September 14th, 2024
Dear friends and family,
As many of you are aware, and can see in the photo, Dad continues to be full of life and joy. This gives his family great delight as he embraces each day and each encounter that God continues to give him. Just yesterday morning he was invited to sit with the family of one of his neighbours as she was in her final hours. His privilege to pray with them deeply impacted him and is one of the ways that he continues to serve his heavenly Father.
Dad loves his visitors who so faithfully come and listen to his enthusiastic descriptions of his latest ideas. His emails testify to many of you, and we are so thankful to all who continue to engage and interact with him in various ways. This brings him much joy and enriches his days. We continue to be amazed at his remarkable and relentless drive to make a difference in the world for the sake of God’s Kingdom. For that we praise and honour the Lord, and our dad! Dad seems to have endless ideas and, while we attempt to reign him in on some of these, his enthusiasm continues to see no boundaries. Some of Dad's ideas for future endeavours, current events, and what has historically taken place, do not align with reality. Instead of fighting these, we as a family are choosing to see the love and passion from which these arise and are grateful for the joy that Dad experiences in his world of ideas, relationships, and His Lord.
Many of you may find Dad asking something of you. If the Lord lays on your heart a desire/compulsion to apply whatever skills you may have to comply with his request, we have no wish to obstruct such a desire. Yet, sometimes Dad, in his enthusiasm, forgets that others have to sacrifice time/things in order to assist with his projects. He is passionate about his ideas and getting them started. However, his enthusiasm leads him to overlook realistic details of completion. Many of his dear friends are incredibly supportive and choose to participate out of their love for Dad, this is wonderful to behold; however, we do not want others to feel obligated to take on these projects/ideas. We encourage you…please feel free to say “yes” or “no” to Dad’s passionate requests. We are available through his email or the website if you have any concerns.
Dad is enthusiastically planning his 102nd birthday in November. He continues to lead the charge in this family, simply expecting the rest to follow! As he walks in the footsteps of Jesus, we are privileged to walk alongside him, supporting him to the best of our abilities.Thank you for your continued love and care for our dad, and for your understanding as he ages,
With grateful hearts,
The Houston family
Dr Houston, you continue to teach us how to live with grace, joy and enthusiasm! Every day is a gift, but on 20 November I hope you have an especially wonderful celebration with family & friends. Our card may be late, but our loving wishes and prayers are for all year! Blessings from Maria & Kevin (Regent College alum) PS Many thanks to the Houston family for your informative update and all you do to keep your father/ grandfather in good spirits and health!
Dear Dr. Houston, I'm so happy to see your picture and to see you in good health. It seems to me that you are now living in a nursing facility, which is like the Apostle John being confined to the Isle of Patmos. Just as the Apostle John came out of the Isle of Patmos and went back to Ephesus to live the rest of his life, I hope and pray to the Lord that you will return to your former life without residential restrictions, so that your disciples who love you will have the opportunity to see and learn from you, even for two or three weeks, and I will be able to travel to Vancouver from Seoul. This…
Thank you for this update! Always so good to hear from you about him.
Love to the family and to Jim!
Dora B