Derinda and Walter’s Wedding Day August 2, 1980
Walter and Derinda in Honduras, 2013
The most rewarding thing about our trips is the people we have met through missions and the relationships we have developed with them over the years. The people in Honduras know and trust us. Once you obtain that type of rela- tionship, then you can minister and teach them so much more about the Bible and ways to improve their health. We have had many youth go with us and gain a valuable perspective on God’s love and desire to serve Him by helping others. Many have had major changes in their lives, some going into full time missions, ministry, and medicine or service fields to help others. I feel very honored and thankful that God has allowed me to play at least a small part in helping shape these young people’s lives and to spark a desire in others to serve Him. The most challenging part of the trip is the preparation and hard work that goes into planning and organizing. With God’s help and guidance, everything gets done. I thank Him for my wife as she is the rock that holds this all together be- cause I could never stay focused enough to complete the monumental task of planning, organizing and executing each trip. Some of my favorite qualities about my wife are her selfless devotion to oth-
ers and her desire to always put others’ needs and desires ahead of her own. This is very difficult for me to do. She inspires me and makes me proud that she is my wife. She has modeled this to everyone around her, including our chil- dren, and I deeply admire and love her for it. Derinda’s spiritual giſt is that of having a servant’s heart, just as Jesus taught His disciples and all of us to have. She also has an untiring desire to do all she can for her family and her chil- dren. Her family comes first behind God in priority. She is loving, magnificently organized and detail oriented to accomplish all tasks competently in a timely manner. We spend time at our beach house or at the lake and we always strive to have our children, dogs and soon-to-be grandchildren around as they are the central aspect of our lives besides each other. I was very proud to be marrying the woman I loved and knew was my soul
mate. She was truly the person to complete me and make my life whole. We were being joined together for the rest of our lives. Aſter 33 years with all the ups and downs and continued struggles that life has brought, I still feel strongly bonded to her. Life would be very empty without my wife to share it. Married life has been a constant work in progress for me. I am the youngest of four children and at age 55, I still struggle with my desire to have everything my own way. Derinda has been the perfect wife for me in every way. I only hope I live long enough to be able to please her a fraction of the way she has pleased me in being the person that she is and the mother of my children. The spark for me in our relationship is my desire to strive to please her and make her happy. She is loved and admired by everyone she comes in contact with. I feel that I fall very short most of the time, but my deepest desire is to make her happy and proud that I am her husband.
Dr. Walter Earnest Connor (“Earnie”) resides in Florence with his wife, Derinda. He is the Associate Director of McLeod Family Medicine Residency program and the Direc- tor of Curriculum and Procedural Training for McLeod Regional Medical Center. He and Derinda have two children: Ryan M. Connor, M.D., and Amanda K. Tyner, RN.
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