"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds".  Psalm 147:13

The last few days have held so much for Ada and our families.   We are so thankful for the hundreds and hundreds of people who showed up to the visitation and funeral to pay your respects and show your love and support.   Many sweet connections were made and it was a blessing to see so many faces we hadn't seen in years.  We know some of you traveled from great distances and otherwise made huge sacrifices to be with us.  We are so grateful.

For those who tuned in to the livestream of the funeral, we apologize that the sound quality was so poor.  That was entirely out of our control and we didn't realize until it was all over.  

Thank you for the many kind hands who prepared meals, transported food, set things up, took things down, ran errands, watched kids, and did many other behind the scenes things we may not even know about.

We are especially grateful to the kind folks from the Delmer assembly who made us a bountiful and delicious meal on Wednesday during the visitations and to Ada's cousins who put on the incredible soup, buns and dessert spread for everyone after the funeral.  Our hearts and bellies were warmed by your acts of love and service through these meals.

Thanks also to the Burgessville assembly for the use of your building for our families to gether in, when there was no other location that was big enough 😊

Both the Woodford and Winkels families will be forever grateful to John and Justy Weeda for their longtime friendship to Rob and Ada and their incredible support, service and sacrifice these last few months.  They have truly been the hands and feet of Jesus to Rob, Ada, their kids and to all of us.   

The day after the funeral a bunch of us met up with Ada and the kids to pick out a maple tree to plant in their yard in honor of Rob.   We are excited to watch it grow and Ada's kids are impatient to get a tire swing in it!  :)

During an otherwise chill and relaxing day together on Friday, the day was shattered when Brayden was hit by a car.   Miraculously the Lord preserved him without major injury!!  He had just returned from a hike with some of his cousins and was about to cross the road to Luke's house when he saw a young cousin about to run across the road to greet them.  Without thought, Brayden raced out and was immediately hit.   His body was thrown up on top of the car and the force of it cracked the windshield.   He then rolled off, landed on all fours and somehow kept going!   A huge emergency response team showed up and he was assessed and take to the hospital but was released a few hours later with only minor bruising.   Our hearts nearly burst with praise to God for His miraculous preservation of Brayden's life.  

Some of Ada's siblings have already started home, and the out of country Woodfords will start heading home tomorrow.  Please pray for Ada and the kids as they begin this new chapter of life without Rob.   Each day for a long time is going to bring firsts that they are experiencing without Rob.  Reaching out by phone, text or mail next week, next month, in six months and a year will be especially meaningful to let them know they aren't forgotten.

The GoFundMe for their family is still active.   We are overwhelmed by the generosity of those who have given (and many who have given more than once), may you be richly blessed in return. 

Thank you for being on this journey with us.   Please continue to hold us up in prayer.

I'm going to wrap up with this final blessing:

For All the Firsts Without a Loved One (Kate Bowler and Jessica Richie)

Oh God, the calendar tells me a big day is coming and this is the first one in this new reality.

I don't know how to get through it.

Show me what to do with the memories, the traditions, the pain and the excruciating beauty of all that was.

Blessed are we who come to you, oh God, in the midst of grief and loss, fear and longing, irritability and anger, gratitude and sweet remembrance, and so much exhaustion.

Blessed are we who say, God, I don't know where home is or who I am now.  

Couldn't I just rest for a while?  I am too tired to feel everything there is to feel.  Too exhausted to face the truth.

Grant me solitude enough for solace, and company enough for comfort, people to be with who know how to slip quietly under the burden of this grief and shoulder it with me without much to say.

Blessed are we who ask you for permission to do things the same way or completely differently, to wade through raw emotions or ride on the surface of it all.  

Give us wisdom and guidance that transcends the strangeness, making whatever little plans are possible.

Blessed are we who ask for a way forward during this time, to celebrate some small ritual of remembrance that becomes a safe place to store the love and the grief, the anger and the ache of the knowledge that there is no one who can take their place.

Not one.

Blessed are we who ask you, God, to take hold of the fear, and us with it, and lead us through.

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.  John 3:16