“It came without ribbons! It came without tags! It came without packages, boxes or bags!” And he puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before! “Maybe Christmas,” he thought, “doesn’t come from a store. “Maybe Christmas … perhaps … means a little bit more!” (Dr. Suess, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, New York: Random House, 1957.) Dr. Suess has long been one of my favorite authors and sources of wisdom. He was on target with his observation (through the person of the Grinch) that Christmas means more than ribbons, tags, boxes, and bags. However, Christmas means not just "a little bit more," but it means a whole lot more. Christmas means that God has not given up on mankind, but instead sent His Son to restore us into a right relationship with Himself. Christmas means that in a world filled with all kinds of darkness, a light has come to shine that will never be extinguished. Christmas means that the All-Mighty Creator God fully knows and can empathize with members of the lowly human race. Christmas means that God came to dwell among men, assuring us that we need never walk alone. Christmas means that we can have hope in the most hopeless circumstances and peace in the greatest turmoil. Christmas means I am boundlessly loved by the eternal God as demonstrated by His gift of what is most precious to Him - His only Son. . . . Christmas means so much more! Year-end Reflections As we approach the end of a very unusual year for us we are filled with an overwhelming sense of gratitude to God for His goodness to us this past year. We are grateful for His call and the opportunity to serve the church in Africa in these days of unprecedented harvest. We are grateful for His provision for us materially in a year when we have not received a paycheck. We are grateful for His hand of blessing on our children as they (especially the girls) have gone through major transitions in their lives. We are grateful for the opportunity to restablish old friendships and create new ones as we have visited churches from Iowa to South Carolina to Nova Scotia to Wisconsin and many points in between. We are grateful for individuals and churches who have committed to support us through prayer and finance as we return to Africa. God is good! Prayer Requests 1. The Wesleyan Church of Liberia will be holding its national conference this coming weekend. Please pray for Africa Area Administrator, Jerry Manwaring, as he travels to Liberia and gives leadership to the conference. Pray too for Rev. Peter Kollie, who will be appointed as the new District Superintendent at the conference. Please pray for the church leaders and delegates as they wrestle with significant issues affecting the future of the church that God will give them both wisdom and a spirit of unity. 2. The Southern Africa Region of the Wesleyan Church holds its quadrennial regional conference December 13-15. Please pray for General Superintendent, Dr. Tom Armiger, as he chairs the conference and for Bob as he goes to assist. Pray that God will help the church to deal wisely with issues and strategies as they seek to follow God's direction for the coming four years. Pray too that they will elect godly and discerning leaders to give leadership. 3. Because we had hoped to have our support raised by December, we had not planned on or scheduled for visiting churches during January - March. Please pray that God will help us to fill our schedule with opportunities to speak to churches and that people will be responsive to the challenge to become part of what God is doing in Africa. Praise Points Thank you for praying. God has been answering in marvelous ways. 1. The national church conference in Ghana was outstanding. Highlights include the reelection of Joe Ocran as national superintendent, ordination of Rev. Kwame Frempong, and reports of impressive church growth over the past two years. In that time membership has grown from 2,365 to 4,268 (over 80% growth!). A Jesus Film team was established in Ghana in February of this year, and since then the film has been shown 78 times to over 25,000 people resulting in the planting of 9 churches and 5 preaching points. 2. God has provided us with comfortable housing in Central, SC for the next few months while we continue to work on building our support team. This puts us in the same town as our daughters, Tracy and Mary Beth, as well as close to Brenda's parents and siblings. May the love, joy, hope, and peace that accompany the birth of Christ be yours today. Bob & Brenda Bagley

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