Looking towards the New Year!!

Bonswa!! Greetings once again from the Chicago Suburbs. I write to you tonight a couple of days after our busy yet delightful Holiday festivities. I hope this post finds you all loving life and still enjoying time with good friends and family in this holiday season. It is snowing outside right now which means I must always follow my winter running rule – “when it is snowing late at night, I must get into my warm running gear and head out for a few miles in the woods.” In just a few more days I will no longer have the luxury of bundling up and heading out for a cold run in the middle of the night, so I will continue to take advantage of all of these quiet and snowy nights.

So far this has been a very good Holiday break for me as I have been able to spend many hours around the fire with good friends, many early mornings and good books near a fire at Starbucks, great nights of conversation, movies, and games with family – to name just a few of our endeavors over the last couple of weeks.

We were able to experience a beautiful illustration of generosity and hope on Christmas Eve – Frazer UMC out of Montgomery, AL has been advertising that they had the ambitious goal of building a church in Haiti on Christmas Eve. Outside of the permanent homes, clean water, lighting and many other project components, the deaf leaders have been asking for support for a church in the new community. To make a long story short, the Frazer family collectively donated more than enough money on Christmas Eve to build a large church in the new community that will have many design elements specifically for access and ministry to the deaf community. We will begin construction on the new church very soon as our spiritual endeavors and learning together will continue to happen wherever we find space to gather together. While I know they all donate generously and are not in need of recognition I give a resounding “BOO-YEAH” to the Frazer family this week.

Since coming home I have reflected a lot on the nature and connection of love and laughter coming together to enrich Joy. As I sat around various tables at Grandma and Grandpa’s house either playing cards late into the night or engaging in the games of our extreme youth with my cousins, the phrase “infinite blessing of family” kept permeating my thoughts. Now, to be clear, I love life in Haiti and fellowship with the deaf community continues to be one of the greatest joys and privileges in my life. But there is always a comfort that only long time friends and family can provide.

With that said I think we all find ourselves in many different roles in our lives. Some are roles we love and revel in, and others are roles we wish we could eradicate or reverse. Other roles are meant for specific times and places in order to enrich our sense of self and possibly make us more aware of our strengths and weaknesses. Back in the US for the Christmas holidays I am happy to mainly be in the role of son, brother, friend, random crazy guy always telling crazy stories at the coffee shop or pub It has been important for me to be in this role as myself in order to return to Haiti refreshed and recharged for the role the Lord has placed me in down there. In Haiti, some of those aspects of life are the same – brother in Christ, friend, learner. Others in Haiti add vast aspects of responsibility including leader(in every aspect of life), “deaf Haitian,” father figure, teacher, I guess still “crazy guy. . .” (to name a few).

Some of the roles and responsibilities definitely differ, but in reflecting a lot over the holidays and laughing a lot with friends and family I think often of the one role that transcends, informs, and enriches every aspect of life. I know that no matter where we find ourselves physically or spiritually we are meant to be lovers of God and therefore lovers of life and all of this beautiful creation. You have read it many times in this blog – I am a firm believer that this life for all of us is meant to be one of grand adventures, of pushing ourselves beyond what we perceive to be our limits in order to learn more about trust, obedience, and a life of joyous adventure with our Creator. I am excited to return to Haiti to continue learning what that looks like down there but I am also convicted that grand adventures are separated from an actual physical space. They are wherever we find ourselves challenged, pushed, and feeling uncomfortable. We do not need to travel abroad to seek out life in the center of a Will greater than our own, but we do need to live seeking a balance between our reflective lives and our active lives making sure that we take enough time to reflect and learn from our present activities to be enriched for our future activities.

Wow, that was a lot of stuff that just flowed out onto a page – while definitely not a full examination of any subject, above you read the summary of most of my personal journals from the last 10 days. A prayer from one of my recent journal entires:

Lord, thank you for this Holiday season. For the reminders of what this season means for all of us. In our culture it has become a time for family, for fellowship, for laughter, and for festivity – with the birth of your Son You remind us of a beautiful aspect of your redemptive work in creation – that is Your work and blessing of Joy. For instilling in us once again this season an appreciation for family and friends, for truly ordered festivity, and for the reminder that it is only because of LOVE that this is all possible we thank and praise You. As we head towards the New Year I ask that you help us all and lend us Your strength and discernment in seeking after and passionately pursuing all that you have in store for our lives, always keeping You as the focus and end of everything we do. AMEN

Feeling immensely blessed by you all and your wonderful support this season!

grace and peace,

Kyle