all i want for christmas...

is -15 weather.

or EVEN -20 weather. none of this -30 weather and wind chill (or EXTREME WIND CHILL) of -44. this weather makes my heart hurt just a little...and my car's block heater - which incidentally decided kick the bucket yesterday...hopefully it was just too cold...this picture is from our Christmas Banquet on Dec. 6th. our girl Kristy playing the flute. we auctioned off some amazing photos of camp, had some musical performances by staff (not me) and had a great message shared by our board chairman, Bob Thiessen. it was a great night with neighbors, community members, and donors.

well - this last week was a good one. i got lots and lots of work done and we were gearing up to do a volunteer day at the Operation Christmas Child headquarters in Calgary on Friday but alas...snow, wind, more snow, dropping temperatures, and yet - more snow. needless to say, we got half way to didsbury and had to turn back. bah-humbug to that. well - if anybody has free time on their hands, call the OCC headquarters in calgary and volunteer. there are thousands and thousands of boxes that need to be sorted every year about this time. they play sick christmas music while you work and it's fun to get to know people and know that you are helping to put one of those boxes in a child's hands somewhere in the world where the need is greater.

so that was very sad that we couldn't go. as it turns out, it was probably smart that we turned back as we might have gotten stranded in calgary that night. we came back and had our staff christmas party and shared ornaments from ten thousand villages. if you don't know what Ten Thousand Villages is then please, click on the highlighted name and find out. it's a non-profit store that sells fairtrade products and almost guaranteed there's one near you! i know of several in calgary and edmonton, one in red deer and one in lethbridge. you can buy chocolate, ornaments, journals, decorations for christmas or the whole year, coffee, teas, tons of stuff and it's all fairtrade! if you're looking for an unique gift for that really hard-to-find-things-for person, then try ten thousand villages. if anything, you'll fall in love with it and find something for yourself!

anyways, i'm going to leave you with this - merry christmas! take the time to remember God's amazing gift of his Son, born to a probably 14 year old girl in Bethleham. take time with family to celebrate this time of hope, peace, and new beginnings.
i'll talk to you again after boxing day!
In His Grip,
Cort