Dear Hebron Church Family,
Five years ago this week, we bought our home in Pittsburgh, and you were not yet referred to as our “Hebron Church Family!” It was a wild time in our lives as I think back on the call to move here. Five years. Wow. In some ways, it feels like fifteen. In other ways, it feels like at most two years. I’m sure you feel the same—time is a beautiful gift and time can be such a thief. We are so happy that we can now truly say “Merry Christmas, to our dear Hebron Church Family!” We love living here, ministering amidst all of you and doing life with you as our family. It is a joy to be in the pastorate here.
This past year proved to be exhilarating, exhausting, emotional, and exciting! All of it was wrapped up into a big package with the gift tag on it entitled “Trust Me…Love, Your Heavenly Father.” Here are some highlights of the past year for the Knapps: We really enjoyed our annual trip to Florida to be with our Knapp parents. We were thankful for this time away especially as it was our last time with our dear father before he went to be with the Lord on July 18. Early June was exhilarating and exhausting due to the massive adventure with Wycliffe Bible Translators in Central African Republic. We cannot exaggerate how impactful this trip was and how it continues to challenge our thinking and priorities. We also enjoyed time with friends this year, traveled to New England in August (for our birthdays/anniversary), and ongoing times of rest through hiking, biking or reading (especially on Henry’s Thursday Sabbath day off).
Immediately after Africa, Sabrina was engaged to Isaac Linton. They are a wonderful, godly, sweet couple; and we could not be more pleased that they knew God’s call, had a four-month engagement (yes, it can be done!) and were married on October 14. It was glorious! Sabrina is working on her M.Div. at Westminster and is on staff at Iron Works Church (PCA) in West Chester, PA. Isaac is a blessing and a wonderful addition to our family who we call the “money guy” as he works for BlackRock Financial. Jason continues to thrive near Philly since he left PSU in June 2022. He is a material science engineer and is traveling a ton. He is a volunteer youth minister in his free time and enjoys his new church. I do want to note that upon his arrival out east, ALL the Philly teams have become really hot! We have made it clear that they should remember their roots, and we are a black and gold family (so far, they are remaining loyal). To see all three of our children walking in full passion and pursuit of Jesus Christ is everything to us. We praise God for this gift of grace and goodness.
We want to thank you for your love and support these past months as we lost Henry’s dad and navigated demanding times for our family. It’s a time of real transition and change as we said goodbye to Dad, our beloved Conneaut Lake house of 55 years, and recently, relocated Henry’s mom to Florida. In the midst of it all, it is well with our souls. Isn’t that the Hope of Christmas? We are not people who grieve like others. We have a Savior, and therefore are equipped to handle challenging times. Personally, we’ve had a rich year where we were learning to lean in and trust Him. This Christmas and always, we pray that you know that He is Immanuel, God with you through it all and that He is good. Thank you for your love, prayers, support, care and interest in our lives. We are glad that you are our family at Hebron. We love you deeply. Merry Christmas and God bless.
-Kelly & Henry Knapp