preparing for Nepal

Today, we are getting ready for the second half of my winter break, where we'll spend about eight days in the country of Nepal. Chris just got home from work, so we are starting to get organized. Our flight for Kathmandu leaves this evening at 11:50pm our time, and we'll probably leave our flat at about 9:30. It doesn't take long to get to the airport.

I'm excited for this trip, and thankful that Chris' boss let him take this week off before his actual winter break starts. We plan to spend this much needed time away together by eating delicious dahls, trekking to Nagarkot, and flying around Mt. Everest. We don't have much else planned, and hopefully, we'll get to do those things!

Until the next update, Happy New Year!

caroling with friends at TLC

Merry Christmas 2012!

His power and glory evermore proclaim.

Those are the last words of of O Holy Night, one of my favorite Christmas carols. It has a charge, to proclaim or declare the power and glory of God.

 

I was just sitting here thinking that I ought to get some pictures of what our holiday looked like and came across this one. Every Christmas Eve, The Lighthouse Church in Kuwait hosts a bonfire and time of singing carols in one of its courtyards. One of the worship leaders and a few accompanying musicians stand on the steps outside one of the church buildings while others are gathered around the fire in many rows, 30 or 40 people deep, in all directions. Interspersed between the carols that everyone sings in English are presentations done by a few members of the various congregations that fall under the Lighthouse Church umbrella; Malayalum, German, Tagalog, Konkani, and Swahili are just a few of the other languages that we heard, all directed in praise to the King. What a proclamation of the power and glory of God, who is bringing people to himself from all over the world, including in Kuwait!

May we continue to tell of his goodness in our lives and in others.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to our loved ones near and far.

Stephanie & Chris

Christmas Concert 2012

finally got some Christmas decorations around the house.

saw another great AMG performance...featuring the Kuwait Flute Choir, including Chris Freeman

hot drinks, kettle corn, playing games, and laughing at our place afterwards.

priceless times.

the passing months

This year is going so fast!
As a teacher, I feel like there are 1,000 things my students need to know before their winter break, but I'm coming to grips with reality. It's not going to happen, and that's O.K.
I'm really excited that it's winter now, especially in Kuwait, where the temperatures are mild during the day and cool at night. This week, we've had temperatures comparable to Indiana in the evenings. We've enjoyed time with friends at outdoor venues, including our favorite place, UGrill. Usually, we just sit with tea or coffee and sheesha while overlooking the Gulf.

There's a lot to update you all on, but let me just throw out a few quick facts for inquiring minds:

- We're not coming to the States this winter, but we're traveling to Nepal after Christmas. We decided that it would be good to spend our actual anniversary and Christmas together. We're excited to do some hiking and sight-seeing in the mountains.

- We finished our half-marathon race. I was the last female competitor out of 30, but I finished the race and did it in less than 3 hours, which was my goal. That may seem really slow, but considering that the first time I ever ran was in April/May, I think that's pretty good. Chris finished in 2:28, and we were both somewhere in the middle of about 155 competitors.

- I'm really looking forward to our upcoming winter break, which is from December 20th to January 5th. It will be nice to get some time off from school and catch up on the stack of books I've been meaning to read before our travels.