Merry Christmas from
December 21, 2008
Dear Partners,
We bid you greetings from brothers and sisters half-way around the
world in Far Eastern Russia and
Christian churches around the world, we are busy preparing to
celebrate once again the miracle of a baby born; God become human -
Christmas! Our celebrations may differ; our songs and hymns may be in
different languages but our hearts rejoice together nevertheless. God
with us – Emmanuel – has changed our darkness into light, our despair
into hope, our certain death into eternal life!
This Christmas, we find ourselves in
American missionaries who enjoy sharing the holiday with national
friends and other team members as well. We have a Christmas season
filled with activities this year. We will be hosting an evening of
Christmas carols and desserts in our apartment on Christmas Eve.
Christmas Day we will share a dinner at another team member's home
(Borsht is the main course!) with people from several different
agencies. Friday we will go to Appletree House and
watch the
children's Christmas play and share in their celebration. Friday
night we will go to a local drama theater and experience a "Christmas
Program" in
be over, on December 30 after our language class, we will share in the
Christmas party for the office staff of the Friendship Corporation and
the
Russian language teachers (as well as Kazakh and English teachers)
among other things.
I have made friends with four young women who work at one of my
favorite grocery stores downtown. They very much want to practice
English with a native speaker. They take me to tea every week and we
spend two hours talking in English about everything in the world.
Since I will not be here long, I have introduced them to two awesome
young American missionary women and they are meeting on their own once
a week as well!! They will continue a long term relationship and I am
thrilled. I do not think any of the national girls are believers –
yet !!! :) However, they seem to be very wonderful
young women all
with either university degrees or in the middle of finishing them.
We have had a wonderful Russian teacher while we have been here who
comes to our home every weekday for lessons. The school itself did
not have space left for a class for us. It has been quite convenient
and we have been able to totally focus. Our teacher does not speak
English, she is finishing her own university degree
this month, has
been married for almost five months now and is about 6 weeks pregnant.
She is full of life and excited about her future. It is fun to do
classes with her. She does not cut us any slack either!
Steve and the new Field Leader, Douglas Fears, have had a wonderful
chance to build their own personal relationship while we have been
here which has been a wonderful blessing. His wife, Shelly, had a
medical problem last week and I went on a two day train trip with her
to Almaty to see Doctor Amy (who helped me when I had
gall bladder
problems in 2006!). Shelly and I spent 6 hours on the train on the
way down speaking to the two women sharing our compartment! Real girl
time!! One hundred percent in Russian! It was a blast and my head
was defintely ready for bed when we finally turned
in. I had a chance
while we were in Almaty to spend a delightful evening
with Doc Amy and
her husband Steve while Shelly visited a special friend of hers.
Fortunately, Shelly got a wonderful, positive report from the checkup
so we celebrated appropriately by doing some shopping in the big city
at stores that sell American products! We bought Parmesan Cheese and
peanut butter. I also bought some precious, very fresh and green
celery and hauled it home on the overnight train.
It seems quite amazing that we will fly from here to
weeks from tomorrow. We will leave early morning on January 5 and,
with a 7 hour layover in
Tuesday the 6th of January. Yeah! Back to our own apartment, Claudia
and our major ministry!!
In both
this season (although here the date is January 1, not December 25).
It is a time when we who have received so much from God are filled
with the desire to give to others as it has been given to us!
We want to take time during this special season to let you know how
joyful we are for your gifts which we receive over and over. Your
prayers, your financial support and your love are precious reminders
to us of God's love and grace; and that we are all one in Christ
Jesus. God in His great love and infinite wisdom has brought us
together with ties that bind us across oceans, nationalities and
languages. Your love, expressed concretely in prayer and financial
support is funneled through us to hundreds of believers and
near-believers. We and they lift up prayers of thanksgiving to God
for you! Though you won't see an actual gift-wrapped present under
your tree from
looking on Christmas, you will see a special gift from afar – our
loving prayers for you and yours.
Grace and Peace, Blessings and hugs,
Pastor Steve and Carol