Tying a Bow on Year 2

Merry Christmas and happy holidays! We've lived in Croatia for nearly two years now, but it feels like we've been here both a lot longer and a lot shorter than two years. It's a good feeling. We're very thankful for all our time here to all of you who read the blog, support us, and pray for us.

Here's a short read about what's been going on this past month.

Our front door (and dog) decorated for Christmas

On the week before Christmas Sunday, I got to preach about Jesus's family story. When you get to know a friend's family for the first time, you usually experience at least a few "aha moments" about your friend. Like "Oh, that's why he doesn't like to talk about this" or "Oh, that's why she gets so excited about that." And the same is true of Jesus. It's one of the reasons Matthew puts a genealogy at the beginning of his gospel--to remind you of Jesus's family story. So I didn't really preach, I just told the story, and we went through the whole Old Testament in a single day. I thought it was good to remind us of the backstory for why the coming of this baby boy was so special.

We also held a Christmas/birthday party for the kids and parents of the English Club. After finishing the last several classes, both groups got together, played party games, and exchanged gifts.

Honestly, it's hard to keep track of all the holiday parties/activities over the past month--coffees, soccer, lunches, devotionals, a concert, other things I'm surely forgetting--but each of them have felt like a milestone in the relationships we've made these past two years.

Making Advent wreaths at the church building

Winter Champs Camp is coming very soon, and so is our visit to the US in March. Please continue to pray for us, and have a happy New Year!