Hi Everyone,It's getting closer and closer to Christmas. We continue to stay really busy! This is a busy time for Brethren In Christ Navajo Mission. We have finished packing Love Gifts and have been busy delivering the gifts. OnTuesday Megan, Sara, Lindsey, & Charity went with the people from the mission to Arizona to drop off about 300 gifts to extremely poor areas on the reservation. We went to a school, nursing home and a little community.As a team we also went to a boarding school that we call DZ and delivered gifts. These were the same kids that came to the skating party that we hosted. Just the excitement that we could see on their faces was so precious! There has been a family that has come to the clothing house once a week sometimes twice. This is the only place where they can get clothes.They have no money for anything. They come packed in a tiny beat up pick-up truck. There were Christmas bags waiting for them that were packed from Love Gifts. The joy and tears came as the gifts were passed out. There are many people who are going through rough times. I know that Christmas isn't about presents, tree or food. But it's a blessing to be able to bless others with these gifts. It reminds me of how God has given me so many good gifts and I in return can be a vessel from God to give His good gifts to others. We have done lots of baking and food preparation for the Christmas party this evening. We are expecting 200-300 people to arrive for this party. Food, games, presents and fellowship is expected tonight. The team continues to do well. We have had a cold that is being passed around. But despite the crud everyone keeps pressing on and pushing through. Diane and Duane, who are the directors here, have nothing but good things to say about our team. We are extremely happy that we have been able to serve them. Thank you for your prayers and encouragement. Pray for homesickness as Christmas arrives. Also that we would be able to continue to serve anyway possible and that God will continue to open doors for us to build relationships. My prayer is that God's Glory will shine through us! We love you all and miss you!Charity & the team Sent: Sunday, December 28, 2008 7:27 PM
Subject: Team Update Hi Everyone,I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. What an awesome opportunity to worship God via spending it with Family and friends! We had a busy but relaxed week. Most of our evenings were filled with activities. Monday night we celebrated Steven's Birthday with Bacon CheeseBurgers and two movies. We have a nice little set up with the projector and our living room wall. We were able to invite people that we have become friends with here. We had a house full! Tuesday we were invited again into our Navajo Family friends for a pizza party. We got to eat yummy food and play games. One game that we have taught many people to play is Phase Ten... If you've never played it I would really suggest it. It's fun and provides lots of entertainment for us. Wednesday we spent the day cooking Christmas Eve dinner for our Navajo friends. After a great meal and fellowship we went next door to Duane and Diane's (the directors here) And joined everyone for a Christmas Eve Celebration. Duane read the Christmas story and we spent a lot of time talking and having fun. Christmas Day our team got together and exchanged presents amongst ourselves. We then had a very yummy Christmas breakfast of Eggs, Bacon and Lindsey's homemade Cinnamon Rolls.... Yum Yum Yum! After Breakfast we drove 2 hours to Dan and Joyce's home outside of Durango. We met Dan and Joyce when we first arrived here at the mission and they were gracious enough to invite us over for Christmas dinner. What a blessing for our team! Friday and Saturday were pretty relaxing days. We helped tear down Christmas decorations that were in the Gym and we went to Farmington for a much needed break. Sunday we woke up very early and were on the road by 6am. We drove 4 hours to Kayenta, AZ to attend church. This is the same church that Megan and Charity worked at during SST, our summer program for youth. We loved reconnecting with the pastor there and some of the congregation. It was also fun seeing how much work was done on the new church building since we were last there. The team has been struggling with homesickness and have been really tired. They have worked hard but we starting to see the above effect everyone. Please pray that the team would be cautious of how they walk out being tired and homesick, that they wouldn't give up but continue to press in. Thanks for your encouragements and prayers. We wouldn't be able to survive without you backing us up!Charity & The Team