Merry Christmas! Winter 2020

 

Merry Christmas from the Guido's! Dear Friends,   I believe that most of the letters and notes that you will receive this holiday season will likely begin with these words, but I can’t resist…. This has been a crazy year!!   Greetings to all of you! We really miss connecting with each of you - you are an important part of our life story, and this year travel has been so restricted, it feels like we haven’t crossed paths in such a long time. We hope that you will remember us when you send out your Christmas/end of the year greetings. We are at 3700 NE 101st Street, Vancouver, WA 98686. Lisa and Christoph have had quite a year! They’ve had family from Ecuador staying with them for 30/52 weeks this year. They are incredibly hospitable, and just seem to adapt to whatever is going on at the moment. Christoph manages to keep working long hours, and Lisa keeps the kitchen and school rolling along.   All the grandkids are doing well. Emily, 17, the oldest, has gotten accepted at all the universities she applied to and now needs to make a final decision. In spite of closed campus’ there are a couple of visits in the works. Katrina, 14, went up to high school. She is raising bunnies for her 4H club. Micah, 12, started middle school - he's always busy, as the neighborhood is full of boys. :oD They are all studying exclusively online so far. Samatha, 9, continues with homeschooling and ballet. Jonathan & Gaby brought the twins up north for a few weeks in the fall. It was fun watching them experience so many new things for the first time, from their first airplane ride, to seeing snow. David & Nicolas, 3, just launched themselves down the slope as soon as we got to a little hill. They had a wonderful time getting close to their big cousins. Joel and Karyn are well. Joel is dedicating himself to his ministry to university age people and has several projects in the works. Karyn has had to work in the States quite a bit this year, she is working at the Makah Indian reservation on the northernmost tip of Washington state. Cocco, 8, Cecilia, 6, and Casandra, 2 are homeschooling and growing.  They have all proved to be quite adaptable to moving around, but were happy to get back to Ecuador and have their own beds again. Prayer Requests: Wisdom and vision for leading the churches in the pandemic and post-pandemic culture. The resumption of Medical Outreaches. John has been suffering from chronic, severe back pain for 6 months and is now walking with a cane. He had a doctor's appointment with a surgeon in the U.S. in November and surgery is scheduled for the 6th of January - a triple laminectomy (L2, L3 and L4). It is quite extensive, but feels like a conservative start to get this pain under control. This will require staying in the U.S. for 6 weeks after surgery for check-ups. Once again, our amazing son-in-law and daughter have received us into their home for an extended stay. We are blessed. We don’t know what the future holds for us (who does?), BUT we know WHO holds our future and we take great comfort in that. I’m sure that there isn’t a person reading this that hasn’t had their lives turned upside down in 2020. Yet, we take hope! This month we celebrate the birth of the One who brings lasting hope, joy and peace, Jesus Christ our Lord. We pray that this Christmas season you will take comfort in His gift to you ... His presence for those who seek him. Luke 2: 10-11 10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Merry Christmas and Happy 2021 from our home to yours.  Blessings, John and Marilyn