Merry Christmas! We are so thankful for you all and miss everyone a lot especially during this holiday season. But even as we feel homesick, I am reminded of Christ and how we are celebrating the choice he made to leave his home in heaven and come to this world to be a sacrifice for us. What a motivation to us to remember that the things we suffer here are so small compared to the awesome heavy price he paid for our freedom. I’ll always remember Pastor Chris’s reminding us that Christmas is in reality us celebrating the humiliation of Jesus. I am overwhelmed by the depth of love Christ has for us and I pray that all of us would remember him on this very abused day of Christmas and remember that Christmas is a celebration of the precious Lamb of God born as a sacrifice for our sins.
Lily Marie was born November 7th after just a half hour of labor. We had planned on me giving birth in the hospital but my labor was so fast that Lily was born at home. It was a very stressful situation but we are very thankful that she was born healthy and that nothing went wrong. Eric was the one that delivered her which was a pretty neat experience for us. After she was born some friends drove us to the hospital and the doctors there checked us out and both of us where perfectly fine, Praise the Lord!
Joshua loves his little sister and is always wanting to hold her or play with her.
Eric is progressing very well in the language and I am trailing a little behind him now since Lily was born but recently I have been able to start up language sessions again and I feel very encouraged to be studying again. Life does seem to take a while to feel normal again after you have a baby 😉
Just this morning, Eric left on a five hour trip to a village to meet with some of the local church elders. He will be gone for three days attending leadership meetings there. This is an exciting opportunity for him and it is the first time he has been able to be out of the city to see more of what our future ministry here will look like.
It has been super warm here lately and raining constantly which is actually a welcome relief from the heat. A couple weeks ago it rained so much one of the rooms in our house was flooded with a few inches of water.
Please continue to pray for us as we keep studying that we would study well and diligently. We have quite a ways to go before we are at the desired language level needed before we can move on. Both Eric and I have awesome language helpers and we are so thankful for how the Lord has provided in that way.
Thank you all so very much for your prayers and support of us. We couldn’t be here without you! We love hearing from you! Please don’t hesitate to contact us for it is super encouraging for us. We love you guys!
We love y’all and will continue to pray for you. Having a baby at home…that takes it to another level! Praise the Lord for His protection and guidance through it all. Keep up the hard work at language study.
Thank you! We sure appreciate you all :]
Hello, Eric, Cherie, Joshua, and Lily. Hope you all are well. I am in my 37th and last year of teaching. I moved to Marysville last April. I am very busy with estate sales I hold for people and sports officiating. Merry Christmas to you all. Thanks for the reminder about the reason for the season! Love in Christ — Chris
Thanks Chris! Its good to hear from you. Wow, 37 years of teaching. How does it feel for it to be your last one? Must be nice and hard at the same time. Looking forward to seeing you when we go back.