Almost twenty centuries of celebrating God’s ultimate revelation of Himself in the birth of His Son and our Savior have come and gone. And every year multitudes more join in the true celebration of the season.
Stars rise and set, that star shines on:
Songs fail, but still that music beats
Through all the ages come and gone,
In lane and field and city streets.
And we who catch the Christmas gleam,
Watching with children on the hill,
We know, we know it is no dream—
He stands among us still!
—Nancy Byrd Turner
Our family has enjoyed the joy of Christmas throughout the past year… so many blessings and challenges! The most outstanding has been the addition of a precious daughter-in-“love”. Reuben James married Carmita Raquel Hedman on June 7th in Belgium. They are now living in Madras, India, working with the Indian Assemblies of God. Paul Benjamin has been working for Informix and lives in San Mateo, not too far from us. Nathan is completing his senior year at Wesleyan University in Connecticut with an economics major. Stephen is earning money to attend the discipleship school on the Mercy Ship Anastasis this coming February.
Reuben and I have been residing in Petaluma, CA, during our time of furlough. We have had the privilege of visiting many churches and meeting with many of the people who have so faithfully stood by us during our years in Eurasia. Although sometimes physically tiring (Reuben has traveled from one end of the country to the other), it is always a privilege to meet with the people of God and to share His word.
We pray that the coming year will be replete with the blessings of God for you and your loved ones. May His grace continue to draw you to an even greater knowledge and love of the Christ Who came as a child and Whose birth we celebrate.