It has been so strange for us to prepare for Christmas when it feels like summer. We have procrastinated on buying gifts and decorating because it just doesn’t feel right. It is funny to be singing Christmas carols about the snow when most people here have never seen snow. So the song “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas” will just continue to be a dream for the people of Johannesburg, South Africa.
For the last few weeks we have enjoyed the company of Jeremy’s friends Nate and Roy (from high school). It was a lot of fun to have them here. It feels like we aren’t so far from home when we have visitors from the States. Jake really had a hard time seeing them go and asked if they could come back to stay with us again. His “uncles” spoiled him rotten while they were here. But with Christmas right around the corner we were able to get him to stop being so sad that they were gone and to focus on Christmas.
Sometimes, we think Jake understands the meaning of Christmas, but then he surprises us by adding his own twists to the story. He says things like, “God sent his Son, Jesus, to the earth so that He could love us, and then after that he had a Christmas party and ate fruitcake”. And then there was the other night, when Jake said, “But I don’t want Jesus to take my sins away, I want to keep them.” Obviously, we still have some work to do…
We wanted to thank all of you who have sent us card or packages. It is really hard to explain how much it means to us to know that we aren’t forgotten. Plus, getting fat on all of the goodies makes it easier to come up with a New Year’s resolution! :) But really, thank you so much, all of you. We hope all of our blog readers have a very merry Christmas and may God bless you!
Jake's Quote of the Week
November 2006: “I want to be a Chiefs football player when I get bigger.”
December 2006: “I want to be a pee-wee golf player when I get bigger.”
This change happened after going to a huge miniature golf course with Daddy, Mommy, and his uncles (pictured above). We tried to explain the financial ramifications to him, but he insists that he only plays for the love of the game. By the way, "pee-wee golf" seems to be a Chicago-area (Tricia) term for what the rest of the world (Jeremy) calls miniature golf or putt-putt.
Praises and Prayer Requests
Well, it's Christmas time, so we'll let you fill in the blank on the praise side of things. What greater reason could there be?
As far as the prayer requests go, please remember the following needs this week:
-- Our adjustment to a warm, sunny Christmas without our family
-- Safe travels for all of those traveling during the holiday season
-- Unspoken request
Merry Christmas, everyone!
Until next time,
Jeremy, Tricia & Jake
