Gelukkig 2de Kerstdag!

Merry Christmas!

Or should I say, Happy Second Christmas! That's "Gelukkig 2de Kerstdag!" in Dutch. There is such a thing. Kind of like Boxing Day in Canada or Africa, except I've not lived in either of those places and can't speak to that particular rendition of 2de Kerstdag.

So since it's still the Christmas season, and since I did mail out Christmas cards, but did not include any type of personal message/greeting/letter, I figure maybe I will just post a type of "Christmas letter" here on the blog.

Although, really, if you've been reading the blog, you should already know what's been going on with us. However, if you haven't kept up with the blog this would be a good way to gain a summary view of our adventures over the past year.

But obviously not a fantastic way to do so. After all, there were many random, weird, funny, happenings posted on here throughout 2009 that will not be included in the recap.

When I ambitiously began writing a draft of a Christmas letter about a week ago (with vain hopes that I could finish it, print it out, and stuff it into addressed envelopes with signed Christmas cards to get them mailed before Christmas - ha!), it was challenging to come up with a theme that was not depressing or sad. In fact, there was a Wall Street Journal article about a week ago pointing out that Christmas letters this year are not all about your travels to the far east, your big promotion at work, and your kids prosperous jobs with a big international company. What do you say in a Christmas letter when the economy's bad, you've been out of work for ten months, and your kids graduated college and are living at home because there are no jobs to be had?

Humor is definitely one way to approach it. I, however, decided to really try to focus on some positives, without completely ignoring the difficulties we've faced this year. It turned out to be easier than I imagined.

In the weeks and days leading up to Christmas life can sure get busy and hectic. (Which is why this letter never got sent out in Christmas cards and is just now appearing on the blog.) As we have been reminded throughout this year, times of calm and patient waiting need to be recognized and consciously experienced. Waiting is so hard. Waiting for Christmas, waiting for a job, waiting for the answer, waiting for the right time, waiting for a child.

While we have experienced an emotionally and physically difficult year, the waiting and hurting have also brought about tremendous growth and stronger faith in our lives. After being diagnosed late last year with endometriosis, I have spent the past year undergoing various infertility treatments and surgeries. After months of attempts to become pregnant, we bid the unsuccessful medical treatments farewell last month. The medical part of this journey takes such an emotional, physical, and financial toll. I will continue with alternative medicine treatments to improve my health. Through all this waiting and disappointment, our hope in God's perfect plan has been renewed. I know it sounds strange, but we trust there are better things than we could ever imagine in store for us. We are grateful for friends and family who have prayed for us and encouraged us this year. We don't know what the next step in the journey to add to our family will be, but we have faith that God will show us the way one step at a time.

I am still employed with a crisis pregnancy center nearby. After waiting more than a year for the right job, I am still grateful every day for the wonderful ministry I get to be a part of. It is a joy to share practical resources, counsel, and Jesus' good news with women facing unplanned pregnancies.

After our trip to Africa last year with Compassion International, we spent several months waiting to see how God would use our experience after we returned home. Amazingly, John was able to use his experience with Compassion in Africa and his accounting knowledge to help organize a mission trip for accounting students at Baylor University. Baylor and Compassion International worked together to allow a group of college students to minister, educate, and encourage pastors, entrepreneurs and children in Uganda this past May. Several Compassion children were also sponsored as a result of this trip! We hope this becomes an annual trip for Baylor accounting students.

While we may not have become pregnant this year, we did add to our family in another way. We have sponsored Ronnie, a 12-year-old from Uganda, through Compassion International for five years. This year, we added a little girl, Martha, to our "family". Martha is also from Uganda, is seven years old, and lives with her grandparents. What a joy to receive letters and drawings from these two and to witness them growing physically, socially, intellectually, and spiritually!

John is still with Ernst & Young. With the economic downturn, he spent some time this year waiting to see if he would gain enough clients to stay employed with the company. Several months ago he was put on a couple big jobs, both, unfortunately, out of town. The travel is ongoing, and he is just waiting to see how this will all pan out and what the next step in his career should be. We continue to tell ourselves to take one day at a time.

Christmas is a great time to remember the value of waiting. God declared He would send a Messiah to save us...and then nothing happened for 400 years. Now THAT is a long time to wait. But in His perfect timing, Jesus Christ was born in a stable, not exactly the King we expected but definitely the perfect Savior we needed. In your waiting, may you always cling to the sure hope that comes in trusting Christ. Merry Christmas!