Tomorrow we fly out again.  It is a long trip but for some reason we need to be there for Christmas again.  Next Sunday, January 7th is the Ukrainian Christmas. This week I hope to give out blankets, scarves, hats and candy to those who will have no Christmas.   We will have a full report when we get back.

We just saw the Nativity.  I think it was better than the Passion.  Very moving.  And of course as I watched I was thinking of the kids in the streets.  There were some parallels.   No room for Jesus to be born.  He had to be born in a stable.  The stable has taken on a whole new meaning with the sewers.  There is no room for these kids either and so they will spend their Christmas Eve in a dark, smelly, trash ridden concrete room below the streets.  

Here He goes again.  Jesus in the worst of it.  Sleeping in a smelly place where no one else would.  I wonder what you saw when you looked into the baby's eyes?  I know what I see when I look into His eyes today.  There is this questioning.  The kids have aged beyond their years.  There is this combination of, "You're not going to do anything - are you" and "Do you love me?"

So, in several weeks we will be there with them again.  John, the beloved disciple (my son-in-law), and me (Michael with a message).   We will hold the hand of Nastya in the hospital and tell her today is the day of her salvation...and that good news has come.   We will light a candle in dark places and sing joy with those who knew none under a heavy regime. 

In a few weeks we will celebrate the birth of one who was loved and was rejected with those of kindred spirit.

My neighbor was getting in his car this morning and I asked, "Hey John, how is your wife doing?"  She had slipped on the last two steps of her stairs the day after Thanksgiving and hit her head slightly.  No big deal, but she developed a headache.  They decided to go to emergency where they put her in a coma or something for five days.  So, this morning I asked about her progress.  He quietly walked over and said she had passed away yesterday.  What???  I was stunned.  I raced down across my snow covered yard in my house slippers and gave him a good long hug.  He was pretty broken up and said he would miss his wife.

I am still in shock.  How fragile life is.  Any one person, any one of us, can pass one in a moment.   Today I am so sad for my neighbor.   I see him busy with something through his windows.  Is he searching out a dress or pictures or????   I am reminded of my own fragility.  I am reminded of how blessed my family has been so far and that any time that can change. 

I am also reminded of children who are, right now preparing to hunker down in the sewers for the winter.   How many will freeze to death this winter?  How many will suffer from AIDS or other diseases?   How many will just disappear with no one to miss them...other than the Father.  He cares.  I care.  That is our only hope. 

It is only three weeks before Christmas.  Our Christmas in Kherson did not materialize this  year.   I am sad about that.  Not enough volunteers or commitment.   I am still checking airfares...still debating...someone needs to remember those who are forgotten.