"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is Godís will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not put out the Spiritís fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil. May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it. Brothers, pray for us." I Thessalonians 5:16-25

Ok. In a word: YUCK. Another year passes, another Christmas comes, and once again I celebrate it alone. Well, I do have my Peruvian cat, and that helps. (Not to mention "we" should be having babies sometime before the end of the year!). And I do have my "adopted" families here in Cusco of my teammates, who have all been wonderful to me and accepted me as sister and Aunt. I would love to claim some kind of special status and get a little more sympathy since I am on the mission field in a developing country... But the truth is that I have always been just as lonely at home in the midst of friends, family, and church! Is it truly from being single? Or is it simply that longing for my true home that I will not find in this world? Whichever it may be, it led me to this particular Scripture. "Be joyful always." "Pray continually." "...give thanks in all circumstances, for this is Godís will for you in Christ Jesus." What a wonderful reminder of the one who never leaves or forsakes us.

Now that I (hopefully) have your sympathies, I am not the least bit ashamed to say that you will give my spirits a boost if you want to send a Christmas card in the mail!! If you do, PLEASE include at least one tidbit about your life and one prayer request so I can pray for you. My mailing address is:

We are in the process of preparing for a ěCantata NavideŇaî in our little church ěEmmanuelî. It will involve Christmas songs and the reading of Scripture that tells the story of the birth of Christ. Of course, we have been trying to translate some of our songs into Spanish and figure out the music. I am working with the kids, most of whom cannot carry a tune, but they yell happily and shake and bang their instruments and they are SO cute. They have given me much joy this past month! Please pray for our Christmas program, that God might bring visitors and have the gospel plainly presented.

Recently in our church: Please pray for Yhon, Alex, and Carlos:

Yhon and Alex, two of the little boys from "up the hill" came back to Sunday school after a long absence. I made sure to pay them special attention and was able to ask them a bit about their home. The oldest (7 or 8 years old?) was giggly shy at first and hiding his head. By the time they left he was holding my hand and looking me in the eye and answering my questions. I gave them some extra crackers, a plastic bag for their drawings, and some tissues for their eternally runny noses. They were thrilled. Amazing. They are definitely kids at risk. I have seen them downtown wandering around several times, so I doubt they are in school and doubt they have any supervision.

When I was downtown a week or so ago, several kids approached me to buy postcards. I told them I didn't need any, that I live here, and then invited them to the meeting for adolescents that we have each Saturday. One of them actually came last Saturday! He was really sweet (about 15-18 years old?) and participated well with the bible study. I hope he comes back. (Carlos)

We have started a Bible Study on Saturday nights for the women in our church and usually have between 9-15 women present. The women have needed and wanted a good, solid Bible study for some time. Please pray that they would be faithful to come, and that God would be their teacher. Very often we find there is much enthusiasm, which lasts for about 3 weeks, and then there is nothing. Please pray that we would be able to finish this study with Godís blessing.

I was sick with upper respiratory problems for 3 weeks, and just this week am recovering my strength and feeling better. Please continue to pray for my health (and give praises that there havenít been any more parasites or amoebas!).

Again, thank you to all who donated clothes and shoes, and especially to Tom and Marlys Roos, Barb Chandler, and Nancy Lillo who made such an effort to get the extra bags down here to Cusco! I have received several e-mails from Heber in Santo Tomas, thanking us for the gift of the shoes and telling me how happy people have been to receive them! And thank you to Chapter P.E.O and others who donated school supplies that we have been able to use in Sunday school! AND ń thank you Gay and Ken Buxton (and kids) who sent me their choice Halloween candies!!! That was such a wonderful surprise and special treat! Again, these are all such a reminders that I donít function alone, but that I have a strong and loving team behind me.

God Bless!

Laura Deadwyler
Casilla 985
Cuzco, Peru
011-51-84-25-36-58

EMAIL:

ldeadwyler@mtwla.org

WEBSITE:

http://www.mtwla.org/people/ldeadwyler.htm