Faithful God 3

November in the year of our Lord 2010

If we thought October went by quickly, November hardly seemed to exist. November was the month where our busy schedule started to catch up with us. There is more than one reason why we are not supposed to serve two masters! Our flexibility was stretched as the three to four organizations demanding our time twisted and turned our schedule. Someone said recently that the winter is so slow here; we hope it is! As we learn to say no and to still set aside times of rest and times to communicate with each other, we are still thankful for all God has given us and taught us this month.

We are thankful for…

...our marriage! What a blessing to continue to find times to laugh together, to encourage each other, to share communication and experiences.

…friends: some young volunteers have left but we have been blessed to be part of their lives. We also look forward to developments with local friends and volunteers, Hassan, Marwa, Soad, Hinke, Miriam and others.

…living in the Old City with all of its noise and pigeons and short distances to walk and familiar shops and cobblestones.

…hikes in the still sunny, dry weather

…a joyous community celebration of American Thanksgiving, complete with turkey, cranberry salad, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, and friends.

…the chance to have conversation with people from many different political, social, and religious backgrounds.

…an invitation to Evone’s house for Christmas lunch.

We pray for…

…vision and creativity and discipline in our prayers, corporate and individual.

…balance as we interact with differing viewpoints.

…continuing opportunities for us to be real and open with each other as a couple.

…more of God’s control. More of God’s Spirit!

…real times and places of rest.

…goodwill towards all people.

We praise God for surrounding us – in front, behind, above, beside – constantly.

Thanks so much to each of you who are supporting us in some way. We are encouraged many times just by thinking of your faithfulness to God in your daily lives. Yesterday (Sunday) it was powerful to think of many of you praising and worshiping God in the different places where you live. Great joy to you as December and the celebration of Advent arrive!

Yours,

Betsy and Philip