Christmas is one of the most special times of the year for most American families. One of the hardest times to be a missionary on the foreign field can be Christmas time. They miss their families. They feel very alone. They miss all of the traditions.

Maybe it was always cold in the States when they had Christmas before and now it is hot. Maybe there are little to no toys that they can find to buy for their children for Christmas. Maybe there are no Christmas carols playing any where and it just doesn’t feel like Christmas.

Sometimes they might now want to play the carols because it just reminds them of how much they miss “home!”

Could I ask you to pray for your missionaries. Maybe send them a note. Tell them you love them and have not forgotten them. Could you pray a little extra grace from God over them?

Then pray for boldness. Some of our missionaries are facing hard times in closed countries. It is against the law to be a missionary or preacher or even a Christian. You can only imagine how much worse that makes the situation.

People get the Christmas blues even in the States. They say this is time for many to be depressed. So think about your missionary. Pray for them. Pray that God will touch them.

Pray that God will give them grace to do the job they were called to do. Pray that they will be bold in the face of persecution.

Merry Christmas to all of my missionary friends around the world. I sincerely do love you and pray for you often.

More information can be found here

Below you will find a letter from pastor Wilber Hallasi. His wife is the lady that was supposed to die and God miraculously kept alive. The baby was also in great danger but God pulled her through the first time.

Now things are bad again. They need your prayers and financial support. Feel free to make a comment here on the blog or to write me at gardner@bcwe .org if you want to encourage them or to help in some way.

I will translate the letter and for those of you that read Spanish you will find the original letter below. Please be in prayer. This is a super fine young man of God. He has matured beyond his years with all that has happened in his life lately.

Brethren,

My little daughter is in a very dangerous situation similar to what my wife faced when she was in the hospital. Her heart my fail at any moment and the infection will not go down. That is why we have decided to buy stronger medicines.

Now she is being treated like as though she were in intensive care in the Goyeneche Hospital. She has all the machines connected to her and medical care 24 hours a day. It would be a serious risk to move her to the other hospital in her present condition.

We decided to get intensive care nurses to watch my little daughter because there aren’t enough doctors in the emergency room. This is costing us 120 soles for 12 hours. The emergency room doctor is helping us with contacts. Pray that God will provide. (120 soles is about $40 to $50 for the 12 hour period which is super big money for this young man)

On top of that we are purchasing very expensive medicines. Pray that God will restore our daughter to health in the next few hours.

Thank you.

hermanos
.mi hijita esta muy grave su situacion es como la de mi esposa cuando estaba en uci su corazon puede hacer paro cardiaco en cualquier momento y la infeccion que no baja por eso optamos poe comprar medicamento mas fuertes
ahora ella esta como si estuviera en cuidados intensivos en emergencia del hospital goyeneche pues tiene todos los aparatos conectados y medico las 24 horas y seria riesgozo trasladarla a otro hopital en las condiciones que se encuentra mi hijita
lo que optamos es contratar enfermeras intensivistas para que la vean a mi hijtita pues las enfermeras de emergencia no se abastecen ya que mi hijta amerita un cuidado intensivo, nos esta costando 120 soles por 12 horas el doctor de cuidados intensivos nos apoyo con los contactos, oraciones para que Dios nos provea
ademas tambien estamos comprando el meropenemn y otras medicamentos caros todos los dias
por favor oren para que Dios pueda restablecer la salud de mi hijita en estas proximas horas
gracias

It would be wonderful if God would touch the heart of someone to give a special offering to help this couple. Let me know and I will tell you how to get your money to them.

Below are two letters from Wilber Hallasi about his daughter and her health condition.  We helped them earlier when it seemed that his wife might die. I will put some links at the bottom of this article. Please read and pray.

Dear brothers

Days before my two children (Pamela and Misael) and my wife showed symptoms of bronchial pneumonia. The three are being treated thanks to God and getting better but my little Pamela got much worse to the point of death. She has a weak heart on top of the bronchial pneumonia. She is in the hospital in Moquegua. Yesterday she got much worse but all of sudden the grace of God strengthen her health and she was stable again. Please pray for her. They are probably going to take her to Arequipa soon to improve her heart. After this it is urgent to have surgery now that her heart pumps a lot of blood to the lungs due to her heart problem. It is very probably that they will operate on her at the Children’s hospital in Lima

Yesterday I asked God why I didn’t get sick instead of my loved ones. God told me that He wants me to learn to love my wife and children more.

Pray for my little girl and provision!

saludos hermanos
dias antes mis dos hijos (pamela y misael)y mi esposa presentaron sintomas de bronconeumonia los tres estan en tratamiento gracias a Dios mejorando pero mi pamelita se puso muy grave al punto de fallecer tiene desconmpensacion cardiaca a parte de la bronconeumonia esta imternada en moquegua en el hospital ayer estuvo muy grave pero de pronto gracias a Dios se restablecio su salud esta estable
oraciones por su recuperacion lo mas probable la deriven a arequipa en estos dias para mejorar su corazon y despues de eso urge una operacion ya que mucha sangre bombea a los pulmones por su problema cardiaco lo mas probable la operen en el hospital del niño en lima
Ayer le dije a Dios y porque siempre yo no me enfermo en vez de mis seres queridos y Dios me dijo quiero que aprendas a amar mas a tu esposa y a tus hijos
oraciones por mi hijta y por su privision

Greetings Brethern

Yesterday my daughter arrived at the Goyeneche Hospital in Arequipa. Today that put tubes in her like my wife. My little daughter is on a mechanical ventilator that breathes for her. The intensive care doctor told us that she might die at any moment because both lungs have been affected and this on top of the problem with her heart (it is enlarged).

We are buying medicines that the hospital doesn’t have in stock. I know that God will meet our needs.

I am confident that God will again be glorified. Pray for my little Pamela. She is in the emergency ward of the Goyeneche Hospital

Only God will be able to get her out of there.

The doctor told us that to get her into the Social Security Hospital that has Intensive Care for Children will cost us 5000 soles. (just under $2000)

Thank you.

saludos hermnaos
ayer mi hija llego a arequipa al hospital goyeneche
hoy la entubaron igual que mi esposa mi hijta esta con ventilador mecanico ya no respira por ella ahora la maquila lo hace
el medico de cuidados intensivos mnos dijo que puede fallacer en cualquier momento porque esta afectado ya sus dos pulmones y ademas de su problema del corazon (esta grande su corazon) estamos comprando medicamentos que no tiene el hospital se que dios no nos hara faltar
confio en que Dios otra vez sera glorificado oren por mi pamelita ella esta en emergencia delhospital goyeneche
solo Dios la puede sacar de ahi
el doctor nos dijo que si quiero trasladarle al seguro en forma particular tenemos que envolsar 5000 soles porque ahi tienen cuidados intensivos para niños
gracias

These are from Wilber when we helped him earlier.

Letter from Wilber

another letter

Critical Prayer Request

Special Offering

Special Offering 2

Mark Coffey Our baby’s due date is July 7th.

They are going to be having a baby. Congratulations. We love you all.

Ethan posted the following on his facebook page

Ethan Howeth i have been sad lately and i asked my self ” y is all this happening” ( as in after the accident with the sickness and knee issues and worries of infection at on pin) and i got to thinking…. i should be praising God im alive he saved my life that day and im very glad he did …. so wen you get down just Praise Him!!

What a wonderful testimony! I praise God for such good friends as the Howeth family. They have a wonderful testimony.

Thank you Ethan for loving Jesus. God bless you