We’ve had a good Christmas week.  Our family’s traditional Christmas Eve mid-day steak cook-out was a success – our guests, the newest couple in our mission, are now good friends rather than “new” friends.  The Wienie Roast/Carol Sing that evening with 50 of our mission family included a mission “uncle” reading the story of our Saviour’s birth to the kids – as well as a discussion of why the mechanical Santa at one grocery store dances to “The Yellow Rose of Texas.”  And yes, others also consider viewing this unique Santa as a part of their family’s Christmas traditions!  Christmas day lunch was shared with several mission families on our Thika Road compound – we ate ham, but we learned that the group two houses down were eating fried turkey!  We may be in Africa, but we still know how to celebrate American-style Christmases!  We will be with friends tonight for grilled hamburgers and games until the New Year arrives. 
The main purpose of this update is not to share our Christmas week – it is to thank you for praying for us this past year. I relied heavily upon your prayer support during the first few months of the year as I daily shared prayer items related to the post-election chaos and knew you were praying diligently for these needs.  I also relied upon your prayers as I learned to develop blogs as a prayer tool. I love preparing these blogs and sharing our work more fully with you, but it takes time, energy, and often more “smarts” than I possess, so I know it is your prayer support that enables me to complete the blogs – including the additional Lottie Moon Stories from the Harvest Field of Kenya I finished this week about theological education in Kenya: Spreading the Gospel through Education
In preparation for this month’s prayer calendar for our missionaries in Kenya, I asked my co-workers the following: What is the greatest thing that happened in your ministry this last year?  How can we join you in praising God for the incredible opportunity you had to serve in His Harvest Field this last year?” 
Jack’s reply reflects answers to your prayers!  “As I think of a great 2008 moment in missions, I cannot help but see the entire year as a single moment.  Hindered by a shoulder that would not work, subsequent surgery and the resulting order to not drive the rest of the year, I was grounded.  Others may see 2008 as a year of Kenya in turmoil, but for myself, unable to do my usual active role, I relied upon my cell phone and watched as Kenya Baptists showed their maturity in dealing with the post-election violence and the uneasy peace that followed.  Baptist leaders and churches responded magnificently and were ready tools in the hands of God in proclaiming peace, resolution and giving.  It is not surprising that element of revival is growing within Baptists of Kenya!” 
Thank you once again for your support! Your gifts to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and the Cooperative Program allow us to be in Kenya and have the funds to do our work. Thanks to your prayers, we are able to be a part of our Father’s work in the Harvest Field – THANK YOU and Happy New Year! Bert