Why Be Happy for Christmas

At Caritatea last weekend in Cluj, we were blessed to partake in the their bible group’s Christmas gathering. The members of this group have experienced pain and rejection due to limitations with a disability. Here everyone is accepted and has genuine fellowship. A poem was recited with each person presenting different verses. The beautiful Romanian language was uplifted as a gift and praise.

A message was given and the question was raised, “why be happy for Christmas?” The reason of the hope and joy of Christmas all stems from the perfect gift already given. It was evident being among this group that whatever pain was experienced among them it was not their focus in life. An eternal hope and peace was clear to see and feel.
Merry Christmas!

Lost a Language Instructor

Recently, we lost Nuţi, one of our language instructors. The picture shows Kristi holding the reason why. Yes, Nuţi and her husband Alex had a beautiful, healthy boy. We accepted this as a good explanation for her absence. He was born on November the 5th and was named Elias Cadmiel.

In Romania they do not throw baby showers like in the United States. Instead, the weeks following the birth, family and friends visit the home bringing gifts and visiting the newly numbered family. We were overjoyed to participate in this tradition. Kristi loved being able to feed him a bottle, and then rock him to sleep. The other picture is of Tania, his proud older sister giving him a hug.

Babies: precious, little, fragile, and a miracle.

Learning to Wait

It is Christmas time again, and we all wait like children in anticipation of special treats, gifts and family gatherings. We find ourselves in a time of great waiting, and not just for the celebration of Christ’s birth. We wait for paperwork with our visa process, paperwork for the van we purchased, the plumber to come fix the radiator for heat, and for our new language to instantaneously become effortless. Hmmm, I’m sure there are many lessons to be gained through these experiences.

We need to be more like children, anticipating the great things yet to come. We hope in the good for Christ is good. It is good to see the way in which God works out all the little details that appear as large hurdles to us. It is good to be renewing our mind again and again on the upcoming birth of Christ. Thinking about the many years of waiting for a Savior, then the 33 years of lessons He gave on how to live a godly life, and finally that perfect sacrifice for our sin. Waiting always has purpose! Will you join us in praying for God’s will in the above matters, and that we can be patiently renewing our hope in this process.

During this Christmas season, we lift all our family and friends up with prayer and blessing. We miss you and think of all of the gatherings we can not attend. Yet, we are hopeful of building our own new traditions within this new culture. Our Christmas plans consist of traveling to Germany to visit friends from the states who will be vacationing there. This kind of anticipated wait is exciting. We will experience a German Christmas Market, and spend time with close friends. December 15-17 we will be taking a short trip to Cluj to visit people who are involved in Wheels for the World Romania.