Wow, it has been awhile, huh?  I’ll give you a quick recap of the last month.  Thanksgiving came and went; I had a ton of fun.  We had a traditional American football game in the afternoon, and a bountiful harvest of delicious food.  The days following T-day, we got the opportunity to take a little vaca to rest up before the busy December.  All of us went to some hot springs that were nearby, which were wonderful.  Then comes December.

It was a little difficult adjusting for me, between holidays and relaxing to getting back into the swing of things.  I felt disconnected after not seeing friends for awhile.  We started planning parties and events for Christmas though and the following weeks flew by.  About a week or two into it we had some security issues come up.  Apparently we were being a little too aggressive when sharing with friends, and almost feeling too safe for how things are over here.  What I mean by that is, we, or at least I was getting comfortable sharing God with everyone I met the first time I met them.  It was always very exciting and I loved it, but it draws attention… which is not what we are going for over here.  So from there I’ve been adjusting some more and refocusing what I’ve been doing and what our goals are while over here.  It’s been difficult for me, and I had some really bad days, more in the sense of attitude and relationship with God.  (Part of the reason for lack of updating… I was getting very unmotivated and even lazy)  The good news is, I know that I have wonderful support at home and you have been praying for me/us through the whole thing, even if I have been slacking on keeping you up to date.   (Which I apologize for) 

Ok, now that you are mostly up to date, here is what has been happening as of late.  Christmas parties!!!  We’ve been inviting our friends over to do all the traditional Christmas time things like decorating and making xmas cookies and all that.  It’s been a really good opportunity to share freely with friends and talk about what Christmas time is all about… Jesus!  They are so interested too!  One of the nights we invited some friends over to watch the Nativity, and it was great.  Sometimes they encourage me in my faith because it is so new to them and they are just wowed by the idea of a loving God and all that he does.  We had a huge Christmas party with friends who are not in the family, and most of our preparation was just praying that God would do stuff.  We also asked that He would use us to do it :P.  He answered our prayers, and it truly was a special time.  We have one more event planned for this week, a Christmas party with friends who are in the family.

Prayer requests.  The biggest one on my mind right now is that we would get to follow up on all that God has been doing this past week.  A few of our friends are oh so close to coming into the family, and we need God to nudge them in.  Also for our next party on tues.  Changing topics a little, we are looking for a place to start a church on campus.  It is our goal to get the study out of our house and into the hands of our friends.  We have already had one of them lead one of the studies, and she did a great job.  Also we are seeing some new worship leaders forming, and an increased passion and excitement for worship all around.  I would personally like prayers for guidance and opportunity for the upcoming spring festival.  We usually get a few invites to go to our friends homes for the Asian new year, and I don’t know where I want/should go yet.

I love you all and I hope you have a very Merry Christmas!!!

Adriel