Wishing you a very Merry Christmas!

Praise God for answered prayer!  The weather had been cold and windy most of the week, but was warmer and very comfortable for carolling on Saturday (19th).  The nursing home welcomed us in royal fashion, and everyone seemed to enjoy the short program.  That was followed by carolling on the streets in the business district of town.  Some of the children that attend our other events joined with our church members to sing and tell the good news about Christmas.  The children especially enjoyed giving out the candy bags.  The attached collage shows photos from our various Christmas events.

The Christmas celebrating is not yet done!

• Wednesday(23): Albert and Elaine will be telling the Christmas story to about 80 students at the tutorial school next door to where they live.
• Thursday (24): Lorne and Kathy-Lu will be telling the Christmas story and having a Christmas party with the students of Fuhsing Elementary School.
• Thursday (24):  Our team will have Christmas Dinner together at our house.
• Friday (25): We will all attend the morning Christmas assembly at Baozhong Primary School. As far as we know, none of our group needs to wear the red suit this year, but we will not be sure until the day actually arrives.  There may be a last minute request.
• Friday (25):  Lorne and Kathy-Lu will continue to celebrate Christmas with the third and fourth grade students at Chaocuo Waldorf School.
• Saturday (26):  Lorne and Kathy-Lu have been invited to attend the Winter Solstace Celebration at Chaocuo Waldorf School.  So at least part of the morning will include that community event.
• Saturday (26):  The Christmas Party for the elementary students who attend our Saturday Children’s Club will happen at our house/church.  We are thankful that the Taichung Alliance Church is sending members to help with the details of that afternoon.
• Sunday (27):  Our Sunday Small Group Worship Time will be looking at the topic of how Jesus birth brings hope into our lives.

Thank-you for taking a few moments to pray for us as this is another very busy week.

We are approaching the end of the year.  We can look back and see that God has blessed us.  Some of those blessings have come through you!  It has been wonderful to know that so many of you have taken time to pray for us and to pray for the work here in Baozhong Township.  Many have also given towards our support and the needs of the work.  Please accept our heartfelt thanks.  You are a wonderful blessing, more than words on this page can express!

As we finish this year and begin a new one, we are facing many challenges.  The largest is definitely the spiritual battle, seeking to be a part of the expansion of God’s kingdom.  We are also facing financial challenges.  We appreciate those who have sacrificially given to support us financially throughout the past year.  Unfortunately the Canadian dollar is not as strong as earlier in the year, meaning it takes more dollars than previously to accomplish the same work.  We recognize that some of our supporters have had income decreases due to the shifts in the economy.  These trends mean that the financial giving to support international workers such as us is substantially behind goals.  We have been asked to only spend funds on absolute essential items as we begin the year.  Canadian C&MA national leaders are evaluating and praying about the situation.  They will need extra wisdom from above as they use common sense with an added measure of faith in determining the budget plan for 2016.  Please pray for them!  And anything you can give towards our support as we finish the year will be greatly appreciated.