Dearest Friends,
Merry Christmas!
As you celebrate our sweet Savior’s birth, and thank God for the wonder of His Son, please remember to praise God for all He has done this year in the lives of children around the world. We saw many Muslim children in the Middle East discover the hope of knowing Jesus Christ as their King. In India, thousands and thousands of Hindu children heard the gospel and many put their trust in Jesus. I watched in amazement as Hindu and Buddhist children in Nepal came to faith. I confess to you that I had never imagined I would be flying to Katmandu or many of the other places God took us to this year. In the high Andes of Peru, we were often out of breath, but always, God gave us the energy we needed to finish the puppet shows for the children. Again, we saw so many Quechua children discover how much God loves them. Children and adults in Ireland and Northern Ireland listened eagerly to the gospel. As we did shows on the streets in five Irish cities, we saw God bring people from literally all over the world to listen to His message.
In the United States, this year took us as far west as Missouri, almost to Canada as we traveled north, and south deep into Florida. It was especially sweet to see how God opened children’s hearts to hear His words in inner cities and youth prisons, places where you would not expect children and young people to listen. In truth, I have never found a place where the gospel did not show itself to be sweet and wonderful and able to change people’s lives. More, I heard so many children their stories of pain and brokenness in their families. So many wanted to know if God knew how they hurt, if God cared. It was a great joy to be able to tell the children that God knows, God cares, and God can meet all of their needs. I heard countless children ask God to be their Father and Jesus to be their rescuer.
In the last three months, I have spoken at a number of churches and reported to their congregations on what God has done with their investment. I also had a number of meetings with individuals to discuss how God is moving in the lives of children and how they might participate. In addition, we worked with churches who were reaching out to the children in their communities through mercy ministry. The people in these churches had sacrificially laid a sweet foundation and demonstrated God’s love to the children, and so it was no wonder that we heard many children come to faith when we did the puppet shows. Finally, I took three weeks away from traveling and concentrated on writing a book that will teach others how to do the kind of ministry that we do. I continued to work on this project during the fall, and it is now nearly finished. Please pray for God to send me typists, as this is not a skill I possess!
I wish that I could be standing with you as you read these words that I have just written. I wish you could hear my joy and see my absolute delight in God’s faithfulness. This has been the sweetest year! I will leave to work in the Middle East January 10. As you read this letter, please pray for us and consider supporting the work of the puppet ministry with an end-of-the-year gift. We will gladly send you a tax-deductible receipt.
God bless you!
In Jesus,
Linda, for The Agape Puppets