Melvins on the move December 2008

Dear Family and Friends, When we were still in the U.S. it was a tradition to include a newsletter in our annual Christmas cards to update friends and family who lived far away. Who would have ever thought we would be sending a monthly newsletter from Africa to keep you updated on how God is working in the small country of Lesotho. We are playing Christmas music to remind us that it really is the Christmas season. There isn’t much in Lesotho to distinguish Christmas from any other time of the year and instead of a white Christmas, we are anticipating the rains and warm days of summer. Instead of that special holiday feeling that fills the air as shoppers scurry to find gifts to put under the tree, we are anticipating the first squash, tomatoes, and cucumbers to arrive in the garden. Although we are missing many parts of the holiday season, pray that we will depend on God to help us celebrate the birth of Christ in an extra special way this Christmas. We want to take time this month to thank all of you who have supported and encouraged us with your prayers, emails, cards, care packages, and special ministry gifts this year. Your prayers have been realized in many ways and there will be Basotho truly celebrating the Christ in Christmas this year because of your faithfulness to partner with us. May Christ be born anew in all our hearts this Christmas season. Merry Christmas and a blessed 2009 Prayers of praise: Successful True Love Waits training A group of four men who want to study God’s Word and start a home church Safety and health Zachary and Eli able to attend MK camp Dec. 28 – Jan 1. Continued Bible study in Ha Tsilonyane and Ha Foso Prayer requests: Safety and health Open doors to teach ESL to Chinese factory workers New venues and partnerships with other organizations for the teaching and training of True Love Waits Committed translators/ Language learning
Midweek Bible study in Ha Tsilonyane is helping the church in Vukazensela to grow.	Special gifts from Southern Baptists bless those active in Bible study to own their own Sesotho Bible.
Pray for Ntate Rantama, a former witch doctor, who has a new life in Christ and leads these new believers.	Cindi enjoyed being part of Leadership Training for nationals led by True Love Waits International in Bethlehem, South Africa.
“ It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas”.....in Africa.	Tom’s hand becomes a cue card for his part as Joseph in askit to help new believers understand the Christmas story.