Greetings To All:
MERRY CHRISTMAS!! 'Tis the season to be. . . . dry, and indoors, if you live in Oregon. For most people this will be the week of Christmas Break. The same holds true for YWAM Salem. As of this past Friday, all of the staff are on Christmas Break. This year there are a handful of families staying here for the holiday, so we will be sharing time and merriment with each other. As usual I apologize for the tardiness of the blog update. However, this time we could actually sit with some of you and give you an in-person update while we were in IN for Thanksgiving. Also, we could get an in-person update from you,
which was more fun for us. We hope your Christmas is snowy on the outside and warm on the inside. Or, if you live in a more temperate climate, we hope it is at least warm on the inside regardless how dreary it may be on the outside.So, what has been happening with us lately? While in IN Desi decides to officially learn how to crawl. Dakota got to spend a lot of quality time with various cousins. She also got to play a little in what snow did fall while we were there. A blessing in disguise was that we flew back to OR just as IN was getting pummeled with snow. Both of our flights were affected, Carson and Desi spending seven hours in the Minneapolis airport. Kathy has been excited to plan our Christmas Card, and has done a wonderful job. She also is recovering from a minor cold. Carson is weathering the transition of accepting leadership of the Ropes Course Ministry.
The other day I, Carson, was contacted to play some teambuilding games with a local program for at-risk teens. I was playing games with them for four hours. Most of that time I spent trying to figure out why they were labeled "at-risk". Although at one time in their lives they may have been victims of their own or some one else's bad decisions, the mindset they displayed during my time with them was phenomenal. They were outward focused, not only on themselves. They displayed respect, concern, and acceptance of each other. And it wasn't the fake "oh, we're only doing this during this time because we are being forced to be here" kind of behavior. I've seen that, and this wasn't that. The program they are working with, which is a Christian-based program, has been doing something great in these teens' lives. It was an honor to work alongside of them for our common purpose: to shine the light and love of Jesus into people's lives for their betterment and for His glory. The games they played that afternoon served to reinforce a Christ-like attitude and lifestyle into these "at-risk" teens' hearts and minds. If any of you have seen "troubled" teens that grow into "problem" adults, I bring you hope. I've seen it. When Jesus' love is poured into some one's life in a pertinent way, stand back and marvel at the transformation of their life! And knowing that each one of us can be the vehicle for that transforming power. . . wow! Thank You, Father. Thank You, God, for sending us Your Son! I think each one of us could honestly say that we love to be a blessing in some way to some one. Right? In my opinion, that is being very Christ-like: giving of what we have been given. Even if we can't afford to buy that "perfect" gift that we earnestly long to give some one, we can still give of what we have been blessed with. Merry Christmas!
God Bless You,
Carson, Kathleen, Dakota, Desislava
