Knecht Family Christmas Letter 2023

 

Hi all, 

We wish you all a blessed Christmas and New Year and pray you are doing well.  It has been a blessed year for our family and hope it has been for yours. 

We are all healthy and well.   I continue to serve as Pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, we are looking for new ways minister as we continue to transition.  This past year I also helped out part time at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in East Orange as thier Vice-pastor but hope to step down from this in the New Year to devote more time to family and our own congregation.  Please pray for me about this.  I continue to run and try to stay in shape and enjoy an occasional golf round with Paul. 

Mei has been doing well and enjoys her swimming, exercize and time with the Taiwanese church in Livingston.  She makes sure our house functions well and supports me to minister to the church.  (A huge job!) She has found some extra joy this year by getting a plot at our local community garden in Springfield.  She is hoping to get back to Taiwan to visit her father sometime in in the coming year.  

We were blessed to be back at Silver Bay for memorial day weekend, as well as a week in the Poconos in June and week in Virginia Beach in August.  We spent thanksgiving with Mom, Annemarie, and Declan in Bethlehem PA. 

Beata has had an amazing year!  In January she departed for Denmark for her semester abroad in Copenhagen.   She had a very welcoming and friendly host family and was even able to learn some Danish.  She visited family in Germany and Austria  as well as traveling to Italy, France, Switzerland, Czech, Hungary and even the Faroe Islands (pictured).   After coming home for the Summer she started an internship in project finance for bank in New York.  She was offered a full time job to start sometime this coming Spring.   She just graduated from Smith College this week with a double major in Statistical & Data Sciences and Economics.   She will receive her diploma in  May and we will go with her to celebrate witness the all the ceremony and tradition that Smith does for Ivy Day and their Baccalaureate.  In the meantime,  she plans to travel, spend some time with her boyfriend Gilbert and plan where she will live once she starts working in Manhattan. 

Paul continues to thrive at Oratory Prep and in the pool.  Last Spring he took a big step up as he not only began to qualify for events at the NJYMCA State Championships but also to think realistically about going to YMCA Nationals.  His most recent medley relay swam a qualifying time but he really wants an individual time, that way he is guarantied a spot.  He is very close to qualifying in the 100 Back and 100 Fly.   His favorite class so far this year has been American Law and he has even joined Oratory's Mock Trial team where they reenact real court cases.  He plays bass guitar in church almost every week, helps set up worship, and volunteers for all our service projects. This past summer he lifeguarded at the Summit Pool and also made the transition from athlete to coach as he became an assistant for Coach Karen at the Springfield Swim Team (pictured).  He received particular praise for helping young swimmers improve their technique.   He is starting to think about college now and is thinking about swimming while at school.   He is on the recruiting lists of a number of DIII and DI schools in PA, NY, MA, OH and WI. Please pray for him as he works hard to pursue his goals and find the right school for him to thrive.

Thank you for reading our family update. We are so blessed to have so many people praying for us and sending their goodwill.   We wish all God's blessings in the coming year and a very happy and joyful Christmas.  

Dave Knecht and the Knecht Family 

Mei, Beata & Paul

Christmas 2022

Hi all, 

We wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 

2022 has certainly been a remarkable year for the Knecht family.  We have had our ups and downs, but are thankful and blessed that God continues to provide for us so that we may thrive as a family.   

I continue to minister at Holy Cross. Since the outset of COVID, our congregation has partnered with Calvary Lutheran Church in Cranford, with Holy Cross using space in their building and the two congregations increasingly working on joint ministry and mission.  I am blessed to be working with Pastor Carol Lindsay who is an outstanding, faithful, and caring pastor.  It is been decades since I have had a regular ministry partner and I am thankful for privilege.  

Thanks to my wife Mei, I was able earlier this year to make some lifestyle changes and lost over 30 pounds and started to be more disciplined about exercise and sleep.  I have more energy and feel better than I have in years.  I also had successful cataract surgery and can now basically see 20/20 and can even read without glasses.  I am thankful for the doctors and staff who helped me see clearly again. 

Earlier this fall, my father Robert entered into life eternal with Christ.   It was certainly a very emotional and confusing time for us all.  However it was also a time when I experienced so many acts of love, grace, and kindness from so many people that my faith has in Christ has been strengthened.  There are too many people to thank in this short space, but I praise God for every one of you. 

Mei recently came back from Taiwan where she visited her father who is 95 years old.   She also had the joy of reconnecting with old friends and family while enjoying the good food and tropical weather.  She was blessed by so many people opening their hearts to her as she returned to the country of her birth.  

Beata is already a junior at Smith College.   She is majoring in Statistical Data Science and Economics and is doing well in her classes.   She has a steady boyfriend Gilbert and is thriving at school.  This past summer she completed an internship in New York for the British bank Standard Chartered and this coming year she will be interning in Manhattan again.  She keeps fit by running, enjoys cooking, baking, pen palling, stamps, and good food.  It s a blessing to see her thrive. 

Paul is a sophomore at Oratory Prep in Summit.   He is doing well and has a great community at the school.   He is thriving in his swimming and is looking to train hard so he can compete at higher levels of competition.   He is planning to continue swimming in college and will start the search in the coming year.  He began work as a lifeguard at the Summit pool and spent two weeks at Crossroads Camp in August.  Paul is active in school, sports and social life and has multiple networks of friends, he is great to be around. 

As a family we were able to travel to Lake George this past Memorial Day weekend for the first time since COVID and it was such a blessing to be at one of the most stunning places on the planet again.   In June, we spent a week at Shawnee on the Delaware with close friends and played a lot of golf.  In August, we went to Atlantic Beach NC and enjoyed a week on a great beach.  

Overall it has been blessed year.  While have our challenges God has blessed us and seen us through them.   We pray that you are well and wish a very merry Christmas and happy New Year. 

Blessings from the Knecht Family