Merry Christmas to
everyone! And Happy New Year! We are so blessed to be able to celebrate our Savior's birth along
with friends and family. It's a wonderful time of the year to reflect on how
much God loves us and God's amazing plan to rescue us. I hope that each of you had
some time to sit in awe of God and praise Him. He is worthy!
Our Christmas this year was a little busier than
last year. We did celebrate in many of the same ways, and we added a couple
more. We went again this year to First Baptist Church to give gifts to the
widows. They sat quietly listening to Tim explaining why we celebrate
Christmas, mostly through a translator. We are thankful for your support, so
that we have the opportunity to share with these grateful women. The girls even
enjoyed helping us put the rice and oil in bags and give them to the women. We
love to get our girls involved in giving to those who need help.
We also were able to go caroling again this year in
the hospital on Christmas Eve. We were able to purchase some oranges to give
out to the patients, their caregivers, and the nurses. We sang in each of the
wards, in the outpatient clinic area, to the theatre staff, and to the guards
at the front gate. It was wonderful to see that there were so many fewer
patients who had to be in the hospital on Christmas this year. It was a joy to
bring a little bit of truth and happiness to those who were in the hospital.
After caroling, we all gathered together at our station meeting to
eat, sing, and read the Christmas story from Luke 2. It was a great time of
fellowship and worshiping God.
There were many of you who were so generous in
sending us gifts for Christmas. Thank you! It was wonderful as a parent to have
something special to give to your kids for Christmas. The girls truly enjoyed
opening their stockings and Christmas gifts. Christmas morning is always so fun
with little kids who are wide eyed with wonder and excitement.
We added some things to our Christmas from last year.
We were able to go as a family and give a little something to the people who
had to work the day shifts in the hospital. We wanted them to know that we were
thankful for their work and to bring some cheer (who actually likes to work on
Christmas day?). We also invited over all the families on the compound and
volunteers for some fellowship and games in the afternoon.
For New Years Eve, we had station meeting (since it was a
Thursday) with several visitors and volunteers. We were able to enjoy a
bonfire, ice cream, and a few fireworks. We worshiped our Creator, finished
reading through the accounts of Jesus’ birth in the New Testament and spent
some time in prayer. I understand that many stayed awake to ring in the new
year, but we brought our two little ones home early to get some rest. It was good to
spend a little time reflecting back on where God has taken us the past year or
so and how we are learning to depend more on Him. We do not know where God will
be taking us this next year, but we are anticipating that it will make us love
and trust Him more. Please be praying for us as our commitment with the Post
Residency Program through Samaritan's Purse will finish in April. We are
waiting for God's guidance on where He is calling us next, but it will likely
be here in Ghana for at least a little while longer.
