The Day After Christmas...

We have had a blessed and tremendously busy Christmastime here in Thailand. Between all of the Christmas events at God Purpose Church and all of the travels and meetings we have had, we have not had a chance to update the blog.

The members of God Purpose Church worked very hard to put on a large Christmas dinner and service. They had a delicious meal outside on the front parking lot, where people could see what was happening and come and join the fun. Then we all went inside for singing Christmas carols and worship songs. They then put on a Christmas play that was very evangelistic. The play began with the Christmas story, proceeded through a few vignettes in Jesus’ ministry, and ended with his death on the cross and resurrection from the grave. After the drama, Dr. Viseth, the pastor of God Purpose Church, preached a sermon to show that the reason Jesus was born was so he could die on the cross for our sins. There were many people in the church that day that were hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ for the first time. We were delighted at this event. It took the whole church to put it on, and they did a wonderful job. After the drama, gifts were given out to all who registered at this event. Each person was given a ticket with a number and a color. Tickets would be pulled out of a bowl and called out, and whoever had the appropriate ticket would win whatever prize that was up front. Everyone had a fun time (in Thai, we would say “Sanook!”) After the Christmas dinner and service, a group went around Christmas caroling at members homes until 4 a.m. And then they were back in church a few hours later for the Sunday morning service! After service and our usual Sunday dinner, the people went caroling again and came by our home. It was a great time of singing and fellowship.

We want to thank all who sent Christmas cards to us. Christmas cards have always been special to us, but since we are on the other side of the globe, so far away from family and friends in America, those beautiful Christmas cards have taken on added meaning for us. Thank you. Special thanks to our sisters and brothers at Santa Clara UMC who deluged us with lovely cards and words of encouragement. Our hearts are overflowing.

Anthony had a special gift this Christmas. One of our neighbors has a Shih Tzu dog that he adores, so we bought a Shih Tzu puppy for him, and he has named it Sapphira (I think this is the name of the dragon in Eragon). He is thrilled with his little companion.

On Christmas Eve, we had a really big block party at our house, with neighbors coming and filling up the house and overflowing into the front yard. We cannot overstate how wonderful our neighbors have been to us. God’s hand was at work placing us in this neighborhood. Our lane is known as the friendly street because the neighbors are always together with each other. They have helped us innumerable times and we wanted an opportunity to show our love and gratitude to them.

May the Lord Bless You!
Sherri, Mike, and Anthony