December 2006

OK, now I have some time to write a full update!

The Short Version:
We had a great Thanksgiving with the Bourrets. My job at UPC has been really exciting. Hana ran the Geography Bee at school. Both of our semesters are over and went well.

The Long Version:
For Thanksgiving this year we drove down to Hana’s parent’s home in Palm City, FL. We brought along with us my friend Jonny, his wife Naomi, and their two boys, Tom and Ted. They are from England and moved to Orlando the same time Hana and I did and for the same reason (RTS). So, they celebrated their first Thanksgiving! And Ohhh did we eat! The food was awesome, as it always is at the Bourret’s. The funny thing was Jonny’s facial reactions as I kept handing him dish after dish: turkey, corn, potatoes, stuffing, cranberries, orange stuff, green bean casserole… See, they don’t eat the way we eat anyway – holiday or not. So even a normal dinner would be a lot, but this was Thanksgiving!! It was great. We took pictures!

Well, Hana and I now have a month of high school ministry experience under our belts! The kids have really made us feel welcome and supported. Hana says they energize her; I agree. They’re so smart and mature; we forget they’re in high school sometimes. Last weekend Hana went with some of the girls and decorated Christmas cookies, while I took a group of guys out for Pizza. We should have gone over to where the girls were and ate the cookies! Part of my Christmas break will consist of planning for the spring. If there’s one thing high school kids don’t want to be – it’s bored. It’ll be a lot of work, but worth every second of it. Pray that the Lord would ensure that we continue to faithfully minister to them!

A few weeks ago there was a Geography Bee at Hana’s school, and it was her job to ask all of the questions! It took a while but eventually there was one kid left, and he will go on to another Bee with kids from other schools. I wish I could have been there to watch Hana read the questions. She said it was a lot of fun, and was impressed with how much the kids have learned! But she’s a great teacher, so I expected nothing less.

Finally, both of our semesters are over! Ok, actually Hana’s quarter is over, not her semester – but who really wants to be that picky? Anyway, we’re both ready for a break. She worked very hard over the past two quarters and the administration at GLMS has expressed to her that she’s doing a really great job! As for me, I handed in 7 papers two weeks ago, and took 4 final exams last week. It’s amazing to me that I’m done with one sixth of my seminary education!! It went by so fast. But I learned so much. I truly feel blessed to sit and learn from these incredibly faithful and talented teachers. I’m going to put a “what I learned this semester” article on my RTS page in the coming weeks, so watch for that if you’re interested. It won’t be everything I learned, just the highlights.

This may be my last update before Christmas, so MERRY CHRISTMAS. We pray the Lord will make His everlasting presence known to you in this celebratory season. And we pray that as you celebrate His birth, you also rejoice in His life, death, and resurrection as well. He is the way, the life, and the truth!
God bless.