All us Fredericks want to wish you a very blessed and holy Christmas season. We pray the Lord will meet you in a special way as you meditate on His unfathomable wisdom and love that was demonstrated when He sent His greatest gift to each of us in the form of a baby.

As I was reading the Christmas account in Luke 2 this morning my thoughts turned specifically to Simeon. Maybe that happened because, to me, there seemed to possibly be many similarities in his situation and ours. For one thing, Simeon believed God had made an almost unbelievable promise to him (that he would see the Messiah before he died) just as we are believing that Cora will be healed. Remember it had been 400 years since God had spoken to His people through Malachi so it would not be easy to believe that now things would change.

It is also quite likely that Simeon was now an old man and had waited some time for God’s promise to be fulfilled since his first words in Luke 2:29 were, “Now Lord, you have kept your promise, and you may let your servant go in peace.” I wondered if Simeon had friends that prayed for and encouraged him as he waited for God’s promise to come to pass. Did his faith ever waver as the time dragged on and fulfillment seemed unlikely? I would be surprised if it didn’t!

I also wondered if the enemy came and tried to kill him. I would have to think so since Simeon’s faith in God’s promise played an important part in coming of Jesus, important enough for God to record it in Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth. According to Hebrews 11 our faith plays an important role in the works of God being done - not that He couldn’t do it without us, but He has chosen to make us an integral of His workings on earth. And even though certain individuals are singled out in Hebrews 11, I know that each of them had others standing with them so they would come through their test successfully.

That is why I want to thank you again for standing with us through this time of testing and waiting. It is hard going through a period when we feel much less productive and unable to contribute to the work of Wycliffe like we have been in the past. But what a blessing it is to have faithful friends who continue to support us, enabling us to finish this part of our race. We still believe with all our hearts that we will see 2 Cor. 1:11 fulfilled. “He will rescue us because you are helping by praying for us. As a result, many will give thanks to God because so many people’s prayers for our safety have been answered.”