And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. Hebrews 10:24-25 (ESV)

This time of year is exciting for many different reasons. One reason is that there are certain foods to be enjoyed that are only made during the season of Christmas. No one would drink an eggnog latte during the middle of July or pumpkin pie during Easter. Just like you wouldn’t eat barbecued chicken on Christmas day, unless that’s your thing.

Christmas food, music, decorating and all the other things tie into the Christmas season. What is more exciting is the chance to spend time with family and friends. While I love to play trombone with my church’s brass group, I really enjoy playing with people I know. Doing things with other people to enjoy this time of year brings me a lot of joy.

This past Sunday was exciting for several reasons: I shared with my church some of the recent events and what LAMP has and will be doing during this time of COVID. We also started to think about next year’s mission outreach to Gitanyow. The day ended with a large gathering online of volunteers and LAMP mission staff to meet our new executive director and also start looking ahead for next year. People coming together to minister alongside one another, that is what gets me going! And we did gather last Saturday to assemble the Christmas packages that will be on their way up to Gitanyow. Thank you to everyone that donated and helped assemble them.

Not everyone will feel this way about Christmas to come together to celebrate our Savior's birth. Many get overwhelmed by the stress of the holidays, the hurried pace, and shopping. For some, the holidays will be a reminder of who they lost and what they are missing. How important it is to “meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another”.

Most of our LAMP teams are doing something like this for their northern communities. One team is sharing Christmas cards, several are sending Christmas packages with the storybook about Jesus’ Birthday, a craft item, and a personal note. Please pray that these packages will make it on time to each community, that the children will be blessed by the knowledge that Jesus came for each one of them. Please pray that the communities stay safe from the variants that are going around and will be greatly encouraged by clinging to the precious hope we have in Jesus.

Below is a link to my time with Martin Penner who has been supporting the LAMP teams for a very long time. Martin and Marian live in New Hazelton. In the podcast, you will hear how God has been using them over the years to minister to the people of the Hazelton community.

On a personal note, the boot came off about three weeks ago from my torn achilles tendon. Every day my leg grows stronger and I no longer walk with a limp. 

The first picture is ten days after surgery. The second is twelve weeks after surgery.

May God bless your Advent and Christmas celebration of the birth of the Savior of the World. May you find time to connect and encourage other people by sharing His light and love. Thank you for partnering with my ministry. Your support is a huge blessing to me!

 

https://soundcloud.com/nathan-schmidt-931528488/martin-penner?si=1f7279f0556e4ccc8286e4fe9d60a6a5