Christmas 2006

Wow! We can hardly believe another year has already gone by, and such a busy one at that. Here are a few of our highlights:

January- We crammed 30+ people into our tiny downstairs for a progressive dinner dessert
February- Inspired by Multnomah's missions conference we decided to build a prayer team
March- Enjoyed a wonderful Spring break trip visiting the Oregon coast and Seattle
April- Emily's position as a Spanish teacher at Beaverton High School was made permanent
May- Enjoyed a wonderful retreat at the Oregon coast with Matthew's Grad year classmates
June- Emily began a month-long ministry to visiting students from the Basque region of Spain
July- Celebrated the 50th anniversary of Emily's grandparents with a family reunion in Eureka
August- Experienced the beauty (and pain) of hiking to the top Yosemite's half dome
September- Tackled new challenges (Hebrew, Internship, Spanish 3) as school started back up
October- Visited family and friends on a trip to Roseville for Matthew's high school reunion
November- Began 6 weeks of driving a fancy rental car as our car had body damage repaired
December- We get to write and send this letter to all of our favorite people! :-)

This Christmas marks the halfway point of Matthew’s MDiv program at Multnomah as he has just completed the third semester of six. We also realized recently that we have now spent more than half of our married lives here in Portland; no wonder it’s starting to feel so much like home! It’s nice to be on Christmas vacation together. We're enjoying our Christmas tree, the fattening sweets we've been baking, and various holiday events here in Portland. We're also looking forward to seeing our families and some old friends during a weeklong stay in Roseville, CA over Christmas.
We are so thankful to God for his provision to us this year. Please join us in praising him for his amazing blessings! 2006 was another great year, highlighted by a 3½ week summer trip to visit family and friends all over California – we appreciate what a rare opportunity that was. Back in Portland, Emily's job is now permanent. She's enjoying the new adventure of teaching Spanish III and continues to grow as a teacher. Matthew survived taking Greek and Hebrew simultaneously and is learning a lot about ministry both from his classes and his internship at our church. His internship mentor, our senior pastor, is a great man of God and is encouraging Matthew in developing his character and learning new skills.
God has blessed us with wonderful friends in both our Multnomah and church communities, and Emily is beginning to connect more with some of her colleagues at Beaverton High. We often enjoy spontaneous meals with our neighbors on campus. We value the close relationships we are building within our Life Group, and we both get to serve at our church in areas we love. We don’t know what the future holds, and if we move after Matthew finishes seminary it will be difficult, but we are treasuring this time in our lives. We are both enjoying the responsibilities God has given us for this season of life (studying and teaching).
We are excited to see God's work in our own hearts as well. We have been so encouraged as family and friends tell us they are praying for us – and we see God directly answering those prayers! We especially asked for prayer for Matthew's discipline in time management and transparency; Emily comments frequently that he has grown a lot in this area over the past year! We also asked for prayer for Emily as God teaches her to overcome an inappropriate need for approval from others; God has been compassionate, gentle, and persistent in teaching her that true validation comes from Him. It's wonderful the way that God gives each of us a perfectly individualized plan for growth! (As an educator, Emily can only dream about doing the same for her students.)
Please know that we count you among our blessings this Christmas! We are overwhelmed by how many people God has put in our lives to care for us. As always we would love to hear from you if you get a chance.
We are praying for you, that God may bless you and your family this Christmas and in the coming year!
Love,

Matthew and Emily