Merry Christmas!
It has been a great Christmas- yesterday we had three simultaneous worship celebrations (at the three churches) with over 300 people participating. Most were children yet we had at least 80 adults come to share in the celebrations.
Saturday’s celebration went great in Navarette with over 100 people. Again, mostly children but there were quite a few adults present.
One experience this Christmas I hope I won’t soon forget was my trip to visit a lady in Guayacanal. Victor and I were giving food baskets to our regular attenders. I hadn’t been to this home before. She has two little shacks of tin, neither one bigger than my office. She was cooking outside over sticks when we arrived. And she is raising 5 children! When Victor and I got back in the car to leave, neither of us knew what to say. I was back yesterday to give some gifts to folks I hadn’t found earlier and stopped by her place again to give the children Christmas toys. The whole experience made me appreciate once again the blessings I have enjoyed in my life but left me wondering why I have been so blessed and others have such a struggle. I also have come to appreciate the humble loving act of God when he sent his Son to be born in a stable, among the animals. We have our Bible study beside the cow stable so I have become familar with the smells! This coming year, I hope I can grow in humility and love as I serve here among the urban poor.
Yesterday, our services were very simple: a time of praise followed by the reading of the Christmas story with the children acting out the events as shared in Luke’s gospel. What struck me this year was the fact that there was no room for Jesus to be born so he wound up being born in a barn. Unfortunately, I still sense that there is no room for Jesus to be born in the hearts of too many people. Pray for those who heard the invitation yesterday to make room for Him, that this coming year more and more people will commit to study God’s word and put it into practice.
I am thankful for all of you who pray for us here in the DR and from the bottom of my heart, I wish you the very happiest and joyful Christmas! May God bless you in a great way this coming year!
