December 18 marked the last day of seminary activities for 2007. We had finished classes on Monday the 17th, so the 18th was set aside for worship and fellowship. The pictures below are from the seminary Christmas service and the fellowship afterwards.

• CD player and keyboard ready for Christmas carols and hymns.

The service was an adaptation of the popular “Nine Lessons and Carols”, but with an addition: one of the shepherds from Bethlehem came to share his eyewitness account of not only Christ’s birth, but also his future ministry as it culminated in the ultimate show of love — Christ giving himself over to death as payment for our sins. What an amazing Christmas present God has given us!

• Fellowship following the service.

The LORD bless you with His peace,NW

We invited Kevin’s softball and tennis friends to hear and celebrate Christmas with us. They all enjoyed the singing and many heard the true meaning of Christmas for the first time.

Winny (in white) was baptized during our Christmas service on the 23rd. Winny’s mom, SueEllen, is also an active member and Sunday School teacher. She also attends the Women’s Bible Study that Sarah (in purple) leads weekly. Winny is in confirmation class with us now. Please pray for Winny and her mom thanking God for his grace to them!

On Christmas Eve in the evening I had a Bible Information Class for 2 people: Anne, who was baptized during Sunday’s service, and for Grandpa Jang, who is 83 and wants to join our church. I think it may be the first time I had had a Christmas Eve Bible class! We had a good class and were studying the Lord’s Supper. During the evening a discussion arose regarding the uncertainty of our lives on this earth. Though some are seemingly young and healthy they too are all but a heartbeat away from the end of their lives on this earth. Preparing to meet our Lord is a never ending activity that Christians engage in as we worship and study God’s Word and see God’s grace for us.

Just 6 hours after our class ended, a 5.1 earthquake struck 45 minutes south of where we live. The JOLT caused us to jump out of bed and get ready for another possible quake. There was no second quake and we returned to our sleep, resting in the Lord’s gracious hands. The quake reminded us of the ‘99 quake which began with a similar JOLT and killed almost 3000 people.

Morning news is not reporting any deaths or injuries from the morning quake. Some building structures were damaged. Your continued prayers on our behalf for health and safety continue to lift us up and encourage us. God bless your Christ-child celebration and lead you in 2008.

Anne Yea was baptized on Dec 23 during our Christmas Outreach service.