The darkness was profound on so many levels: hundreds of years of oppression and rebellions – and religious legalism with no prophetic word from God for many generations. The Devil must have been totally caught off guard when God reached down from Heaven and sent his very own son, Jesus, to be born as a baby to a very obscure young couple and in a most unexpected way! That miraculous event changed EVERYTHING – FOREVER! Jesus demonstrated God’s amazing love and mercy, opened mankind’s eyes to understand God’s power and truth, and enabled all who believe in him to know and talk with God PERSONALLY! He brought light, love, hope, forgiveness and peace to everyone who accepts and follows him. No wonder the heavens were split open by multitudes of angels singing!!

Of course, the Devil immediately scrambled to try to destroy him and continued trying throughout Jesus’ life and death – but nothing could stop God’s plan. Even after Jesus was resurrected and returned to Heaven, he left his Holy Spirit to live not just on the earth but in the heart of everyone who accepts Jesus as Lord. So that same light, love, hope, forgiveness and peace can spread throughout the whole world! Now THAT is good news – how can we NOT want to share that with everyone we meet? No matter how great the darkness that we find ourselves in, our Heavenly Father can break through it to reach us with his light and love and change our lives forever. We can KNOW Jesus and through the Holy Spirit, God Almighty, the Creator and King of the Universe, is truly with us!

Matthew 1:23 “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.”

We pray for a Merry Christmas for you and your loved ones. May you feel the amazing presence of God each and every day and lead many others to know Jesus too. In His love, Shirley and Gerald.

Pastor Sika in Togo – Christmas celebrations are being planned once more, both in the Lomé church that Pastor Sika pastors, and at the Joseph Project orphanage and church in Sika-Kondji. Thanks to donations from some supporters, all the orphans and widows at the JP will enjoy a special meal and small gifts as they celebrate Jesus’ birth. We praise God for all that is done in and through that ministry that is sharing God’s hope and love in a dark nation. We continue to pray for many to give their life to Jesus through the weekly radio broadcasts, the church services and the testimonies of those who serve Jesus. We pray God’s light and truth will touch the hearts of those in government and leadership to bring much-needed change and peace to that troubled nation.

Pastor Honoré in Central African Republic – At CEERCA, they recently welcomed a visit from the Founders of Julie’s Heart Cry Ministry from the USA. They brought 200 Sango and French Bibles for free distribution to the church members, along with 200 glass cups for communion. Pastor Honoré praises God for these which will be a great blessing at the upcoming Christmas celebration. He reports that they continue to pray to be able to connect up the electricity to the CEERCA compound. Everything has been ready for over a year, but they still need 348,000 CFA (about $552 US) to pay for the connection. This will be a huge benefit both for the church and the school, so we pray God will bless them soon with an extra financial blessing this Christmas. The children at the school will have a special Christmas outreach before they leave for their vacation next week. We pray the love and joy of Christmas will reach into all their homes and lead many of their family members to Jesus.