November was a blur!

We can't believe that it is already December! November just flew by. We had a busy month as we began to get ready for the holidays. We attended our first Cadence European Staff Conference. We enjoyed spending time with our team and encouraging one another in our ministries. We dealt with the tragedy of the Ft. Hood shootings, death of a Chaplain here in our Ramstein community, people deploying to Afghanistan, family deaths and dealing with loneliness as the holidays approach. Yet, as Thanksgiving came, we were thankful.

We celebrated with 74 folks at our home. We played games together, enjoyed lots of turkey & pie and learning more about each other. Lou & I reflected on how much we appreciate this opportunity God has given us to serve the men and women that participate in our ministry. We have grown to love and care for each one in a very special way. Our prayer is that we will continue to deepen our relationships with them as we move into 2010.

As December begins, we are busy with activities and getting ready to usher in the celebration of the birth of our Lord Jesus. It is hard to believe but this will be our first Christmas in 48 years (second for Lou) that we haven't spent it with our families. Yet, we are honored to try and create a home away from home for those people here that will not be able to spend - yet another - Christmas with their family.

We started the Christmas season by going to the Tubingen Chocolate Festival and Stuttgart Christmas Market. We spent the day with about 15 folks eating chocolate from various parts of Europe, sharing our hearts as we walked through the Christmas market in Stuttgart and just hanging out!

We are thrilled to have an opportunity to share our lives with these folks! We can't wait to see what God teaches us during this Christmas season. May we never forget the miracle that the creator of the universe chose to leave Heaven, come to reconcile us with Him through the birth of Jesus, His death & resurrection. God calls us to respond to this truth -- how will you respond this Christmas?