My Grandpa and Grandma Goertzen are very special people. My grandpa was never allowed to attend high school, but he worked as an engineer for Lockheed during World War II--later as a building contractor--and has multiple patents in his name. In the early 1950s, when my mother was only three years old and my grandma was pregnant with her fourth child, the family set sail for the Belgian Congo, funding their own travel while my grandpa served as a builder for missionary projects. Back in the United States, my grandpa always used his resources to "help people help themselves," getting several young men started in business. In later years, my grandpa traveled to numerous countries to oversee building projects with Wycliffe Associates. I even got to help him on a couple of projects in Brazil when I was in high school. Through all of these adventures, my grandma accompanied and supported my grandpa with hard work and without complaint.
My father wrote a book about my grandfather's life, entitled Where He Leads: Life Stories with Bill Goertzen. You can buy it at Amazon, but my grandpa gives away copies like candy. He simply wants people to learn what it means to follow the Lord unconditionally. These days, my grandpa is blind and has a hard time getting around. As he looks back on his life, he spends his time dwelling on the importance of God's grace for us sinners and salvation through Christ. Every day, he prays for his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, in hopes that each will come to a saving knowledge of Christ. My grandparents' legacy of faith is a precious treasure.
While helping my grandparents, I was privileged to receive many old family photographs and documents. What a gift! My goal is to scan and archive many of them, then post them to an internet photo sharing site (such as Shutterfly) for all the family to access. When I have a few of my favorites scanned, I'll post them to the blog. In the meantime, here are a few photos from our visit.
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