December 28, 2009

The follow-up appointment with Dr. Jueng went very well. He is very pleased with the progress Mom has made and doesn't need to see her back until June. Well, Christmas is here and gone, and it's nearly 2010! What a year this has been. We had a wonderful Christmas with our family. A little Christmas dinner and some presents. Mom and I had a couple busy days on Wednesday and Thursday as we did some shopping for a family in our community who lost their house in a fire. We delivered to the family on Christmas Eve and it felt really good to see how much it meant to them. It's things like this that really emphasize how much better it is to give than to receive. This year it has become very evident as to how blessed we truly are, and what better way to praise God for his generosity than to share those blessings with others.

I don't know if many of you are familiar with Operation Christmas Child, but it is a charity that collects shoeboxes filled with Christmas gifts and delivers them to children in underprivileged countries. OCC intends to demonstrate God's love in a tangible way to needy children around the world, and to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. Kingwood Elementary filled 79 shoeboxes this November. This year, OCC offered tracking on the packages and on Wednesday evening I received an email stating that our shoeboxes were sent to Central Asia and the Philippines. I encourage you to check out the website for OCC and make plans to pack shoeboxes with your family, church, and any other organization you are involved with. Our church is beginning a year-long effort to pack 100 shoeboxes for 2010, collecting items each month and then packing the boxes in November. Here is the link for the website. There are videos, photos, and lots of information.