It feels a little strange to be writing this as I’m planning leave for Creston, Laurie’s hometown, after our December 23 Christmas service. Then Christmas has always included travel – Mary and Joseph, the Magi, pilgrims for the past two thousand years – so I shouldn’t be surprised. Fitting also for a year filled with travel and milestones: 50th birthdays, Laurie and Becca in Europe, an anniversary in Hawaii, and, maybe the biggest milestone, no more teenage daughters. Thank you for traveling through this year with me, and ending this 2012 journey celebrating the Advent of the King just seems to fitting!
We are thankful for a year of family blessings including Opa’s continuing recovery from heart surgery, good health for Bill and Karlene in Creston, Oma’s bounce back from knee surgery and success for our girls at Janiki and George Fox. I’m looking forward to a 2013 filled with graduations and new opportunities for our family. And always ready to visit daughters who are overseas!
As I look back on 2012, I am amazed at how God has worked in our ACRC family – one way I measure this is by the depth of the questions I’ve been getting. Do I have to pray even for seemingly capricious government bureaucrats? Yes! How do I love my difficult family members? It’s a ministry! How do I respond to personal and family trials? Consider this ministry pure joy, brothers and sisters! Thank you for praying and thinking through with me the big challenges facing our families and community. I have been tremendously blessed seeing your gifts being celebrated, especially in worship, and the plans proceed to open facility to our community. Watch for more paint, plaster and hammering in 2013! And, to top it off, your generosity has been incredible. Needs are being met; God is getting the credit!
Our family’s annual holiday open house will be on Sunday afternoon, January 6 – a true 12th Day of Christmas Party. We’ll have the coffee, hot cider and Nanaimo Bars ready from 2 to 5 p.m. Please join us for an afternoon of fellowship and end-of-the-Season cheer.
Keep the Advent faith, Pastor Doug Fakkema, Anacortes CRC
Ana, Becca and Emily on Creek Street, Ketchikan, Alaska, on Oma and Opa’s 50th Anniversary Cruise