Anyone Home?

"Anyone home?"


This last month while visiting the giraffe tree house along the edge of Nairobi National Park with our friends the Cassidys, we spotted an unusual house guest wandering into the open front door of this beautiful colonial manor. The giraffe had his head and neck fully inside with his shoulders butting up against the mantle of the doorway for several minutes until the owner of the house discovered him. We watched rapt with interest as he shewed the lanky intruder away. Only in Africa!

As Christmas approaches, we are planning to spend most of the holiday visiting new friends and entertaining our own house guests (no giraffes). Perhaps this is one of our dearest memories of Christmas in Canada: spending the week between Christmas and New Years traveling around our home provinces to "see the Christmas trees" and enjoy the company of our extended families and friends.

For the most part, there are few signs Christmas to be seen (Although the big grocery chain Nakumat does have a robotic Santa). This less commercialized celebration of Advent has helped us keep this a time of celebrating our faith in God's presence and grace. Tristan and Emma have been as excited about their school's outreach to an orphanage than their own stockings. On Christmas Eve, we will be joining a candle lit service at the village market. We are looking forward to singing Silent Night under a twinkling sky.

A few Prayer Updates:

Praise the Lord! Kelly Carline's mumps have subsided. We hope that she and Paul will be able to enjoy the remainder of her parent's visit in good health.

Pray for our Somali friend Abdi. Many of you who have been supporting the Carline's will know Abdi's story. Last week, he was struck by a car in Eastleigh and then because of his faith an angry mob began to curse and threaten him. The Lord rescued Abdi through the intervention of an old Somali woman who appeared on the street and helped him away. Please pray for the healing of his injured knee.