Merry Christmas!

I just wanted to take a minute to say "boldog karacsonyt kivannok!" (I wish you a merry Christmas!). Thank you so much for all of your prayers and well-wishes this holiday season. It really means a lot to know that I can join all of my friends and family members back home and abroad in celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, the hope of all creation!

Here in Hungary, things are not so very different than back home in the states at this time of the year. Christmas trees, decorations and nativity scenes abound. There are plenty of English language holiday music classics to be heard. We even have snow, though that has been melting the past day or so. Christmas here is basically a three-day event, lasting from the 24th through the 26th. During this time, most businesses are closed (including the transportation systems) so that people can spend time with their families.

In the church family that I am a part of here, we will have one service the evening of Christmas Eve, and one service Christmas morning. I expect there to be a lot of carol singing and times for sharing how God has blessed us over the past year (and hopefully a meal or two!).

In my last post, I think I mentioned something about all of the parents who are expecting children to arrive in the coming months. About a week ago, my friend Zsolti's wife gave birth to a little girl named Dorottya. Praise God for that birth, too!