Christmas letter

It’s the last day of November and the memories of a wonderful Thanksgiving are fresh. We had the pleasure of being with Randy’s family for the first ‘California’ T-day since 2003. The food was good, the time together was great! We have seen many of you as well. We want to continue to enjoy these face-to-face meetings, but we want to take a few minutes to write and wish you a blessed Christmas and New Year.

Coming back to LA hasn’t been everything we thought it would be. But we have been blessed by our family and friends. The job search has been a challenge. Jennie has a very unusual schedule; three different jobs at Eagle Rock Baptist Church. She does child care for the church, tutoring for Think Together, and soon will begin assisting a teacher in Celerity Troika charter school. She commutes to the different rooms each use. Randy does speaking, maintenance work, gardening, and anything else that comes along. He is still applying and occasionally interviewing for teaching positions. Lauren is home schooling and takes one class at Pasadena City College.

China is constantly on our minds and we are able to call friends, e-mail, and Facebook many who we met there. It’s been strange for Randy to miss the cold weather. LA has been so warm, it seems like there’s something missing. Of course, the ice, cold apartment, and bulky clothing aren’t so much fun when you’re actually there. Jennie and Lauren are happy to be nice and warm. We had a discussion of food that we miss the other day. It was intense!

Many of you have been praying for us and donating money to help us journey to China. We want to thank you! Your gifts of time and money have made a difference. We can testify to the many lives that have been changed in the last four years. It is amazing that God allowed us to see his hand at work. We were often speechless, yet the words that he used in the silence were perfect. We are looking forward to times when we can return to Asia. We are waiting and appreciate your prayers to direct us in the timing and methods of doing that.

We aren’t sure where God will lead us in the New Year. But, we are sure that he will lead us with love and grace. With Him, we feel at peace.

Be blessed as we wait to celebrate the birth of Jesus and enjoy his blessings in the New Year!