Merry Christmas!
We thank God for His loving and never-ending gifts to us, the most significant One being Jesus!
As you know, the last half of this year has been one of major upheaval as we relocated from El Paso to Leander (just north of Austin).
This move has had its share of joys and sorrows, but in this season of celebration of Jesus’ birth, we want to testify to the many blessings for which we are thankful to our Lord, starting with you all, our support team. You were so encouraging, sending uplifting notes during the transition and even special gifts to help with the costs. We really felt surrounded by your love. Thank you and may God bless you and meet all your needs in a similarly abundant way.
We’re thankful that our house in El Paso sold for a better price and more quickly than we expected with the help of a godly realtor.
We’re thankful that in just one visit to Austin, we found an affordable place just a ten-minute drive from Art & Lenn’s home. They were a huge help throughout the whole process, including encouraging us to shop for a better mortgage rate and referring us to their excellent realtor.
We’re thankful for God’s provision of interim housing in September. Our missions pastor in El Paso recommended that we contact church offices in this area and Art also posted a notice online. This led us to a Christian family who hosted us for a few days and put us in touch with a missionary couple serving in Asia who lend out their condo to other missionaries — it was available to us for the exact time we needed!
We’re thankful for people who helped us fix up the house. God helped us find some good flooring people who installed some very nice yet economical tile. Then He sent us a handyman/pastor and Steve’s sister’s stepdaughter, Cami, who likes to paint. They both said they’d let God tell us what we should pay them. You’ve got to admire that kind of faith!
When it turned out that the pastor’s other commitments kept him too busy, the Lord brought us Mark, a semiretired builder who we met as a helpful fellow customer at the hardware store. This brother in Christ dived right in and worked for two weeks, patching and texturing drywall, upgrading our kitchen and bathrooms and installing light fixtures, and much more. He told us that he wanted to bless us because of our “beautiful feet,” and charged us just a fraction of what his work was worth. As he said several times, “I’ve learned that you can’t outgive God.” What a blessing Mark was!
We’re thankful that we found a good church right away through the family that hosted us. Hill Country Bible Church has a congregation only a mile and a half from our new home in Leander. We felt at home there right away! The pastor’s teaching each Sunday has spoken exactly to our needs. Eida has already attended a women’s retreat and Steve has sung once with the worship team.
We’re thankful that God has provided so that we can travel to California for Christmas to visit our parents. Wouldn’t it be fun if we had the chance to wish you a Merry Christmas in person during our time there?
And we’re thankful for each of you this Christmas. May we always be mindful of God’s love and blessings in the coming year and give Him thanks.
Joyfully,
Steve & Eida Irwin
New Tribes Mission
Spanish Language Resources
steve_irwin@ntm.org
Mobile: 408-515-1721
Mail: 1009 Lantana Ct., Leander TX 78641
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