Christmas Around the World 2022

Christ is born! Let us adore Him!

This Christmas season our missionaries have celebrated with special ministries for those they serve. We will share some highlights with you below. But first, we want to share the wonderful news that our missionary Junar has received a new kidney! We give thanks to God for the generosity of so many who have made that possible.

“The best Christmas gift I received this year is when my brother gave his kidney to me,” Junar shared. He has been in self-quarantine, taking immunosuppressant meds which weaken his immune system so that his body will not reject the new kidney. 

The week he has requested prayers again: “I will be re-admitted tomorrow. My creatinine level has spiked. I will be monitored until my creatinine level is back to normal. Hopefully my new kidney is okay.”

Please continue to keep Junar in your prayers. Thank you, again, for all of your support!

Also in the Philippines, Ramon and Kring Leaño hosted a Christmas party for the children they serve regularly throughout the year.

Kring shares about the event:

“Our kids prepared 100 gift bags with candies, chocolates, lollipops, and of course to protect their teeth, we also included toothpaste, toothbrushes, and antibacterial soap—because many kids at our kids’ ministry deal with some sort of skin disease.

“We fed around 125 people. We cooked 125 pieces of fried chicken, four kilos of spaghetti, and 125 pieces of hotdog, which we put on the stick with marshmallows (a Filipino must-have when it comes to any kids party or celebration). 

“It always makes us proud to see our own kids being very involved in what we do. I can’t believe our daughter Lally is now in charge of reading the stories in our kids’ ministry. It feels like yesterday that she was just a baby, and our son Rham would be running around being hyper. Now he keeps the kids in line and makes sure everyone gets a fair share of food and drinks.

“With everyone’s generosity, we’ve been able to buy some tables, chairs, and a huge tent for our ministry. It’s still not enough, but we’re very blessed to see God providing for these needs. Our dream is that none of these kids would be seated in the soil while we’re doing ministry and that they can be all seated at tables during their meals, too. The meals we provide during these times for some of these kids are the only food they’ll have on that day.”

Across several time zones, the Kiehl family in Ecuador also hosted a lovely Christmas party. Using the newly-constructed Ezekiel Center, they invited kids in their town of Chontapunta to take part in Christmas arts and crafts, games, songs, and prayer. 

As the Christmas season comes to a close, let us take the joy, peace, and simplicity of the Christ child with us. Let us strive to recognize God in all of His children. Our personal mission starts right where we are, with those we encounter each day. May we all be witnesses of His light and love to the world He came to save. 

What came to be through him was life,
and this life was the light of the human race;
the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.

– John 1:3-5