Dear Friends:

 

2016 was a year of great joy, adventure, and spiritual growth as our family has watched God work beautifully and miraculously in Tom’s terminal lung cancer circumstances. Although Tom has been experiencing nearly all of the symptoms that are typical of late stage lung cancer and its spread to the brain and possibly other parts of the body (e.g., intense coughing, difficulty breathing, loss of appetite, loss of weight and muscle mass, headaches, dizziness, blurry vision, a near seizure, paralysis of the right arm and right side of this face, a partially collapsed lung, serious blood clots in the lungs and aorta, and a lot of pain), God continues to miraculously heal these one by one in response to His amazing mercy and the generous prayers of over 10,000 people around the world within the Christian faith as well as through the prayers and warm-hearted thoughts of many other friends and relatives with different religious and philosophical convictions. Consequently, Tom has been able to live past the one-year death prediction of his doctors that ended in October, and continues to remain alive today, although he is still very weak and suffering greatly from many of his remaining symptoms.

 

We accept whatever God has planned for Tom and our family, with full confidence that however all of this turns out, it will be for our good and the good of many others, since that is what God promises to all of His children who love Him. (In all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28)

 

Our other joys this past year have been to see God prosper Daniel, Lindy (Daniel’s wife), and Christine in their work at MJ Insurance, Somerset CPAs, and Ice Miller LLP; to see God prosper their faith, their maturity, and their various ministries to others in need; and to allow Tom to see the birth of this first grandchild – Ellis Rose Orr, born to Daniel and Lindy this past August.  Sakurako especially finds great joy in babysitting little Ellis whenever she gets the chance, while Tom attempts to engage his four-month-old granddaughter in various intellectual discussions and studies of basic math.

 

Other great joys this past year have been the growth in faith and maturity of friends and former students, one of whom flew to Indianapolis in January of January 2016 to be baptized at our church after deciding that the religious convictions he had passively inherited in Japan were not the best fit for the kind of life he wanted to pursue.  Another has been to remain healthy enough for Tom and Sakurako to lead a small group Bible study and fellowship affiliated with their church.  And another has been some very precious times we have been able to spend with high school classmates, former students, and other friends who have flown in from Asia, Europe, and various parts of the U.S. to see and encourage us.  2016 has been a very precious year, and we trust that 2017 will be even better.

 

We pray that God will richly bless all of you throughout 2017.

 

Warmest possible regards,

Thomas and Sakurako,

Daniel, Lindy, Ellis and Christine Orr                                                                                                                                Updated Jan 30, 2017

 

 

Thomas and Sakurako Orr, 503 Arbor Drive, Carmel IN 46032 USA