Merry Christmas !

During this busy time of the year it is important to realize and remember the meaning and importance of Christmas. Our Savior is born! Our Redeemer has freed us from the bondage of sin.
Now we are called to accept and follow Jesus Christ as our Savior and our Lord. As Paul said to the Galatians: "I have been crucifued with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me." We hope and pray that as Christians we make this come true and that the people around us may see Jesus Christ in and through us. That the world may see that there is something different and special about Christmas and Christians.

It was nice to read a statement this week from Nina Grewal, a Sikh Member of Parliament to the House of Commons in which she said: "Political correctness is diluting Christmas in a well-intended but unnecessary attempt to be inclusive. How can we as a society join together to celebrate Diwali, the Chinese New Year, Hanukkah and Vaisakhi but at the same time rob Christians of the true meaning of Christmas?
As a Sikh, I am not offended when Christians celebrate Christmas in a traditional way. Rather, I am pleased to celebrate with my Christian friends. True diversity means respecting the traditions of all Canadians, including those of the Christian majority. Please join with me in wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas."

Of course Christmas is more than a tradition but this opens the door to let the world know about the importance of what happened in Bethlehem. Let's keep telling the world around us the real meaning of Christmas and that Jesus Christ is the reason for the season. Jesus' birth is the best Christmas gift ever!

A Merry Christmas to everyone and that we all may show the world His love through us.

Only 3 weeks to go - time really flies!

It is now only 3 weeks till we will leave for Zambia. The time is flying by and with the Christmas holidays coming up, time seems to go even faster. God has been good to us and things are slowly but surely falling into place. The amount of paperwork to go through is quite astounding and we're not even sure that we have covered everything yet. It is a good thing that Anneloes will still be home for the first couple of months so she can capture some open ends for us.

Anneloes is finishing her co-op in Toronto this week and will go back to University of Guelph in January for the second semester of her third year Economics and Finance. Elise will be done with her last exam on Wednesday and we'll pick her up from Redeemer on Thursday so that she'll be home as well. Lucinda is hardly home since she is visiting a lot of her high school friends who are coming back from university for the Christmas holidays. Machteld is still working this week at the Holland Shop but after that she has one more day and then she will be done. Gert is almost finished helping the Maple Avenue Baptist Church in Georgetown and is running the last errands in regard of all the paperwork.

We want to thank our church family for an absolutely amazing offering for the Zambia Mission a few weeks ago. It is very encouraging to see and experience how involved and supportive our church family is of our mission. Without your support and prayers we would not be able to do this. As we have sung many time at Camp Hope this past summer "God is good all the time" and we have certainly felt that this last couple of weeks. The excitement and tension are increasing but also the realization that we will leave Anneloes and Elise behind in Canada. Leaving them behind is the most difficult thing for us at this point, especially since it will be the first time that this happens. Please continue to lift them and us up in your prayers.

We also want to thank every one for the encouraging emails and comments that we received over the last couple of days. It is great to see that many have taken an interest in our mission. Again, God has been good and we are humbled by His faithfulness.

In all the busyness around the Christmas holidays, may we never forget the real meaning of Christmas!

Blessings to all of you.

Less than one month before we start

We are very busy preparing for the start of our missionary work in Zambia. We plan to leave on January 7, 2013 and then spend about 10 months in Zambia before we return for a 2 month break. We are very fortunate that we have been able to find a house at Justo Mwale Theological University College in Lusaka. The only thing is that the house does not come with furniture so one of the first things that we will have to do is to buy some beds, chairs and tables and other necessities.

 

We look forward to serving the Lord and "Shining Light" and "Showing Love" to the widows and orphans in Zambia. We will be working with Every Orphan's Hope and focusing on improving the operations of the organization in Zambia as well as the communication between Zambia and North America. We also look forward to connecting again with our friends from the Esther School in Chongwe. We have been following their blogs and are thankful for the progress they have been able to make and to get the first classes started in September.

 

We put together a brochure (see below) that informs you about what we will be doing as well as how you can support us. The most important thing is that you will keep us in your prayers as we continue to prepare for our departure to Zambia. A number of administrative things still have to fall into place but we are confident that this will be completed soon, God willing. We trust in Him to provide for the things that we need and to guide us in these last few months of preparation.

 

We will keep you posted when we have more details to share with you. Please stay tuned.

 

Machteld and Gert