Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Christmas letter 2012



Dear Friends and Family:
I pray this Christmas finds you well. I love Advent season, the anticipation for Christ's return. May God bless you this Advent season with a bigger picture of Himself.

This letter was intended to go with a photo Christmas card, so message me on facebook if you'd like me to mail a copy to your house! Here's a year in review for those out of the loop...


 Winter: Drove to Mt. Rainier to find some snow. Drove to Snoqualmie Pass to find some snow. Then, spent four days snow-bound in my own home! Drank a lot of coffee, read my Bible, and wrote a letter requesting a year leave of absence for the 2012-13 school year. Also, I spent many hours writing papers for the National Board of Professional Teaching Candidacy process. (Spoiler alert: I passed!)

Spring: Spent my 26th birthday rock-climbing with friends at Frenchman’s Coulee. Then, planned a few fundraisers for Walk in the Light International (WITLI). Generous donations from friends and family led to the construction of three houses for teachers in Burkina Faso, and a minivan for Burkinabe staff to safely transport people and resources. The other big story of the Spring was the handsome stranger who asked me out at my favorite coffee shop. Stanley and I started dating over the Memorial Day weekend, just before life got really crazy…

Summer: Finished my fourth year teaching science at Ridgetop Jr High and got on a plane for Burkina Faso five days later. Unfortunately, the connecting flight from Brussels to Ouagadougou was delayed for a day, hence the tourist pictures in Belgium. (This is where I lost my cell phone and your number.) July 2, 2012 I arrived in Burkina Faso with a team of five other Americans. We partnered with WITLI staff Gerard and Viviane Ouedraogo (bottom right corner) to update sponsorship information for children attending the WITLI school. I worked with local farmers to assess current soil moisture levels and analyze existing agricultural techniques. At the end of July, I spent a week living in the remote village of Riahlo with Gerard’s extended family. Their faith in God is inspiring, as they trust that He will provide in every circumstance. I came back to the states in August, greeted at the airport by my family, friend Megan, and my very patient boyfriend. The rest of the summer included adventures with my family, visits to Stanley’s family, and education/agriculture trainings in WA and FL.

Fall: I had planned to return to Burkina Faso in September, but turns out my anti-malarial meds made me crazy. So, instead I stayed in Kitsap county. My gracious parents are letting me stay at their home while I figure out life. After an action-packed start to the year, the last two months have been a drastic change. I am learning to appreciate rest and using this time to learn about the Church and what it means to truly be a citizen of Heaven. In September, I felt God telling me that the season at newlife (my church for the last four years) was ending. Now, I am transitioning to worship God in the broader context of the Church by exploring the doctrine of the Catholic church. This final season of 2012 has been a rollercoaster ride, but God is always, always faithful.

Thanks for your prayers and support,
Laura  

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Ephesians 5

Therefore, be imitators of God as dearly loved children and live in love, just as Christ also loved us and gave himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God. But among you there must not be either sexual immorality, impurity of any kind, or greed, as these are not fitting for the saints. Neither should there be vulgar speech, foolish talk, or coarse jesting – all of which are out of character – but rather thanksgiving. For you can be confident of this one thing: that no person who is immoral, impure, or greedy (such a person is an idolater) has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

Let nobody deceive you with empty words, for because of these things God’s wrath comes on the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them, for you were at one time darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of the light – for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth – and find out what pleases the Lord. Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For the things they do in secret are shameful even to mention. But all things being exposed by the light are made evident. For everything made evident is light, and for this reason it says:

“Awake, O sleeper!

Rise from the dead,

and Christ will shine on you!”

Therefore be very careful how you live – not as unwise but as wise, taking advantage of every opportunity, because the days are evil. For this reason do not be foolish, but be wise by understanding what the Lord’s will is. And do not get drunk with wine, which is debauchery, but be filled by the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music in your hearts to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for each other in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord, because the husband is the head of the wife as also Christ is the head of the church – he himself being the savior of the body. But as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her to sanctify her by cleansing her with the washing of the water by the word, so that he may present the church to himself as glorious – not having a stain or wrinkle, or any such blemish, but holy and blameless. In the same way husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one has ever hated his own body but he feeds it and takes care of it, just as Christ also does the church, for we are members of his body. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and will be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This mystery is great – but I am actually speaking with reference to Christ and the church. Nevertheless, each one of you must also love his own wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

hey guys