"Season of Births...

This past Christmas we had many opportunities to share with others the true meaning of Christmas. On five different occasions we shared through Clown Ministry. We performed a skit, "The True Meaning of Christmas," at a high school and twice at a Kindergarten. The purpose of the skit is to show that the birth of Jesus is the real meaning of Christmas. (This skit is available on the Honk Kong Mission Web under "Clown Ministry.") 

Janine also helped the Clown Troupe at Shatin Swatow Baptist Church use their clowns when they went Christmas caroling in the neighborhood around the church on Christmas Eve. This is the second group she has trained this year. The first group used clown ministry on a short mission trip to Vietnam this past summer. 

We received an early Christmas gift from the First Baptist Church in Muscatine, Iowa. They made several clown costumes for use in Clown Ministry here in Hong Kong. It sems they had lots of fun making the costumes; we saw
pictures of them modeling the costumes before they sent them to us. We appreciate their gift very much.

John literally "got his feet wet" when he was asked to assist in a baptism service before Christmas. He helped baptize three new believers from Shatin Swatow Baptist Church, along with new believers from two other churches.
Christmas is an appropriate time for new believers to publicly announce their new life through baptism. 

People in Hong Kong tend to be pretty open to hearing the Gospel, but busy schedules and pressure to earn more money sometimes keep them from accepting God's love. Often people accept Christ as their savior but delay
baptism.   When a person finally decides to be
baptized, they have become fully committed to their Christian faith and it is a very joyous time.

We found it exciting to participate in this very happy time. (You will find a multimedia slide show of the baptism service on our Web site.)

We awaited the Birth...

Our first child, Katelyn Innis was born February 3, 2000. Throughout Janine's pregnancy, we learned some interesting Chinese customs and superstitions related to pregnancy and birth. At times the advice on what Janine can and cannot eat and do has overwhelmed us. But we know that all of the advice is given to us out of love and care.

She was told not to eat watermelon or bananas during the first three months of her pregnancy. When it got hot outside, people advised her not to drink
cold drinks. Since Katelyn's arrival, we've received additional advice. For one month, Janine should not go out of the house, wash her hair, or eat beef, duck or goose. Avoiding duck and goose won't be hard, but "Farmer" Janine probably will eat some beef. 

We, too, have a few superstitions. We often think we can gain greater prosperity or better health by doing "good' things for God. But the only real truth we have is that God is with us and will help us through whatever
happens. God's love is real and can help us overcome all of our
uncertainties!

Prayer Concerns:

* Pray for us as we begin our life as new parents. Pray for our new little girl, Katelyn Innis Gravley.
* Pray for more Clown Ministry training opportunities and for a greater awareness of this tool for evangelism.
* Pray for our work with Shun Tin and Fung Tak Children and Youth Centers. We are undergoing some changes in this service.
* Pray for Shatin Swatow Baptist Church as the congregation looks for a new pastor.
* Pray for us as we continue to study Cantonese. 

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