Christmas Greetings Dear Friends & Family! December, 2013
I am delighted to send out another Christmas missive to all of you dear ones around the world! Life is such an amazing journey and I am grateful once again for the gift of Christmas – JESUS HAS COME and is with us – therefore I have joy and hope and peace in the midst of life with all it’s messy, good, hard, wonderful and strange happenings.
It’s been another really great year in so many ways. I continue to love my job – teaching kids who struggle with reading. God has provided me with a job that is so flexible and life-giving. I absolutely love working one on one with kids. I still need to lay down every afternoon due to back pain and instability, but thankfully I am able to lead a full and very satisfying life. I have my Patrice and two other lovely young women living here with me to help out and to provide company.
Daniel & Nicole are doing well and it is a joy to see the love between those two as they enter their third year of marriage. Now that Daniel is a journeyman carpenter, he’s decided to broaden his horizons and is attending University to become an Occupational Therapist. (SIX YEARS!!) Nicole has a job in a Drug Detox Center here in town and she is doing an amazing job. They are huge outdoor enthusiasts and squeeze in as much hiking, cross country skiing, camping etc. as they can in between studies and work.
Patrice is still enjoying her work at a care home for disabled adults and she has been taking a few university level courses this year to prepare her for???? She’s still figuring that out, but meanwhile I am watching her excel in the art of cooking and baking. She loves to research unusual topics like fermentation, seeds and grains and has been busy this fall making kambucha, incredible breads and other such delicacies. We all love to sample her creations! I consider it such a gift to have her still living at home with me. She is a very sweet daughter and friend.
Mom and Dad are doing well. They have definitely slowed down significantly but amazingly enough, they are the ones preparing Sunday dinners for us kids to come and join them on occasion. We have discovered that Dad has quite the culinary flair and he prepared a delicious roast beef dinner for all of us to come and celebrate his 88thBirthday last Sunday! (He does NOT like to go out to restaurants…) He also works hard at the art of bread making and the preparing of borscht with Mom.
Elsie and I love taking Mom and Tante Hilda out for drives to enjoy the beautiful scenery here in the Okanagan Valley. Every season has its beauty and I have introduced them to the convenience and delicious delights found at various “drive-through” restaurants where we pick up a little lunch as we do our sightseeing. I count it a privilege to spend time with these dear ones and we enjoying singing hymns, praying and talking about how great God is together! Isn’t that awesome?
And now for some really amazing news … Patrice and I have both booked flights to go to Kona Hawaii for 3 months this winter, God willing! I will be taking a school at YWAM where I will apparently be memorizing an ENTIRE GOSPEL! (or as much of it as I can at my age…). Patrice will be volunteering on the YWAM base, most likely in the kitchen. I am finding the winters here to be somewhat difficult on my joints and getting around in the snow and ice in my wheelchair isn’t the easiest, so I’m taking a wee sabbatical and am looking forward to thawing out.
I am attending a little Vineyard Church here in Kelowna with Patrice where I have been involved in prayer and I love the sweet fellowship and wonderful friends I have there. They are very supportive and loving. And in this season we are joining with all the other believers around the world as we say MARANATHA – come again Lord Jesus. Into our minutes and hours and days as we eagerly await His Second Coming.
“Let every heart prepare Him room…”
I bless you all with peace and hope, encouragement and endurance as you finish this year and enter the New. He is with us, our EMMANUEL!! In the midst of everything… Jesus is beautiful, kind and compassionate and HE IS FOR YOU!!
Have a most wonderful Christmas,
Love, Karen & Family
No comments:
Post a Comment