A friend from Romania writes: 

(E)veryone here has mobilized to help, there are fund raisings, we collect food, blankets, socks, toys,

Romania in green; Ukraine in yellow

hygiene products, we make lists with accommodation possibilities etc. There are people we know going back and forth with supply and Ukraine people. I hope and pray the human trafficking will not grow... because there are mostly mothers and children coming from Ukraine. 

But I see an incredible solidarity that makes me proud of my people. 

I pray for peace.

Because a Little Girl Refused to Lie

Courtesy of this news article 

This Bible was translated into the language that Sinti Romany speak and published by Romanes Arbeit Marburg because a little girl refused to lie. 

A German deaconess* named Sister Luise started to meet regularly with Sinti children who lived near her. This came to an abrupt end when one of these children was asked to lie for a relative. The little girl refused. She had learned from Sister Luise that lying does not please God.

The relative was not happy. He looked for a way to stop Sister Luise's influence, and he found one. Among the Sinti, contact with blood makes one ritually unclean. Unclean people are banned from Sinti society. Hospital workers, including doctors and nurses,  are per definition unclean.  Sister Luise did not work in a hospital. But she had substituted at the reception desk for a fellow deaconess who did. This was enough to have her declared unclean. She could no longer visit the children or have direct social contact with them.

Sister Luise prayed and thought. She decided to start sending cards with Bible verses in them to the people she couldn't visit. She discovered that someone had started translating bits of Scripture into Sinti. She started pasting those bits into her colorful cards. 

One thing led to another. Sister Luise became a founding member of Romanes Arbeit Marburg (Romany Work Marburg or RAM for short). First RAM published finished books of the Bible--Mark, John, Genesis. Then they published the entire New Testament. And last summer, they published the whole Bible. 

Sister Luise is no longer with us. But the Bible she helped bring into being will be blessing to many Sinti children now and in generations to come. 

*This sort of deaconess is kind of like a Protestant nun, traditionally serving in health care, social work, and/or mission.

Sightings

Ever regretted something you did? Ever have God bless you anyway? That's what happened with me and the merels (Dutch name for blackbird pictured here).

Merels are the size and shape of an American robin. For several years, a pair nested in the roses in front of our house. They would raise at least two broods per year. But roses need to be trimmed every now and then to keep blooming well. And yes, I trimmed away the part where the merels nested.

In the backyard we have winter jasmine, a lovely yellow flower that brightens up the drab winter days. Quite a bit of it grew up the side of the house--enough for a pair of merels to nest there for several years. But then that mood-boosting yellow flower wasn't blooming so well. So--yes--I got the bright idea of trimming it. No more merels nesting in the back yard.

Back to the front yard. The neighbor had an evergreen hedge that shaded our handkerchief front yard and blocked our view. That hedge really bugged me. So when the neighbor gave me permission to do some trimming . . .. It was only AFTER I'd snipped away more than she liked that she told me, unhappily, that merels had nested for several years on her side of the hedge. And, yes, I had once again trimmed that part away.

I really felt badly about all of this, especially when some plague killed off a lot of merels around here. I confessed this to the Lord, but it still weighed on my heart. 

And then I started catching glimpses of merels. Sitting on the neighbor's fence. Flitting from tree to tree in the neighborhood park. Snacking on wild fruit in the yard. Just this morning I saw two. And I thanked our Creator for the sightings. This reassures me that He is looking after merels . . . and me. 

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. Jesus to his disciples, Matthew 10:29-31, English Standard Version

The first Christmas we were here, Keith and I went to a Christmas concert/carol sing in a nearby town. At the end, everyone stood and sang “Glory to God in the Highest!” From memory. It gave me goose bumps. Nearly every Dutch Christmas concert, worship service, or carol singing ends with this echoing of the angles’ words from Luke 2:14.  This year we will not be going anywhere to sing this with any group. The Omicron variant of Covid has reached the Netherlands, and we are once again in lockdown. Our church will not be having face-to-face Christmas services. But we will still be able to give glory to God! 

           Ere zij God in den hoge!                  Glory to God in the highest,

                 Vrede op aarde,                              and on earth peace,

        in de mensen een welbehagen                good will toward men.

You can enjoy hearing this sung at the end of a church concert in the well-known village of Urk

or in Dutch and English sung in a church somewhere in America. 

Wishing you all many glimpses of God's glory this Christmas 

and throughout the coming year,

Mary & Keith 

 

 

 

Home for Christmas

This past Sunday Keith flew to Serbia from Dortmund, Germany. The Dortmund Airport is about an hour
and a half from us, depending on the traffic. On Thursday, I drove back to this airport to pick Keith up and take him home. 

He could have taken public transit home, but I opted to drive the hour and a half-to-two hours to the airport to pick him up. I didn't want him to risk additional exposure on the trains and busses, nor did I want to risk his spreading contagion, even though he had tested negative. 

Now we're both home, and very grateful for everyone who prayed for safe travel. We pray that you will all find a home this Christmas, too. 

So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.   John 1:14 (New Living Translation)

(Photo:  Keith and daughter Ellen, in front of our tree, last Christmas. And yes, they actually did both want sox.)

St. Nicholas . . . returns to Spain??

Every year in November cities and villages around the Netherlands welcome St. Nicholas back with parades and other festivities. Sinterklaas, as he is known locally, comes here on a boat from his home in Spain. 

He rides around from house to house on a white horse. Children set their shoes at night, often with a carrot in them for this horse. His assistant Zwarte Piet helps the elderly bishop Nicholas by actually going down the chimney to take the carrot and leave some sweets and/or a small gift. 

After the feast day of St. Nicholas, December 6, Sinterklaas goes back to Spain for the rest of the year. The night before, December 5, families gather to open packages from St. Nicholas, read the silly poems that go with the disguised packages, and generally have a good time. 

Most elementary school children will have drawn names at school and brought a sometimes elaborately disguised package for their classmates. For instance, our daughters have gotten their gifts hidden in papier-mâché donuts (because donuts are American), large cardboard books (because they liked to read), and have hidden gifts in papier-mâché cows set on green cardboard meadows and large cardboard computers (because the other child liked playing computer games).  On the day that the children are going to open theses packages, Sinterklaas with one or more Piets will make a personal visit to the school. 

We like Sinterklaas. It's good fun (especially when Pete is black with soot and nothing else). It gets the packages out of the way before Christmas. And now we can focus on celebrating Jesus's first arrival here among us. He does not come and go on a steamship. Immanuel, God is still with us!

Celebrating through December

 “Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.”  (Luke 1:1-4)

We are approaching Christmas.  Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus.  As we celebrate His birth we would like to know more about Jesus and His life.  Luke, Paul’s dear friend and doctor (Colossians 4:14), did us a favor.  He made a careful investigation and wrote an orderly account of the life of Jesus.  If we read the book of Luke, we would gain an understanding of His life.

 

There are 24 chapters in the book of Luke. The challenge is to read (or listen, see below) one chapter each day beginning on December 1.  You will get to know Jesus better.  It will make the Christmas celebration more meaningful and enjoyable.  Let us read knowing each day that our family and others are reading the same chapters.  It might be helpful to share things you learn with others.  You can help each other learn and remember the events in Jesus’ life.

 

You need to make the commitment to read.  Then read each day.  You may want to keep a small journal or notes on each chapter as you read.  Then you can discuss those things with your Bible teacher, a pastor, or other Christian friends.  I pray that we all: Be smart, be careful, be helpful, be safe, and not be afraid.  God is with us now and forever.

 

Dale D. Meredith

Professor Emeritus, State University of New York at Buffalo

*Listen on Bible.Is or even watch AND listen.