Dear Friends,
Wow, can it really be Christmas already. This will be our second Christmas together as husband and wife and our first with a Christmas letter. God has blessed us richly in the last couple of years. We’ve been in Wapella for over a year now. Time flies by so fast. We’ve had a relatively busy year. Here are a few of the highlights.
In April we took James cousin Marranda in to live with us. This was a scary as well as an exciting time for us. Neither of us had ever been in charge of a 3 yr old around the clock before. But we all adjusted well and have had a wonderful time playing and learning together. We finally conquered the potty training adventure a couple weeks before Marranda started pre-school. What a victory that was. Marranda returned home December 19th. It’s hard to believe she was with us for 8 months. We have been greatly blessed by her time with us and we miss her lots.
Things at the church have gone well this year. Our numbers are struggling a little, but we’ve heard that can happen at the beginning of a new ministry. Our eyes have been opened in a number of ways to the joys, sorrows, and burdens of ministry. James is doing well in the pulpit. We are both teaching Sunday school and leading the youth on Sunday evenings and Wednesday afternoons. I lead a women’s Bible study during the week. The people here are very loving and supportive. God sure has blessed us with a wonderful place to learn about and do ministry.
In addition to working full time at the church James is finishing up his college class work this semester. He will do his internship here at the church under the supervision of an area minister and graduate college in May. Lord willing he’ll start seminary in the fall. I have been working on my thesis. I procrastinated long enough. I have three months to finish it and then find a job. I may be continuing my education in the fall. That is yet to be determined.
This past summer we had a lot of fun. For our first anniversary we went to New York City. It was our first time to visit and we had a great time. I think we covered all of Manhattan on foot. We needed a vacation to recover from our vacation, so we went to the North American Christian Convention with Marranda a couple weeks later. Then we came home and had a break. James helped to lead the jr high week of fishing camp at Little Galilee in August and we had VBS at church. Next year he will be able to Dean that same week of camp.
It has been one crazy busy year. We’re looking forward to what God has in store for us next year. This Christmas season has been a blast. We’ve seen all kinds of family and had a Christmas Open House that we consider a success. We are now home and getting ready for my sisters wedding on New Years Eve. James also has an intensive week class the first week of January. We are looking forward to a short vacation in a log cabin near Carbondale the second week in January.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
James and Beth
Wow, can it really be Christmas already. This will be our second Christmas together as husband and wife and our first with a Christmas letter. God has blessed us richly in the last couple of years. We’ve been in Wapella for over a year now. Time flies by so fast. We’ve had a relatively busy year. Here are a few of the highlights.
In April we took James cousin Marranda in to live with us. This was a scary as well as an exciting time for us. Neither of us had ever been in charge of a 3 yr old around the clock before. But we all adjusted well and have had a wonderful time playing and learning together. We finally conquered the potty training adventure a couple weeks before Marranda started pre-school. What a victory that was. Marranda returned home December 19th. It’s hard to believe she was with us for 8 months. We have been greatly blessed by her time with us and we miss her lots.
Things at the church have gone well this year. Our numbers are struggling a little, but we’ve heard that can happen at the beginning of a new ministry. Our eyes have been opened in a number of ways to the joys, sorrows, and burdens of ministry. James is doing well in the pulpit. We are both teaching Sunday school and leading the youth on Sunday evenings and Wednesday afternoons. I lead a women’s Bible study during the week. The people here are very loving and supportive. God sure has blessed us with a wonderful place to learn about and do ministry.
In addition to working full time at the church James is finishing up his college class work this semester. He will do his internship here at the church under the supervision of an area minister and graduate college in May. Lord willing he’ll start seminary in the fall. I have been working on my thesis. I procrastinated long enough. I have three months to finish it and then find a job. I may be continuing my education in the fall. That is yet to be determined.
This past summer we had a lot of fun. For our first anniversary we went to New York City. It was our first time to visit and we had a great time. I think we covered all of Manhattan on foot. We needed a vacation to recover from our vacation, so we went to the North American Christian Convention with Marranda a couple weeks later. Then we came home and had a break. James helped to lead the jr high week of fishing camp at Little Galilee in August and we had VBS at church. Next year he will be able to Dean that same week of camp.
It has been one crazy busy year. We’re looking forward to what God has in store for us next year. This Christmas season has been a blast. We’ve seen all kinds of family and had a Christmas Open House that we consider a success. We are now home and getting ready for my sisters wedding on New Years Eve. James also has an intensive week class the first week of January. We are looking forward to a short vacation in a log cabin near Carbondale the second week in January.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
James and Beth
1 comment:
right back at you!! You guys are going to have to figure out a new normal this year with your sidekick gone.
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