Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Post-Christmas
Can I write here that our children are the greatest gift we have ever been given? I am in awe.
Thank you Lord for such precious gifts!
Monday, December 25, 2006
Happy Christmas!!
Friday, December 22, 2006
The Return...
And that, my friends, is the best present any parent could hope for.
Thursday, December 21, 2006
St. Boniface: A Christmas Story
George has a cool story in a recent post that is especially meaningful to me. In various travels I have had the blessing of travelling to the city of Fulda in Germany to meet with long-distant relatives who live and work there. The Gerk family originated from this wonderful area, with Sebastian Gerk moving to Russia from there in 1767.
At any rate, St. Boniface is buried there and I have had the great opportunity to visit his tomb and meditate on his missionary work to the German people.
George tells this Christmas story about Boniface:
Boniface of Crediton spent the first forty years of his life in quiet service to the church near his home in Exeter. He discipled young converts, cared for the sick, and administered relief for the poor. He was a competent scholar as well, expounding Bible doctrine for a small theological center and compiling the first Latin grammar written in England. But in 718, Boniface left the comfort and security of this life to become a missionary to the savage Teutonic tribes of Germany. For thirty years he not only proclaimed to them the Gospel of Light, he portrayed to them the Gospel of Life.
Stories of his courageous intervention on behalf of the innocent abound. He was constantly jeopardizing his own life for the sake of the young, the vulnerable, the weak, the helpless, the aged, the sick, and the poor—often imposing his body between the victims and their oppressors. Indeed, it was during one of his famed rescues that his name was forever linked to the celebration of Advent during Yuletide.
You can and should read the complete story here. Be Blessed!
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Thought for the day...
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
The Rest of the Story....
In July of 2003, I visited Russia with 2 of my children, Natalie and David. Our goal was to visit a number of villages that never get visitors from the west, delivering Bibles and offering a little hope to an area that hasn't changed much in 200 years.
Nat, Julie (Len's daughter) and David visit a friendly grandma who had a sad story to tell of the murder of her son
We delivered the Bibles and spent much time visiting with the villagers...one lady even wept that we would come "all that way just to visit her".
Our trip back to Volgograd would be eventful. The Volga area is much like the Prairies here in Canada. Summer storms can catch you unprepared, and since I was born and raised in the Okanagan, where such events are rare, we were taken by surprise.
It started to rain. And this was no ordinary rain...thunder and lightening also added to the experience. There were lightening strikes all around. We took a dirt road back, deciding to visit the site of our family's destroyed village...
Natalie & David at the site of the cemetery in our old village
What should have been a half hour drive to the next village, turned into a 6 hour ordeal....driving through fields, pushing the car, me going outside in front of the car to ensure there were no holes in the fields where we could get stuck...permanently. I was even almost hit by lightening at one point!
The kids were great, we all pitched in and helped push the car, braving the Russian mosquitoes and pouring rain. Did I mention not ALL of us?
While we struggled, pushed, heaved, and battled the elements, Len stayed perfectly dry and warm INSIDE his car.
Yes, INSIDE his car. Deciding that it would be best for us if he was safe and warm and rested, Len commandeered the car through the elements raging around us.
Now, I for one can attest to the goodnes of God in keeping us safe, even when I was running to direct the car to safe areas in the fields of Russia. He was even with us as we spent the night cramped in this Russian car, all 5 of us, deciding that the Russian mosquitoes were too much for us to chance staying outside.
In the morning, the rain had stopped, the ground had dried sufficiently to allow us to drive safely back to our Russian home.
Len has used our adventure many times in a devotional on God's providence. I too agree. But I just want it recorded that WE got wet while Len stayed dry. WE were eaten by Mosquitoes while Len cheerfully waved through the window. I was almost killed by lightening, while Len pointed to the areas he wanted me to "check" out for safety.
Nice and Dry Mr. Len?
This is, indeed, the rest of the story.
Gotcha Len!
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Prayer for Stephanie
UPDATE!! Steph is now out of hospital and it was not the old appendix! It appears she had an "ovarian cyst", which is not pleasant and IS painful. The healing process will be quicker and Steph should be back terrorizing basket-ball teams soon. Although just to have her pain-free would make me happy!
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Remembrances
1989-Uncle Vanya with Andrew & Elissa