It's Christmas 2006...12:11 am and we all just finished playing a big family game of Phase 10. It is so good to have this time at home with my family.
I can hardly believe its Christmas and the end of the year, but its here!
Tonight we had a wonderful Christmas eve service at church with over 10 special music numbers and a candlelight part at the end. I played a duet on my Baritone with a Tuba player and it went well.
You should see the amazing shower of love my church has shown to me. They had people sign up to buy me all the little things I will need to begin living and setting up house in Mexico...how generous!!! There are so many things! In addition, they have taken a love offering the last 2 weeks. I am so in awe at how much God blesses me through my sending church, they are such warm and giving people.
I have a special prayer request to share tonight. A young child, Jason Pyle, 8, who has attended our church along with his father and grandparents, died today. A week ago he was a perfectly healthy, very active little 8 year old, and then suddenly got sick with intestinal problems. After being rushed to the children's hospital in Pittsburgh, they found his intestines had been attacked by a serious form of E-Coli virus. The virus went on to shut down his kidneys and eventually his other organs. This morning, the doctors and family came to acknowledge there was nothing more that could be done and Jason went home to be with the Lord. Pastor shared with us in church this morning and we are all morning his death. We have the comfort of knowing he accepted Christ just shortly ago as his young cousin prayed with him. Jason was also an only child. Please pray for his parents today as well as the entire Pyle family who is spending quite possibly the hardest Christmas ever. Sometimes we don't understand why God would remove a perfectly healthy, vibrant 8-year old from this world so early in life. But we have the assurance of knowing that our God is the God of all comfort and understands our every pain and sorrow. He also does not do anything without a purpose, and even Jason's life and death have great purpose in God's eyes. Please pray fervently for this family and also our church family as we grieve with them and try to offer any support we can.
I hope you all have a merry Christmas. I am looking forward to Christmas morning with the entire family, even my grandparents, tomorrow (or today I guess!). Wherever you are, I hope you experience the joy and fullness of Christmas, in realizing it is the day that represents the coming of Christ, as a baby, who came to save us and to give us a hope and eternal life. Even when we are far from family, we can still experience the joy of Christmas in the knowledge that Christ came as our Savior.
Feliz Navidad!
Bethany
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