben, Daniel, and Taylor.
Please pray for the Lord's blessing on First Church and the Woodyards as they unite today, shepherd and flock.
