Feliz Navidad!

Well, Everyone, it's Christmas Eve! For some reason, I find it harder to be far from home this year than last year. Probably has something to do with saying goodbye to 2 very good friends yesterday and wanting to be at Hyde Creek's Christmas Eve service.

My 7 glorious days with Mike and Natalie were more than wonderful. It felt so good to laugh and talk and be known. They also came bearing a mountain of gifts, which was somewhat overwhelming but I am learning to receive well. Thank you so much for all your gifts and cards.

God really blessed the 3 of us with some unforgettable adventures and when my creative writing skills improve, I will write about them. It wasn't easy to leave Nat and Mike at the airport but I savour the memories and I thank the Lord for good friends.

Dave and Debbie (the pastoring couple on the base) invited me in for the next couple of days to spend Christmas with them. We made a big lasagna meal for the students tonight and I baked pumpkin pies. I'm getting better at that. I can also make dented muffins. Tomorrow we'll have breakfast at Marion's (DTS director) and maybe go to the beach.

On another note, the last day of the footballers ministry went really well. After drills and scrimmage we talked to the boys about identity and how God was intentional about creating them. I was sad to see some of the kids reluctant to go home, not looking forward to what would meet them there but it felt good be able to speak positive things into their little lives. I pray they will remember.

I have posted some new pictures on the flickr website (just click on the Em's Pics link), please feel free to have a look.

I am looking forward to spending time with people in the community as our local outreach begins on the 27th.

Merry Christmas, Everyone. Thanks for loving me.
Em =0)

The Friday Footballers TeamEm & Mario on the last footballers day

Staying Steady

Hello Everyone, it's almost time for Christmas holidays here and I am really looking forward to a break and some good times with Natalie and Mike. It's going to feel good to touch the sea again, it has been a while.

Last weekend we (the Chile Team) crammed 7 of us in a space designed for 4 and headed for Hopewell where we were very warmly welcomed by Pastor Brown's church. This little Baptist church on the hill seemed quite traditional with their choir robes, organ and hymnals until the bassist and electric guitarist showed up. Pretty soon even the pastor was jumping up and down, the lapels of his choir robe flailing. It was great. We are looking forward to serving in Hopewell soon.

Local outreach begins on December 27th and we'll likely leave for Chile on January 9th or 10th. I'm praying that my team will be able to purchase our tickets this week.

Please pray for me. It's crunch time; getting things sorted out for the different teams in terms of visas they'll need, etc. and trying to stay on top of things as a school leader and outreach leader. I'm tired and I want to finish this season well. I thank the Lord for sustaing me this far. We've had to make some tough decsions as a leadership team but this season has been good and I have grown a lot.

On a side note, Marion (dts director), Amanda(student), and I ran to the airport this morning! It had been our goal since September but there hadn't been time to train for the past month or so except maybe one run a week. The airport is about 11-12km away and we decided it was this morning or never. We planned to run at 4am (traffic gets crazy on these streets by 6:30) but Marion wasn't awake and then she had to turn her socks inside out 3 times because the crease was bothering her foot and we had some other minor mishaps but we eventually began at 4:45. We ran a steady pace the whole way and made it in 1hr and 15 minutes! We really had to pray going up the last couple of hills but we made it!

Thanks for reading. God bless you!
Em =0)

Counting Down

Hello again Everyone!

Only 13 more days until I get to hug Nat and Mike and impress them with my Patois (that's the Jamaican language)!

Wednesday's Pastors' Breakfast was super successful. Thanks so much to all who prayed! Students and staff here all pitched in and worked hard to help make it happen. The final count was 58, including 15 Bible college students who showed up half-way through the program. It's the largest crowd we've had for this event and the coolest thing is that a lot of the pastors/ministry leaders stayed around and talked with each other at the end even though the program went 2 hours overtime (my brain is getting used to being event-oriented). It was obviouse that people left feeling encouraged. To God be the glory.

Sadly, my digital camera is nowhere to be found since that day. I'm hoping and praying that it's just tucked away in some nook or cranny where I haven't thought to look yet. This predicament makes it even more difficult for me to update my pictures but I'll see if I can show you photos from someone else's collection.

Things are going well with the Chile team. We'll be doing the first week of our local outreach in a town called Hopewell. It's about half and hour away and we're going to visit a church there tomorrow. When I asked the pastor for directions he said, "Tell da drivah to let you off at de playin field an den walk up da hill." Aparantly we can't miss it.

Good night Everyone and God bless you.
-Em =0)