Christmas 2010
To our fantastic friends and family,
What an amazing year! It is hard to believe that the year is coming to a close and Christmas is just around the corner, especially since it was seventy degrees and sunny just last week down here in Louisiana. We pray that despite the busy season and tough economic times that you are able to spend some time with friends and family and reflect upon the reason for the season – the birth of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
This year has just flown by! And as many have commented, our lives are never dull and without adventure, so here is a quick recap of what we have been up to this year. The beginning of the year started out with the announcement that we were expecting our third child in early August. Otherwise it was filled with Jeneson working and taking some on-line classes through Tulane for his Masters in Public Health and Sandy running after the kids. Josiah enjoyed AWANAs every week at Calvary Church in Oak Park from January to May. He loved all the playing and activities and is a little memorizing machine. We love watching his faith grow! Both Josiah and Lydia were little tumbling fools in gymnastics also. Josiah loved the trampoline and Lydia had a blast running, jumping, and hanging on the bars. Once the weather warmed up we enjoyed frequent bike rides, walks to the local parks and visiting all the animals at the zoo.
In June the kids got to spend a fun-filled two weeks with their Grandparents while we went our separate ways. Jeneson spent two weeks on a medical mission trip to Haiti through Tulane and Sandy spent two weeks in Kansas City at an international medicine course. These were enlightening experiences for each of us. Jeneson came back from Haiti encouraged and confirmed that the spiritual component is integral to successful medical missions. Sandy was excited to learn about public health education in the context of developing countries and connect with people who are following God’s call to all four corners of the world. Meanwhile, the kids got to play with Grandpa and Grandma and Josiah even got to go fishing for the first time!
In July we were blessed to be able to spend a few weeks with Jeneson’s Dad as he was in the States to connect with some of his mission supporters. The kids had a great time with their Appachan and were sad to see him leave in early August. August also brought the arrival of Sofia Grace in the early morning hours of the 4th. Josiah and Lydia are quite the attentive big brother and sister and love making her smile. In mid-August Jeneson left for New Orleans to start school and find a place for us to live for a couple of months. Jeneson had the fabulous opportunity to take a first-rate course in Tropical Medicine at Tulane University. The kids and I joined him in September.
Since coming down to the New Orleans area Jeneson has been studying hard and the kids and I have been exploring the area. Now we are onto our next adventures. Jeneson is now wrapping up his schooling and then we will do some New Orleans touristy stuff as a family. We head back to frigid Illinois in time to spend Christmas with Sandy’s parents. Then we run away to India to escape the cold for the month of January. Jeneson’s parents are excited to spend some time with Josiah and Lydia and get to meet little Sofia.
We are grateful for all that God has provided for us and blessed us with in this past year. We are steadily seeing our support come closer to the 100% goal that will enable us to leave for Sierra Leone. The work is continuing in the Mokanji area; there is a functional well on the hospital grounds and the construction carries on at the hospital building. A Canadian couple has just been given the green light to leave for Sierra Leone in January; our prayers are with the Wirrell’s as they finalize their preparations.
We know that God will show Himself faithful in the upcoming year and are anxious to see what He will reveal for our future as we know there are many more adventures ahead. We pray as this year comes to a close that all is well with everybody and would love to hear from you all. Because of our increasingly transient lifestyle we have opted to get a PO Box which you will find on our return address label.
Blessed,
Jeneson, Sandy, Josiah, Lydia & Sofia Abraham
