Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Has it really been that long...I can't believe I have not updated this in over a month. Wow, so much has happened. Where do I begin. On Thanksgiving, we celebrated with some friends in the ministry, since we were all away from family. We did a Mexican feast and it was phenomenal. Then we began the busy month of December...So much has happened, but here are the highlights.

We had Christmas parties and services and so much more...Chris spent the first few days of December in the hospital. He was experiencing severe abdominal pain. After running all the major tests, the Doctor's were unable to develop a diagnosis. After 3 days in the hospital, Chris asked to go home, and they let him. We believe what he experienced was a pinched nerve in his abdomen. It took several weeks to feel like himself again. The good news is, all the organs tested were completely healthy.

A couple of weeks later Chris was apart of the advance team trip to Slovokia. In March, he will be apart of the leadership team that will take over 1,000 teens on the Slovokia Outreach Service Project. While he was away, I was asked to speak to a Military Women's Bible Study in Frankfurt (about 3 hours away). I stayed with my friend Christine. It was an amazing and humbling experience. God was truly there. I encouraged the women to understand how God sees them, and who He has made them to be.

Chris spent some time in the states with his family, as this was the first Christmas without his grandfather. He was also able to meet with many of our donors and returned totally refreshed and encouraged. While he was away, Hunter and I took a group of teens to the local Parsberg Children's Home. We took "Angel Tree" presents that the chapel had sponsored for the kids and watched their annual talent show, all in German.

My brother Kevin arrived on my birthday and Chris returned home on Christmas Eve. We celebrated our first Bavarian Christmas, a mild white one, in our own home. My parents will arrive on the 27th and we will have a family Christmas. Please pray for the deployment of one of our units here in the next week. Many families are being uprooted and taken by surprise by the timing and duration. Please especially remember Matt's family! Thanks.

Our prayer for all of you in the coming year is that the Lord will bless you with abundant joy and life to the fullest! May God shower each of you with provision. May you see yourself through His eyes with His abundant, perfect love. Merry Christmas!