Thursday, December 22, 2011

The flood nearby has made this Christmas a jumble of emotions. Yesterday one of my friends said that about 80% of Cagayan is affected and I checked out some of the news online. They estimate about half a million people are homeless after the flood... pondering it is overwhelming.

A couple weeks ago I was in the grocery store and bought a couple of gift packs for a few people. One of the ladies I had in mind is a young lady who sells me empanadas. Her mother-in-law spends the morning making these empanadas and she spends the afternoon selling them. In an afternoon of traipsing around town she gets about $2.50. As a mom of a young son, she is happy for the income and thankful she has a little job. Her smile always blesses me. Anyway, yesterday I gave her the little pack of food, worth maybe $6 or so. She burst into tears. Wow, did I feel awkward! How little it takes to bless people. I pray the truth of Christmas is, or becomes, a reality in her life and that I am planting or tending it by small acts of kindness.

Garry took this photo a little while ago when he was doing some checkout flying. These kids are children of the King, people you'll one day meet in eternity. Their lives are vastly different than yours, but their hope is the same, their God is the same!

As we read Christmas updates from friends we are blessed to hear what God is doing all over the world. And we are blessed to remember good times with friends who are now far away as well as enjoying good times with friends who are close by!

Kevin should be home later today with a new batch of experiences, stories, and thoughts. I can't wait to hear it all!

Kaleb is busy making a movie with his friend. His creative mind has an amazing number of ideas for camera angles and transitions between scenes.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas!

1 comment:

Sarah said...

I know you must have so many conflicting emotions right now...if I stop long enough to let my thoughts focus on the Philippines and all the devastation on Mindanao, or even just our friends where we used to live and how little they have, I feel just so overwhelmed. Praying for you as you look for opportunities to give in the right way...I loved the story of the empanada lady.
Looking forward to hear how Kevin's trip went! Love to your family!