The Thyngs
Months of Silence
Dear Family and Friends,
It has been many
months since our last correspondence. To
be honest, we have been dreading writing this prayer letter. Tyler went home to be with Jesus on July
25th. Tyler’s life here on earth ended
because of viral myocarditis, but today he is alive
and well, enjoying the presence of God.
Tyler accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior one year ago. He came to us one day realizing that he was a
sinner and that he needed Jesus to save him from his sins. We were surprised at the depth of his understanding
and his simple faith in the Gospel message at such a young age. Now we know why he was prepared to make such
an important decision, and we have complete confidence that he is in heaven
today. We will continue to sign our
prayer letters with Tyler’s name because his vibrant life continues in heaven,
and he will always be a son and brother in our family.
This trial has been devastating to our family. The catastrophic loss of our son has brought
about a deep, unrelenting grief. Every
single day has been a struggle. We were
in a state of shock and disbelief in the days and weeks following Tyler’s home
going. This state of shock has developed
into the painful reality that we will travel this journey of life on earth
without Tyler by our side. It would be
impossible to express to you our thankfulness to Jesus
Christ for what He did on Tyler’s behalf.
The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are the only hope we
have. We will certainly see Tyler again. We will enjoy an eternity with our precious
son.
This trial has
transformed our perspective on life.
Heaven has become very real to us.
We have a deep desire for heaven, but we know that God has a purpose for
our lives here on earth. God has given
us a new focus on the things that really matter in life. We want nothing more than to honor Tyler’s
life and testimony by giving everything to Jesus Christ. We only have one short life to live for God,
and how we live that life will have a great impact on eternity.
Kate has been fever
free since September. She was diagnosed
with P.F.A.P.A., a rare periodic fever syndrome. She had a tonsillectomy at Children’s
Hospital in Boston. This is an unusual
cure, but it is based upon the tonsils’ function within the immune system. Praise God!
We had plane
tickets to return to PNG in January, but Johnston Chapel has recommended that
we receive counseling before our return.
We will spend March 2-16 at Heartstream in
Liverpool, PA. We plan to return to PNG
before the second term at Goroka Baptist Bible
College in April.
We hope you all
had a wonderful Christmas. We celebrated
Christ’s birth here in Princeton, WV. We
will spend our remaining time here in Princeton. Dan is preaching Wednesday nights and is
involved with a renovation project in the youth room at the church. He is also translating material for another
teacher for a Homiletics course at GBBC.
Thank you for your love and prayers.
Love, Dan, Amy, Tyler, Kate & Claire
P.S. Kate really
misses Tyler. She talks about him all
the time, and every night she plays “Ty and Kate” with her stuffed
animals. Claire is growing fast and is
very sweet. She has Tyler’s personality.
DAN · AMY · TYLER · KATE · CLAIRE
Contact Us:
812 Front Street
Princeton, WV 24740
304-888-0688
thyngs@abwe.cc