Dear Friends,

While I was reflecting on what this past year has brought to us as missionaries, and where we stand as we prepare to celebrate Christmas, the joyful reminder of the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, this short sentence of Henry Nouwen’s came to my mind: "Gratitude thus becomes the central virtue of a missionary."

Yes, we are grateful for our God who has provided us with all that we need: support in times of pain and fear, company all the days of the year, encouragement when our strength fails, and vision to carry out the task that he has given us. Without him, our lives would be senseless.

We are grateful to you who have prayed for us, sustained us with your letters, cards, e-mails, and financial support. You who have trusted us in this mission, and you have brought love and encouragement to those whose hope is unsure, even if we are thousands of miles away from you. Without you, our ministry would not reflect the extended Christian family.

And we are grateful to our sisters and brothers in Buenos Aires and other parts of Argentina and even Uruguay who have allowed us to minister to them and who have also ministered to us. Sometimes we have felt unsure, unprepared to see so much suffering and lacking what we thought we needed to carry out successfully our ministries here. But time after time a simple smile or a hug has led us to new possibilities and given us courage.

Kind and loving words have also touched us, such as the ones spoken by a poor child in a craft class at church. She responded to our question "Who do you think loves you?" by mentioning, after others had replied "God" or mommy or daddy, "You love me." We are reminded day after day of the great promise:

"Even youths grow tired and weary and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint" (Isaiah 30:30-31).

Without these brothers and sisters, our testimonies would be lacking joy.

In this time of exultant joy when we remember the coming of our Lord and celebrate it, we ask your prayers for millions of people who cannot yet embrace this only true joy and love. They are burdened by human injustice, which includes the crushing external debt that cuts into their country’s budget for health, education, and housing. Pray also for the many who are burdened with the trials of unemployment and whose personal or family plans for growth and well-being are frustrated. Pray for those who suffer from the lack of "transparency" in local and national government in which they had put much "faith" only about a year ago.

Our desire and wish in this season is for all of us to choose life and life abundant in Christ, who is alive now and every day. And by choosing life we mean making choices that are good, sensitive, and courageous not only for our own benefit but for our many brothers and sisters who need our solidarity. As an example, we want to encourage you to think about the possibility of coming to visit and work in solidarity with a local church for a week or two. Or to encourage the young people of your church to spend a year of their lives serving with brothers and sisters in one of about 20 Young Adult Volunteer sites around the world—in the United States, in Argentina or Uruguay, in Guatemala, Kenya, Ghana or in other countries of the world. For more information, contact Anne Blair of the International Volunteer Office at the PC(USA) national offices in Louisville at (888) 728-7228 x5207. Check out these possibilities and the many others that are available to you. Christ is alive. We need to be alive!

Peace to all of you. Have a wonderful Christmas. We love you,

Juan, Manuela, Laura and Camila Kauer

The 2001 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 256