Dear Friends,
Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ! I hope all is well at home, and that everyone is enjoying this holiday season with family and friends. Things are not near as hectic here during this season, and it is a lot easier to focus on the meaning of the season from abroad, and to ponder the greatest miracle of all-the incarnation of Christ. Pastor José told me the other day that he heard a lady in New York was killed in a stampede on Black Friday as one of the stores opened. I told him it happened every year (which it does), and he was baffled. To people who have never had the means to go shopping for anything but the bare essentials (and many times not even that), it is hard to comprehend the madness. I had to admit the total lack of priority most in the good ‘ol U.S. of A have, and shake my head along with him.
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I remember Wednesday night, as we were having prayer service (with low numbers), looking behind me and seeing the streets filled with people, all walking to the event. Tony and I drove by it after the service and were blown away at all the people. The message was typical– health and wealth if you give. But what we were not expecting, was to see people from our church (who had skipped our service) there. A sad, heavy weight (that I am accustomed to feeling here) once again fell upon me as I drove home. How could everyone be so blind, and how could those we have been teaching for so long be fooled?
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—Gracias y Dios los bendiga, Jared and Celia