Christmas…it’s a
time to reflect on the greatest gift given to mankind, Jesus Christ! Though the Lord was not born on December 25th, it is the day we set apart to celebrate his miraculous birth. The proof of God’s love came in the form of a little baby…a baby who was born to die for the sins of man. Different cultures have different ways of celebrating but for the Christian the emphasis is still the same, no matter where you live. Here in the Philippines, we celebrated in Filipino tradition on Christmas eve. We got together with our college students and church staff around 11:00 p.m. and celebrated past midnight. Christmas dinner was served around midnight and then the students exchanged gifts. It was a really fun experience (excluding the heartburn :) ) and we really enjoyed it. Then on Christmas morning we celebrated the American way-our kids woke up and opened their treasures. Later we had a birthday cake for Jesus and went over the Christmas story. I am so thankful for these special memories and for our God Who sent His Son to die on the cross! We hope you all had a blessed Christmas with your friends and families!
Christmas Snapshots!
Last Sunday, NCBC hos
ted its Children’s Christmas Program! The support from the parents was amazing! 41 out of 45 moms and dads came to see their little ones tell the Christmas story! Months of hard work and practice really paid off as the kids sang and performed their parts with confidence. As a dad, my heart melted when our Abigail sang “Away in a Manger.” Abbie is my little spitfire and this was her very first time to sing in the program so we weren’t sure what was going to happen once she got up there! But she and the rest of her preschool class did great! After the program all of our faithful kids were given a food basket and new flip flops! This special program has given our church the wonderful opportunity to help these families both spiritually and physically. Now we pray that these parents will think about God’s greatest gift, Christ, and accept Him as their Savior!
Typhoon Hagupit
Last we
ek the Philippines was hit by another large typhoon. This typhoon followed a similar path to that of its predecessor, Haiyan, causing a lot of concern for the people living in the affected communities. Our own city prepared to face the storm; trees branches were cut, store windows were taped, and families stocked up on supplies. In the Philippines the highest warning for a typhoon is a signal 3 and our city was given a signal 2. The hours leading up to the storm left our city quiet and the roads empty as people hunkered down to face the typhoon. Imagine our great surprise when the storm hit and we were only showered with steady rain! It rained for two days but it wasn’t terrible and the winds were hardly felt. In our Sunday evening service one of our ladies gave this testimony, “It was almost like the hand of God blocked the storm!” What a blessing to see God’s protection even when things appeared dark. We want to thank all of our family and friends who prayed for us during the storm!
5 Years!
On November 28th we celebrat
ed our 5th year wedding anniversary! These past five years have just flown by…and now 60 months, 1,825 days, and two kids later we continue to thank the Lord for our journey. These years have been filled with love, work, and challenges but never regret. I am so happy the Lord brought us together!