My Goofy Goobers are almost here!

You guys, it's almost Christmas! I can hardly type because I am so excited!!! Wyatt and Emma and Emma's friend Whitney are on their way here right now! They are in the air for a 16 hour flight from LA to Hong Kong, and then on to Jakarta and then Jayapura to me! I just hate being apart. So my heart is bursting with anticipation. AHHHHH!

Can you imagine how Mary must have felt? All the anticipation she carried with her those 9 months wondering what it would be like to give birth to the Son of God? What would He be like? Would she be a good Mom? Wow. I can't imagine. And that beautiful little baby is what Christmas is all about. My life has meaning and hope because of Him.  It is not about how many presents are under the tree, or if your lights look better than your neighbors. It's about Jesus.

I was thinking about the song "Silent Night" yesterday. I feel like the forces of noise are against people ever getting sleep here in Sentani. Between the fireworks that go off at any time of day or night, the village parties that include beating on drums all night, the church bells that clang every hour everyday, the pondok Natals (small houses built to blast music from- google it), the microphoned karaoke songs, the roosters, the calls to prayer, etc. I feel like we never have a silent night. Ever. So I find that I have to be intentional about not letting that keep me from finding peace and quiet. In those moments when we block everything else out and just listen for His voice, He speaks. He brings calm in the midst of crazy. He brings stillness. He reminds us what Christmas is all about. Don't miss that message. Find the quiet. And listen.

Please pray for the kids as they travel. It is such a very long trip. Pray for safety and for sleep for them as it takes three days to get here. Our last trip took 61 hours! That is a long time to not be able to lay down and snooze. This will be our last Christmas here and I often get teary when I think about that. I don't know how we will ever be able to leave this place. Pray for us to enjoy and be in the moments that come our way. I tend to carry sadness with me when I  know that it is the last time doing something and I don't want that. I just want to enjoy.

Speaking of joy, these pictures will make you smile. Wyatt and Emma sent me these as they were taxiing down the run way in LA.

 

 

I love those goobers. I can't wait to squeeze them.

Merry Christmas.

Rachel