Dear Family and Friends:
Merry Christmas! 2009 has been a blessed year for the Girardin family. This has been a great scholastic learning year for all!
David‘s biggest accomplishment was to graduate from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces in Washington D.C. Reconstruction and nation building was the emphasis and it was a rich experience. His studies took him to Haiti, Panama, Australia and to the Solomon Islands to consider nation building. He is assigned to NCAT- Navy Education and Training, Pensacola Florida. In caring for Navy Chaplaincy Education.
Barbara is working at her forensic nursing clinic and loves the ministry with patients who have experienced crisis. The clinic is owned and operated by nurses and is expanding to rural areas west of Chesapeake. She is studying women’s health Old Dominion University with the goal of slowing earning her NP (nurse practitioner) that will help in the forensic practice. For those of you who homeschool your cherubs, stay the course. DJ and Emily have experienced much success in the college learning process. All thanks the Lord for the successes and she is also thankful to the culture and process of homeschool.
David, also known as DJ (21) has been working as a dishwasher at Cracker Barrel since January. He sees this as a great mission and have been a lighthouse to his fellow workers. Community college courses take the rest of the time that he is not helping around the house. This semester he has completed College English and Survey of World Religions . He would like to major in Biblical and Theological Studies. He is looking at Regents University, when he finishes his core classes. He has found the blessing of the “Bible belt” Community College, as he is able to take many Biblical studies courses along with his core.
Emily (19) is transferring to an online program – University of Northern Colorado. She has taken all her core requirements, as well as American Sign Language (ASL) and some interpreting credits. She desires to obtain her bachelors degree in ASL interpreting, while staying at home. The University of Northern Colorado gives her that option. She is about a year and a half away from finishing. This summer, Emily obtained state interpreting certification and was able to use that in interpreting at a Deaf-Blind Christian camp. Now, this winter she has experienced the blessing of finding a job interpreting in the local school district – Chesapeake, full time. She loves working with her students and always seems to have a fun story to share!
This year has been a great year of ministry and studies. One verse that keeps me striving to be that lighthouse for Christ is this: "I will set a sign among them, and I will send some of those who survive to the nations... and to the distant islands that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory among the nations." Isaiah 66:19
For more Girardin adventures see our blog: http://girardinsblog.blogspot.com/
or search us on facebook.com!
“God be with you until we meet again!”
Colonel Bob Howard served 50 years in the U.S. Army. He served from the Vietnam War to the War on Terror. He was nominated three times for the Medal of Honor and had multiple purple hearts, bronze and silver stars... His job in the Army was Army Special Forces, Green Beret.
