This was originally posted on my blog on September 16, 2017
I found another treasure in my old computer files—our
Christmas letter from 1993. Some fun memories, some I hardly remember at all.
Christmas 1993, Montgomery, Alabama
Dear Family and Friends,
What a joy it is to again celebrate the coming of our Lord
Jesus to earth! And whether they know why or not, most people, at this time of
year, feel a special sense of kindness and hope. We pray that those of us who
know Jesus will use this opportunity to share with others why they can have
hope and joy.
It has been another fun year for us. Murray changed jobs.
Again. He now works for a home health agency, providing Occupational Therapy
services to people in their own homes. His favorite part of the job is teasing
old people about how old they are.
The kids are growing up. Kathy's trying to figure out where
all the rumors come from about stay-at-home moms being bored and having too
much time on their hands. Kathy has been reading a lot, and spends time trying
to teach children letters and numbers and adjectives and Bible stories and
manners. It's very difficult.
As our babies grow into little people who do things, we
can't put into words how overwhelmed we are at what a wonderful gift God gave
us in our children. Sarah will be two in January, and she is growing up. We've
always been convinced that she's probably the cutest baby ever born. Now that
she's changing into a little girl, she's staying just as cute. She loves to
give hugs and kisses and to pat and rub our backs. She's crazy about her
brother and sister ("La-La and BEH- buh") and she's learning a lot
from them. She sounds just like Rebecca when she says, "Don't!" and
just like Caleb when she says, "No!"
Sarah had an appointment with a pediatric optometrist In
November and, after apparently being able to see almost nothing except light 14
months ago, she now sees everything in front of her (maybe a little
near-sighted). We give God and prayer all the credit for this miraculous
change.
Rebecca turned three this September, and she continues to
amaze us with how grown up she seems. Recently she told us, "I want to go
to heaven now and see Jesus." We told her that would sure be good for her,
but we would like her to wait and stay with us a while longer. We told her that
when she's a little older, she can have Jesus come live in her heart, and that
would be almost as good as going to heaven. She said, "I can't see Him in
my heart; I can feel Him."
Caleb, too, who will be four in January, is becoming quite a
big boy. Unfortunately, he seems to have forgotten the Chinese he knew when he
came here, but it is awfully cute to hear our little Chinese boy talking with a
southern accent. For example, he loves to drink "MEE- ulk" for
breakfast.
One of the cutest things he says is to tell us that he is
some other person, usually someone he's just been with. When he's been in
Diane's class at church, he comes home and says, "Mommy, I'm Diane."
When he's been at his swimming lesson at the YMCA, where Amy is his teacher, he
says, "I'm Amy." One morning Kathy read the kids a book about a
moose. That afternoon someone asked Caleb what his name was, and he said,
"I'm a moose." Caleb seems to have recently remembered, and talks
about, his missionary parents in Taiwan, Ted and Bev. We are surprised but glad
that he recalls that important part of his life.
As required by immigration services, we re-adopted Caleb in
Alabama this year. Then, we took him to the Immigration office in Atlanta and
he received a certificate of citizenship. After that Caleb often told us,
"I'm a citizen." He is now going, two mornings a week, to a preschool
for hearing and visually impaired kids. He seems to like school, but about the
only thing he'll tell Kathy about it when he gets home is, "Mommy, I ride
the school bus!"
Rebecca goes two different mornings a week to a preschool at
Dalraida (del RAY duh) Baptist Church near here and, after a rocky start
("It wasn't a good day, but we have stickers") seems to be enjoying
herself.
Murray was elected to be a deacon in our church this year.
There was some question as to what his duties would be. Someone suggested that
he be in charge of keeping rodents off the church property. Finally, though, he
was put in charge of what is called the "Contact Care Ministry." This
involves keeping in touch with members of the congregation who have spiritual,
physical, financial or other needs and attempting to coordinate the services of
the congregation to meet these needs.
Also, Murray has taken up a new hobby, collecting hats. If
you come across a really unusual hat, please feel free to send it to us. He
still feels the call to be a preacher, so please pray about that. (For him, or
for the unexpecting church?) We've joined the new choir at church, and the
leader (called Adolph, for his hard-driving ways) is glad Kathy is there to
"round off Murray's rough edges." Perhaps a family gospel album is in
store. NOT!!
We are also teaching the junior high/high school Sunday
school class, currently studying the book of Mark. We are a little sad when
half way through a day's lesson kids ask, "Now what book are we
reading?", but excited when they (each required at the end of class to ask
one question about that day's Bible text) ask insightful questions. Our time is
not wasted. We are not really sure where the Lord Jesus is taking us or how He
plans to use us, but we're astonished at what's gone on to this point, so we
know it's going to be good.
Murray and Kathy for all
"I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he
will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my
flesh I will see God." Job 19:25-26
"You will be with child and give birth to a son, and
you are to give him the name Jesus." Luke 1:31
