December 11, 2006
Dear Friends and Family,
Winter is finally upon us, though it is more like a North Carolina
winter than a Russian winter so far. We have no snow, and temperatures
have been above freezing for a couple of weeks. Still, we know
it is winter because it is dark when the kids leave for school
and when they get home; babies are bundled up like Bim the Michelin
man; and cars everywhere are filthy—we all have to wipe
off our headlights frequently so that we can see the road at night.
We long for the cold to return, and the snow. We are confident
that it will. We are less confident that we will have summer next
year. Warm winters suggest very cool, if not downright cold summers.
Still, we will not complain that we are not trudging through deep
snow in heavy boots.
It is December. It is Advent. This is a time when our life settles
down for a few months. Al and the girls are glad to have me home
for a while, and I am glad too. I think of December as a wildly
busy time in America, but the pace of the season is different
here. Advent in Russia is a season of fasting in preparation for
Christmas, and Christmas here is not until January 7, though we
continue to celebrate on the 25th (as well as the 7th). Many Protestant
churches here celebrate on both dates. In Russia, Christmas is
not associated with gift exchange. All the trappings of Christmas
were secularized and attached to New Year’s by the Soviets.
Christmas is simply a celebration of the birth of Christ. Our
Russian friends are busy preparing Christmas programs for children
and families, and they will put on concerts just as churches do
in the States, but there is not the fevered rush here to buy everything
in the store or attend a multitude of parties. Resources are meager,
so they are used with great care, whether it is for outreach or
for family. Youth will gather to bring in the New Year, but most
celebrations will be simple gatherings of family and friends in
the home. They will feast, but it will not be a continuous month-long
feast. We have learned to look at the Christmas season in a new
way here. In America, Advent is the beginning of the celebration.
Here it is the preparation for the celebration. In America, Christmas
is the end of the celebration. Here it is the beginning of the
celebration. We will celebrate Christmas again and again throughout
January as we visit different churches.
Advent is also a time to reflect and to give thanks. We give
thanks for your friendship and your support. Your prayers have
lifted us up again and again. Your emails have brightened our
days. Your financial support has made so much possible—our
presence here in Russia, all the travel required by our ministries,
and many small boosts to projects that need to mature so that
they can be replicated. Many of you have asked about our status
in terms of funding and ongoing service. Times are uncertain for
everyone, but hasn’t it always been thus? We are grateful
for your care and concern. We will say that we are not fully funded
at this time. I prefer not to make appeals for additional funding,
trusting that the Lord will provide (and He has!), but as so many
of you have asked, if you do have funds at the end of the year
that need to be used, we would be grateful for any additional
support to our DMS account. This is the account that covers our
salary.
It has been an exciting year for us, with Allison’s graduation
from college in June. She is now working in Sheboygan, Wisconsin,
for Sigma-Alldrich, a chemical manufacturer. She is a quality
control chemist. I am careful not to ask too many questions, because
I don’t usually understand the answers, but it is very clear
that she is enjoying the work. She has found a church family at
First United Presbyterian in DePere, Wisconsin. It is 60 miles
from Sheboygan, but her grandfather lives in Green Bay (right
next door), and they often have lunch together after church. She
also has a very charming cat named Lyev.
Meg and Emma have had a busy fall. Meg is working on yearbook
again (her third year, so she has lots of computer graphic skills
now). She has also been a part of a group reestablishing a school
newspaper. She’s in charge layout. It’s taken a lot
of time, but it has been an exciting, though sometimes frustrating,
process. She’s just finished up the volleyball season and
now has a part in the school play for the spring. She has a couple
of fellowship groups that she is a part of too, so she is often
gone.
Emma was participating in both AWANA and Tae Kwon Do in after
school programs, but they had so many kids in the Tae Kwon Do
class that they had to split the group. The only time available
for Emma’s age group was on AWANA days, so she had to choose.
Quiet little Emma chose Tae Kwon Do. I had the chance to peek
in last week. She is one of three girls in the group, but she’s
holding her own. Emma is the family comedian. I had a very funny
conversation with her in the car this week. For some reason, we
got on the subject of spiders. She was explaining that Derrick,
a boy her in her class, is afraid of spiders, but she just hates
them. I suggested that she shouldn’t hate spiders because
they are part of God’s creation and she gasped. “Does
that mean that I have to like boys too?”
Al continues to teach in the high school, but does not have Meg
in any of his classes this year. Neither seems to mind. As he
shared in his recent newsletter, he is also working with Piotr
Romme, a Russian pastor, to reestablish the Roma Network. Before
the November gathering, we were both wondering if we’d stretched
too far with this one, but the time with the pastors reaffirmed
the call we had felt to it. This is Al’s ministry; I merely
help where I can.
You all hear so much about what I’m doing throughout the
year that I don’t feel like I need to add much here. (All
of our newsletters can be found on our
home page.)
It’s been a busy time, but now our family will step back
and take a little time off. We look forward to Christmas together
and the celebration of Christ’s birth.
For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
(Isaiah 9:6)
We wish you all a joyful Christmas! May the peace of our Lord
abide with you throughout this season and the New Year!
With love in Christ,
Ellen, Al, Allison, Meg and Emma
The 2006 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 188
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