Christmas...

I love Christmas time.  I love getting to take the time and recount the birth of our Savior.  I love hearing the story of how God humbled Himself as a man, and came and lived life as a human.  I get goosebumps thinking about what it would have been like to be a goat staring into the manger that night, witnessing the birth of the King of Kings, Emmanuel, God with us.  

I love getting to share the story of Christmas with our Kids' Club kids.  In our 2 years of loving them, this is the second time we have come to the birth of Christ in our lessons.  We have been able to arrange the lessons so Jesus comes right around Christmas time each year.  We use the Jesus Storybook Bible as our curriculum, and the kids hear all trimester about how God is going to send His Rescuer to bring His people back to Him.  The kids have figured out his name is Jesus. 

The last Tuesday of the winter trimester we watch a video of our story about the birth of Christ. The story tells of how God could have sent His rescuer in so many ways.  He could have made the mountains bow down, seas roar, and trees to clap their hands.  But, He didn't choose that way.  He choose to send Jesus as a baby, a totally human, fully God, baby.  

One our most inquisitive kids asked after watching the video why Jesus needed that lady, Mary.  My young friend seemed to have a hard time imagining a God so humble, who flung the planets into space, was coming to earth as a baby.   As we took a second to chat we related it to the babies we knew in our community, and how if it weren't for their moms they wouldn't be alive.  We had the chance to talk about how to be a man, Jesus had to start out as a baby.

While they are young now, the Kids' Club kids are listening and learning.  They are beginning to understand how lessons from the Bible stories apply to their lives.  My hope for my Kids' Club friends is they grow into young men and young women who love Jesus, and allow Him to guide them through life.

If you have a few seconds watch the video we watch.  It's one of my favorites

Why I Love What I Do....

Soo...if you can't read it, here is what this note says.

(Please forgive my spelling and punctuation, I am copying this from the original)

Thank You note

Dear: Kristian

Merry Christmas.  Thank you for teaching alot about God and I enjoy with you when we do our homework and  I really like when we go to watch movie I hope you enjoy your Christmas.  Have a nice Christmas.

Love, A

So many sweet notes from this little girl.  Her heart is so open, honest and listening to what the Lord is teaching her, and she is only in the 4th grade.  Jesus was on to something when he talked about having the faith of a child and I am so lucky to get to see it in such a real and personal way.   

5 years...

So I realized today that I graduated from college 5 years ago this weekend.  

Yep, 5 years ago.  It got me thinking about what a crazy journey the Lord has led me on over the past 5 years.  

Little known fact: After I graduated I worked as a puppeteer.  Yet, that's right.  A puppeteer.  As a job.  

No, not Sesame Street.  

I hung out with these guys:

These are the Kids on the Block.  They travel to schools and teach kids about differences.  They cover everything from wheel chairs, to Epilepsy to bullying. It didn't last for more than a few months because I got in to grad school to become a teacher. 

So I went to grad school and subbed for about a year.  Then, I graduated again. 

Then I had an amazing first year of teaching in Nashville. 

Wasn't my room cute?  

Then I traveled Europe with two of my best friends.

Then I moved back to Kansas.  

And then I had the worst second year of teaching imaginable.

But, the Lord redeemed that year by introducing me to my beautiful friends.  

I loved being with my friends so much that I quit my teaching job to spend more of my time with them.  I started to raise funds to be able to spend all of my time with them. Over the past year and a half we have had so much fun together, grown, loved and laughed.  

If you would have asked me 5 years ago where I would be now I would have probably said NOT in Kansas City.  Now, I can't imagine being anywhere else.  It is amazing the wonderful things the Lord brings in to your life when you follow his leading.  He might even take you where you said you would never go.  

So these last couple weeks have been crazy busy.  We just wrapped up our 6th trimester, and January marks the 2 year anniversary of the launch of the Bhutanese outreach.  It is crazy to think about the past two years and the work that the Lord has done, and the fun we have gotten to have along the way.  Our friends from Christ Church Anglican hosted our party last night.  They really went above and beyond and served our Nepali friends and our volunteer in a generous and loving way.  

Suzanne, from Christ Church and I went shopping at Sams for all of the food Padam needed to cook a Nepali dinner for over 300 people, we got some strange looks buying all that starch.  

I don't know how to wrap a sari, so a bunch of the women helped me out.....a bunch of them. 

  

Christ Church's youth group hosted the kids portion of our party.  We played games, painted nails and had a great time!

How you serve Daal to over 300 people. 

Thank you to everyone who came out, it was such a wonderful night!