December 2014 Newsletter
Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. (The angel to the shepherds, Luke 2:11 NIV)
Dear Friends and Family,
Greetings to you at this most joyous time of the year when we remember the birth of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ! Our family is preparing to celebrate Christmas together for the first time in three years. Christmas in Zambia is so different from Christmas in the North, so the girls especially are enjoying the snow and the Christmas lights. It’s rather interesting that the birth of Jesus and the cold winter season are so entwined in our experience of Christmas!
Return to Athol, Massachusetts
Several weeks ago Kristina and I returned to Massachusetts to visit our friends at North Quabbin Bible Church. The main purpose of the visit was to meet with representatives from other churches in the area, which was held on Saturday morning. But we were also excited to spend a little more time with our new friends at NQBC. We did another presentation on Sunday morning during the Sunday School hour, and I gave a message from God’s Word during the service. We are especially thankful for the efforts of Pastor Rick Truesdell and Mark Neverett in arranging our visit.
Visit to Goose Bay, Labrador
The following week Kristina and I traveled to Goose Bay to be with dear friends at Northern Cross Community Church. We were excited to meet the new pastor, Jonathan Beers, who followed God’s call to serve in Goose Bay exactly a year ago. We also visited with Sheila Jubb, who also served with SIM in Zambia for many years.
Support Update
I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
– Philippians 1:3-6
Once again we give thanks for the many generous gifts given to support our ministry over the past month. When we returned to Canada we learned the extent of the deficit we faced. We’ve seen much progress in meeting our goals. It’s overwhelming to see how God provides for our needs through the generosity of our supporters.
While we have made tremendous progress in reaching our support goals, we do remain with a one-time need of $5,000 and an ongoing need of $400 per month. Please pray that God will provide for these remaining needs before our scheduled return in Zambia at the beginning of January. If you would like to contribute to our ministry, you may contact SIM Canada directly at 800-294-6918, or SIM USA at 800-521-6449. Our missionary number is 033186.
Prayer Requests
- Praise that Anna was accepted by Memorial University and will begin taking courses by distance from Zambia starting in January
- Pray for John as he moves into a new apartment in January and begins another term of study
- Pray for our family as we prepare to return to Zambia on January 8
In closing, may God richly bless you all, especially during this season when we remember the birth of our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ, Immanuel, God with us!
Blessings in Christ,
Tim & Kristina Churchill