Dec 11 2007
Christmas and why we do what we do?
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It is hard to believe that Christmas is upon us already. In the busyness of the season, and the commercial nature of our celebration of it, it is easy to forget the importance of this time. I was reminded of this during our ISI staff Christmas party the other day. On the way up, it felt like another event about Jesus in an already filled schedule.
Once I got up there though, I was reminded quickly that Jesus isn’t only the reason for the season, but Christmas was at the core of everything we do with international students. If Christ had not come, we, a very diverse and different people, would not be gathered together… we would not be a team doing some very special things… we would not have the meaning of life that we do in touching the world through international students. If Jesus did not come as a human to reveal God and to redeem man, we would be wasting our time sharing God’s great love to those who don’t know or understand it. Wow… that really put perspective on the evening. I look at the staff team… From long time ISI Staff Phil & Nancy Smick to New Staff Vinay & Shalini Patras, the reason why it is all worth it is because the Father sent his Son for our redemption and to show us who He is and so we can receive the Spirit and receive eternal presence with Him. (even now) Wow!!!
Remember this too… all of you who read this… those of you who have thought about, prayed about, supported us over this last year… remember it is because of Jesus that your sacrifices for our behalf have the special meaning that it does. You are an important part of this special letter, this “Word†of love, sent by God through His Son and expressed through our work as you support us… thank you all for your faithfulness.
J-11 is now 11 and definitely in the “pre-teen†years. He has grown a lot this year through Scouting and participating in service projects at church. For example, he spent several hours unloading heavy boxes of donated canned food at Mission Arlington and helped with a Christmas party at a local children’s home. He continues to love learning new skills on the computer. Besides developing his own website, he is also helping our children’s pastor with a website and started a blog for his Boy Scout troop.
T-7 is 7 and feeling the pain of being the “middleman.†Nevertheless, he is doing really well in school, especially in math. He has also begun to read chapter books and take “AR†tests at school (Accelerated Reader). One thing Timothy especially enjoyed this year was taking a karate class through an after-school program. His mom was amazed when he started responding with “Yes, ma’am†when asked to do something! He plans to continue taking karate in 2008. As a Cub Scout, he got to be in 2 parades this year, one on the 4th of July and again during the Parade of Lights in December.
C-4 is learning how to write and spell. One of her favorite words to spell is one we see a lot this time of year—JOY! And C-4 is a real joy to us. She always wants to help around the house, especially with cooking. She would also like to learn to sew (perhaps she can learn from one of her grandmas?) She also loves to spend time cutting, gluing and taping any sort of paper she can get her hands on.
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