Merry Christmas - 2016 Newsletter

Merry Christmas!   

 🎵I’ll Be Home for Christmas ….. But, only in my dreams….  🎵 This will be our first Christmas in Roatan.  With only a few days until the 25^th, it still is not all that Christmassy here – no snow, no Santas, no Christmas concerts, nowhere to go Christmas shopping. However, we have put up a beautiful Christmas tree we found in the attic, decorated it with some things from home and from here, and added some extra lights.  We have a poinsetta, as well as new Christmas placemats so our house has a minimalist-Christmas look. If you peaked in the freezer, you’d see a turkey waiting to be the roasted guest on our Christmas dinner table. Friends, and Juan will join us for Christmas dinner. So, we are doing it a bit different.  Happily, one of our three chicks, Katee, will join us for a week after Christmas. Hope she’s bringing us some figgy pudding!🎵

Because we’re here through Christmas, I was able to plan a Nativity lesson for the Bible study kids.  I started the lesson by asking the kids - “what is the greatest gift you have ever received?”  You are probably wondering what types of gifts the kids get.  Are you predicting?  I didn’t want to go first, but I was ready to say “my cuckoo clock” if there was a pause in the answers. And then this is what was said:  “the mercy of God”; “one more day of life”; “forgiveness”.  Ack!  Way to get to the punch line without waiting for the lead up, guys! 

What would your answer be?  Would you be waiting to chirp in with “my cuckoo clock” or would you too be sharing about the gift of salvation? “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given….”  Isaiah 9:6  Our response?  “Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!" (Corinthians 9:15) ***That verse always makes me think of that stars twinkling and angels singing.****

We have had a month here and it seems that it has been an event-filled month.  Larry hit the ground running with a special graduation the evening he arrived.  We have encouraged the three girls who graduated from grade 9 for several years, so the evening was a delight!  Jessie honoured us by asking us to be her godparents and escort her into the graduation.  She was so happy that Larry arrived in time. So was he.

 

 Other recent events also included a kindergarten graduation, and a small quincieñera celebrated at our house.  It is always such a joy for us to join the celebrations.

School has been out since the second week in November. No help is needed now for homework.  However, for three mornings a week I have been teaching English.  We have paused for the Christmas break but will resume with a smaller class in the New Year.  And why the smaller class?  Woo-hoo!  Belkis has graduated to the working world!! Belkis is now working at the Roatan Hostel as a cook.  Because she had polished her English during the past year using Rosetta Stone and in lessons, she is considered bilingual.  She has developed such confidence.  I’m really proud of her.  She will tell you that God has continued to bless her family – first the new house, and now a job.  Thank you to all who have prayed for her.  Please continue to pray that she is able to meet the needs of the finicky backpacking tourist.

Larry has had no building projects since arriving other than the constant maintenance required here at our house.  Rainy season is not a time for building.  This is just as well.  Larry has just finished a busy harvest time and can use a bit of down time.  We all know that down time for Larry is different than for most of us.  However, he does fit in the occasional siesta or early-to-bed time. There are also the surprising drop-ins at our gate to provide some variety in the day.

We want to share with you a Christmas miracle.  Really!  We have been exploring the possibilities of ordering Spanish Bibles to have for our teen Bible study as well as for other groups we are involved with.  We weren’t getting it to come together.  A few weeks ago, a new friend pulled up at our gate asking if we needed Bibles.  When asked how he knew, he said “God told me you people need Bibles.” We have asked – those who knew we were looking to get Bibles hadn’t mentioned it to anyone.  So, thank you God.  John provided us with a few cases of Bibles so we were able to present each of the kids in the Bible study who didn’t have a Bible with a new Bible.  Pretty great, isn’t it?! And there will be more opportunities in the new year.

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We have a special request for prayer at this time.  It is for a little two year-old girl named Jimena.  Shortly after we arrived we were involved in her emergency trip to a hospital in Tegucigalpa with a situation that was “muy grave”.  Jimena is currently undergoing treatment for leukemia.  While the family tells us she is “a little better” we know that this little one will need the Healer’s touch.  Please also pray for Jimena’s mom, Sandra, who has been living in the hospital with her daughter for the past month and will continue for as long as the treatment continues.

With this newsletter we are sending another request – if you are able.  Send us a note and a picture of your family at Christmas or together sometime this year.  We would be delighted to participate a bit in a home Christmas and your home would be great!

Prayer requests for this month include:

-         - Jimena, as mentioned above;

-         - for Belkis’ work to continue and for her to have success in this

-          -for our teen kids in the Bible study that they continue to recognize Jesus as their greatest gift                                      - that we respond with compassion and wisdom to the people at our gate

As we send this, we want to wish each of you joy this Christmas.  Go to church and sing the carols for us. Drive the streets to view the Christmas lights.  And open your hearts to the greatest gift you have been offered – Jesus. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!  JOY and LOVE!  

Larry and Susan 

Pictures from some of our Christmas activities.