Blessed Christmas from Linda, Mike, Laura and Dan Riggins!

I remember the sun. It was this huge yellow ball in the sky that brought warmth and cheer to all the earth. But we have not seen the sun in Traverse City for many moons. (Sorry.) It has snowed since mid-November. Bank failure here means getting stuck after the snowplow blocks your driveway.

(You can click on the pictures to see greatly enlarged versions of them, then hit the back button on your browser to return to reading this document.)

Speaking of things falling, all the world now knows the economic anxiety we have long experienced in Michigan. The church has been hit hard: people have lost jobs, others have moved away to find employment, and giving has diminished. Yet we will open our building addition at the New Year. Our timing could have been better. We erected the roof trusses one Saturday. The next day after church we let people tour the site. That night a storm blew down the trusses. My first thought when I saw the wreckage was, “My God, children were under there yesterday!” But our people have framed the walls, cleared the wreckage of the first set of trusses, erected a second set, drywalled, painted, trimmed, installed flooring, blown in insulation, moved dirt. Once we occupy that new space Linda will start the Children in Worship program. During Valentine's Day week, we will host our community's Safe Harbor program, which houses and feeds the homeless during the northern winter. Youth groups, Sunday school classes, a men's ministry of fellowship and service work, and other programs will also fill our new addition. I praise God that we have nearly completed the job. This has been my most challenging year as a minister. The congregation and I both need the spiritual boost that will come from opening that new set of doors.










January, '08: roof trusses collapse

April, '08: installing shingles on rebuilt roof

I also fell this year. Out of the sky. Linda gave me a parachute jump. On the one day last summer all four of us were home, we drove to a field and the Brazilian instructor gave me directions in sign language and broken English. As we dove I could see from the Mackinac Bridge down to Elk Rapids. It was beyond thrilling. I could do it again but I doubt I will. This was a gift of great love and faith. The mere idea of me skydiving terrified Linda. She had always told me I could do it but she did not want to know about it until after I landed. I must also share that after years of involvement, in 2008 I co-coached an Odyssey of the Mind team that won a state championship and competed well in the world finals. The kids' caring and determination made working with them a terrific privilege.

Preflight check

Glare from bald head proves it's me

Despite the hard economic times, Linda's business thrives. A few clients had to let her go but others popped up to take their places. She works extremely hard; word-of-mouth has kept her busier, perhaps, than she would like. Inspired by Dan and several women in the church, she started running seriously. She participated in her first team marathon last August. (Our team won the Old Fogies Division with considerable help from our son.)

Lindele, Dan's cat, on the table where we eat our summer meals

Dan has entered Kenyon College. It fits him well. He chose it for its academic rigor, pastoral setting, and emphases on writing, drama and the hard sciences. He has made friends and loves his professors and classes. Even his work-study job in a biology lab brings him satisfaction. His year included playing a butler in the Traverse City West musical, winning the school writing award, running track, graduating, and getting two concussions during the summer. The headaches and dizziness kept him from training but he did manage to run with the Kenyon cross country team this fall.

Dan with grandparents at graduation

The All-Ohio cross-country meet

Laura has decided to pursue a nursing career. She anguished over whether to leave choral music education but finally made the break. This has meant jumping into upper-level science classes—the first she has taken in four years—and uncertainty over where and how to get her degree. For now she soldiers on at the University of Michigan. This year she played in two Gilbert and Sullivan productions, doing the choreography for the latter. She had her ideal summer, working as a counselor and high ropes course director at Pyoca, the Christian camp in southern Indiana she attended as a child. She made great friends from around the world and renewed relationships with folks from Seymour, just down the road (literally, and in Laura's heart).

Should a lifeguard need such a big flotation device?

After a performance of Ruddigore

Please do let us hear from you--if we haven't already--and may you have a safe, happy and blessed New Year!