We took this picture at Andrew's preschool. He had a special visitor, and Andrew was actually pretty excited to see him - we weren't sure how he'd react to sitting in Santa's lap, but as you can see, he had the time of his life (although I don't think Santa quite measures up to Thomas the Tank Engine)!
Thank you for your prayers for our travel to Butler, PA - we had a great trip there, and Andrew did well on the 6-hour drive. The weather was beautiful - no snow to make travel difficult! We were also able to encourage Whitestown Rd. Baptist Church, and pray that God will use our words to draw people there closer to Him.
This week we'll be speaking at Fellowship Baptist, Randy's home church before moving to Texas. We have several strong prayer supporters in this church. Pray as we talk with them about future partnerships with us in Vladivostok.
As we said last week, Christmas is fast approaching, and we would be remiss if we did not express our sincere gratitude for your gifts to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. In tough economic times like these, giving often means sacrifice. Take the example set by Lottie Moon herself:
For 37 years this pioneering missionary endured hardship and danger in a land oppressed by famine, disease and war. In the end, she loved the Chinese people more than life itself, giving her own food to starving neighbors, eventually dying of starvation herself. During her career, Moon wrote numerous letters home urging Southern Baptists to greater missions involvement and support. One of those letters, excerpted below, triggered Southern Baptists’ first offering for missions in 1888 — enough to send three new missionaries to China.
“How many there are … who imagine that because Jesus paid it all, they need pay nothing, forgetting that the prime object of their salvation was that they should follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ in bringing back a lost world to God.”
This is a picture of Andrew "reading" his beginner's Bible. We've started the practice of a daily quiet time with him. We read a short devotional passage together and then Daddy reads his Bible while Andrew reads his, or watches a "God video." We're praying that he will develop a hunger for God at an early age. I am reminded of a conversation I had with a lady in the front room of Mission Arlington while we were there last month. She was talking about how God had blessed her, and I just felt impressed to ask her, "And what have you been doing lately to bless God?" She immediately began talking about how she needed to give at a church somewhere. I told her that what really blesses God is when we give Him our heart - all of it. May God bless you as you bless Him this Christmas!
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