December Traditions

December is galloping away like Santa's reindeer on Christmas Eve!! Can't believe we're within a week of Christmas now!

The house is decorated (the ornament here is one my grandma made when I was a little girl...love putting it on the tree each year!), all the presents are bought and wrapped which is a first for me...I'm usually still buying and/or wrapping on Christmas Eve! I think this is a good new tradition. It makes this coming week feel so much more peaceful and enjoyable.

Another tradition in December has been a day of seminars for students at BMA, the boys' Christian outreach high school here in Frydlant. They have asked Dave to be one of the seminar teachers for the past few years, which is a favorite day in December for him!

This year he had two seminars - one on the differences between guys and girls, and one on Angels, Demons, Ghosts and Spirits...both pretty interesting topics to the mostly non-Christian students!

Questions were fast and furious in both seminars, but particularly in the one about the spirit world. One girl described how she feels a demonic presence when she goes to visit her grandpa's house, and asked Dave how she should handle it next time she's there.

After Dave gave his answer, from a believer's perspective, she said, "I'm an atheist and I don't believe in God...is there any other way of dealing with this if you don't believe in Him?" She went on to say that she's just been trying to ignore it and it seems to have gone away, but she doesn't know if it might still be there.

Dave's reply: "If you put a bag over your head and can't feel the wind on your face anymore, does that mean the wind has stopped blowing? No...the bag doesn't stop the wind. Rather it just blocks your sense that the wind is blowing."

Later on Dave saw her sitting alone on the couch, staring off into the distance - apparently contemplating something. We pray that the witness of believers around her at school will continue to point her towards Jesus.

I don't think I've mentioned this yet, but there is a new believer at BMA that Caleb led to Christ recently! He and another student have been meeting with her this fall, going through a new believer's Bible study. Christmas will certainly have a different meaning for her this year!