Dear Friends and Family,

As the Christmas season quickly approaches, our family is more mindful and more reflective about what Christmas looks like for us this year.  This will be the first Christmas the six of us have spent in the United States.  Usually, for us December is a crazy month—or has been.  Prem Ghar’s anniversary is on the 18^th of December and we have always attended a party to celebrate the beginning of our ministry with the Ammas (Mothers).  Karuna Ghar always has something going on as well.  In the past, Kimberly and I have been actively involved in planning Christmas activities for the girls at KG (including the annual KG Christmas Pageant).  December is also a time when many of our North American staff members prepare to travel during the holiday season and so, ad Filed Directors, we coordinated that with them.  We could rarely catch our breath and take a step back.  Somewhere we tried to find time to celebrate Christmas as a family.

This year, it will be different.  It will be just us.  Though it seems that this is so good (and probably will be), the truth is, we miss all the excitement and especially the people we have celebrated Christ’s birth with for so many years.  We feel a painful void in our lives as we anticipate this Christmas without them.  This year will be so different.  We are glad that in the midst of the grief, we have an opportunity to step back, reflect and appreciate this season more perhaps than we have in the past.  We can form some new traditions as a family and do things we couldn’t do in Nepal, like hang up lights on our house.  Our tree will be bigger and perhaps we will have some snow.  But, still, can Christmas be Christmas for us without Gautam, Rekha, Sumitra, the kids…?  Probably not this year.  But in time it will.   

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to listen to one of our staff members who serves with the Word Made Flesh community in Romania share a reflection on Mary, the mother of Christ.  She put up on the screen a picture of the icon  you see to the left.  Though icons are not something we are used to in our protestant, evangelical traditions, it is a familiar icon in her context which is influenced by the Romanian Orthodox Church.  Her reflection was timely as she shared about how Mary’s entire life was lived in submission to God.  In this picture, she holds Christ with open hands.  She is depicted as one supporting and nurturing Jesus, not dominating or controlling him.  It is a picture of submission and obedience.  For Mary, her obedience did not come without a price.  Her submission led her to endure great pain and sorrow, humiliation, danger and the risk of being a social outcaste.  Though she could not have known all she would face, she had to know that accepting God’s call could come with risk; risk of being ostracized by her community and possibly a life of exclusion and isolation.  Nevertheless, she obeyed. 

In no way do I compare our situation of leaving Nepal and the struggles we face with adjusting to life here to Mary’s sacrifices.  Her example of answering God’s call with obedience and even gratitude (see Mary’s Song in Luke 1:46-55), however, reminds me that as we continue to walk in obedience to God, it may come at a price.  We may be called away from those we love and enter into an experience that is new and strange and, perhaps, frightening.  Whenever things get scary, don’t we all often try to control our circumstances?  Mary’s response was to trust.  Please pray for our family as we strive to be obedient to God’s call on our lives.  Our hearts are still aching for our community in Nepal though we know we have been called to serve the Word Made Flesh community from here in the United States.  Pray that we can respond without fear that leads to control but rather, trust which leads to submission and obedience. 

Every month we look at a report of the financial support that has come in for us.  We are humbled at the generosity of those who support us.  Many of you have been with us for eleven years.  You have believed in us and what God is doing in and through us and you've faithfully prayed for us as we have stepped forward in response to God’s call on our lives.  We trust that you also grow alongside us as together we journey through the joys and sorrows of our friends in an impoverished and broken world.   

Though Kimberly and I are no longer in Nepal, I am serving those same friends in Nepal as well as many others around the world by offering support for the emotional and mental well-being of our staff.  Your financial and prayer support fuels our calling to continue in ministry with the community of WMF.  

Henri Nouwen beautifully addressed the spirituality of fund-raising in his booklet, The Spirituality of Fundraising.  He highlights the spiritual community created in the giving and receiving of money.  I want to honor you-our spiritual community- and thank you for building this community with us.  In our partnership with you, we can see Christ's ongoing discipleship in our life, pressing us to greater faith, gratitude and generosity, as well as humility.  We pray that you find a similar experience of personal growth as you give of your finances.  

If you are not currently partnering with us financially, we want to ask you to seriously consider.  In the last few months, Kimberly and I have not raised enough to recover the expenses of relocating our family to the United States.  As we have communicated in recent letters, though I am now serving in the US office of WMF, we are still committed to raising 100% of our finances, and we are committed to living simply on a needs-based salary.  In addition to the monthly support we require, we still need nearly $8,000 to get our support account out of the red.  So, we are praying for more people to stand with us in this spiritual community that believes in the calling God has on our lives.  If 50 people were able to give $150 or 80 people gave $100, our support account would be in the black again. 

We would be honored to include you in the spiritual community that has formed over the years in this generous movement of giving and receiving.  Will you prayerfully consider joining us in this way?  

If you would like to increase your monthly giving, make a one time donation, or begin monthly donations, please fill out the enclosed response form and send it in with your check.  An automated deduction form has been included as well for those of you who may like the convenience of having your donations automatically deducted from your bank account.  Lastly, our WMF website has made it possible to donate money in a safe, secure and convenient way.  Just go to the website and click on the Donate Now link.  Be sure to clearly designate the gift as “the West’s support”. 

We pray for a blessed Christmas for each of you.  May it be life giving for you and for those who surround you.  May your hearts be filled with anticipation of Christ’s return and the hope He brings for today.  You are a cherished part of our lives and we are humbled by your continued commitment to us and your belief in God’s calling on our lives. 

With Love,

The Wests