Christmas Letter from Anne

“Hey!  Unto you a Child is born!”Do you also need to be reminded?  Isn’t it easy to get caught up in the tyranny of the urgent?  Life has gone by at a pretty frantic pace these past few months.  I know many of you pray for us here at Immanuel Mission and already know that we are low on staff this year.  We lost several close friends who have moved on to other ministries.  The Lord has provided teachers, but a “first-year” can never quite fill all the gaps left by someone who had been here for years.  I continually find new ways to miss the Niningers and the Douglases as we prepare for each outreach and think, “Well, Leona (Dave, Jerry, Debbie) always did that.”

I’ve been teaching 4th grade again, and enjoy the kids.  I teach one hour a day of high school math and love that.  Each morning I drive the bus and average 2-3 times a week in the afternoon.  I love the children but am not as eager for snow as I once was.  I’m not the best (read adequate) at getting up a canyon road in the dark when it is slippery.

We were busting out of the library last night at our ladies get together.  About 25 of us decorated cookies for Christmas.  There were several good conversations about the Lord as we sat together enjoying sugar and each other.  I so love these people and long for them to commit to Christ.  Their lives would be so much better with the Savior.  This is something I shared with the high school kids recently:

Today is the day of salvation.  I’ve heard sermons encouraging people to trust Christ today because they don’t know what tomorrow may bring.  There are stories of people who left a Gospel meeting and were killed in a car accident on the way home.  I don’t think most of us believe we will die tonight even though we know it could happen.  The reason for the urgency of turning to Christ is more like this quote from the movie, When Harry Met Sally.   Harry runs to the New Years Eve party to find Sally and proclaim his love for her:  “It’s not because I’m lonely and it’s not because it’s New Years Eve, I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.”  That is why we are so eager for others to trust Christ today.  It’s not because they might die tonight or He may return before they choose Him.  It’s because when you know what abundant life with Jesus is like—full of love, joy, and peace—you want it to start as soon as possible.

Praise the Lord for coming to us; for wooing us and drawing us to Himself.  Isn’t He good?  I can’t help but rejoice that He chose me.  And I want everyone I love to know Him too.  Enjoy Him today and live happily ever after.

Merry Christmas,

Anne Denny