Feliz Navidad

Hello family and friends,

Where as this month gone, or better yet the Fall? It seems like yesterday was the beginning of the semester and now it is almost 2010. We are thankful to be spending our 2nd Christmas here in Mexico and that we will not be alone. We wish we were able to spend it with family, but we are glad that Jennifer's parents will at least be able to come on the 30th of December and stay a week. Some good friends have invited us to spend Christmas with them in a nearby state and we grateful for their thoughtfulness in inviting us. We look forward to being a part of a Mexican Christmas celebration.

Pictures:
WGM Central Mexico missionary and pastor Christmas dinner
Us in Irapuato (city of the strawberries) after Josh preached
Jennifer and Julie on a road trip with Deyanira. Julie, a WGM volunteer over the the summer came to v

We have had a week full of Christmas parties and holiday activities. One thing we've noticed about Mexico is that Christmas is not as materialistic and the holiday is more about spending time together than decorating to death and spending lots of money on presents. A few years ago we decided as a family (there are just two of us) not to focus on Christmas presents and to make gifts for friends and family and give fair trade instead of buying, buying, buying. Sometimes we opt to give relational gifts like taking people out for a meal or making a memory. Our tradition of looking for a simple way to do Christmas has taken a lot of stress out of the holiday and made it rather pleasant. This year we decided to have a Christmas card exchange with our small group. The idea was that everyone wrote a Christmas card to each person in the group telling them what they liked about them. It proved challenging, but worth it in the end. We aren't sure everyone understood what we were trying to communicate, but we hope that as we grow we can learn how to give each other encouraging words rather than material goods. Could we challenge you this Christmas to tell someone how much you love them instead of buying them something? Could we challenge you to give to those in need instead of buying expensive presents. Here's to a simpler Christmas so that other may simply live!

We wish you a merry Christmas as you celebrate Christ's birth!

Lots of love,
Josh and Jennifer

Pictures:
Marriage Study Christmas Dinner
Julie and Jennifer. Julie was a WGM volunteer this summer in Mexico and came back to visit this past week.