Christmas Newsletter 2023

 JEJESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON


Christmas Newsletter 2023

The older we get, the faster the days and months careen past us. No sooner have we written our 2022 Christmas newsletter, and here we are again, drafting the 2023 one. Someone must be cutting the days shorter!

Before we get to rambling, let us say Merry Christmas from our desert home to 
Christmas Greetings from our desert home
to yours
yours. We wish and pray that as we celebrate Christ’s birth, we will be reminded of the peace that He brings to troubled hearts in this chaotic world. We pray that we’ll continue to rest on that promise during these unsettled and uncertain days. Peace on earth and to men and women of good will!

In 2023 we watched the start of the changing of the guards in our family. January 13 was a sad day as Lu, my oldest sister, said goodbye to us. She had always been the strength, encourager, peacemaker, and protector of our extended family after our parents passed on. She was beloved, respected and highly esteemed by all. During her
My sister Lu on happier day
funeral service, we watched the younger generation step up to the plate of family responsibilities. Symbolic of this transition, they prayed, led the congregational songs, sang, played the piano and paid tribute to their aunt and great aunt. I thanked Sarah Jane Cordenillo, daughter of my sister Josephine, profusely for almost singlehandedly taking care of the funeral arrangements on the San Francisco end, to which she replied, “It’s family. We do good. That’s what we do.” Indeed, our younger generation is doing good, taking care of us older ones. Our generation will soon be gone as various ailments get hold of us, but we will all one day gently exit knowing that God in His goodness has provided the new guards who will carry on “doing good.”

Our family is doing well. Kristy is teaching 6th Grade English. Her youngest, R. Mateo is in her class. If you ever meet him, do ask about his favorite teacher. Jon directs “City of Joy,” a missionary school in Rwanda. Roc is working at Arriba, a Mexican restaurant. Shekinah is about to graduate from high school. Matthew is having fun doing comics illustrations on top of his day job. Helen keeps the home fires going and taking good care of Francine, Haley, and Freda. Aside from their schoolwork, Francine and Haley are in the school band and had opportunities to perform in Disneyland. Don and I are doing well, though with the usual aches and pains that come with senior bodies. Our calendar filled with medical doctor appointments for the upkeep of our different body parts keeps us busy. We’re members of the Grace Bible Church, and a community group Bible Study of senior citizens. Recently, we took in a Bible study on Ruth and Esther and a 2-day grandparenting seminar sponsored by Legacy Coalition. We have become very comfortable with our senior status. (Of course, when we were 18, we never thought we’d ever be seniors!). My second
"Stones of Remembrance"
book, “Stones of Remembrance,” was published in June. God has blessed us so much.

May we say again, Jesus is the reason for the season. God bless you richly this Christmas and the coming year.
                                            Don & Raquel

Ambar says Merry Christmas, too, from the bottom of her feline heart!
Our well-loved feline, Ambar



















 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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