SEIZING CHRISTMAS IN CANADA
James and Karen Howard
We are excited and pleased to announce our newest seasonal evangelistic initiative. As you read this letter, an estimated 107,000 Canadian immigrants (arriving between July 1, 2020, and June 30, 2021) have chosen to settle in Ontario. The Toronto area’s municipalities are places regularly recommended for immigrants to settle. No doubt, many of these new residents know very little about the meaning of Christmas. Added with the others, these immigrants represent a beautiful and culturally diverse mosaic.
We are attempting to seize this Christmas season as an opportunity to share Christ with them and others in a distinctive way. This season, we are conveying the message of hope and grace found in Jesus Christ through our new responsive website—ThisisChristmas.ca. The website’s purpose is to impact Canadians everywhere with the Gospel and to promote our church in the communities in which we serve. Its content conveys the truths of the human condition and the need for Jesus Christ with a collection of brief and engaging Gospel articles and other content. Please pray for this effort!
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Office News
While some BIO missionaries have struggled this year with COVID restrictions and travel difficulties, others have enjoyed tremendous spiritual success. We rejoice over the many souls that have been saved and baptized around the world, and we praise the Lord for the local churches that have been established. We are most thankful, however, that our God chose to become a man and dwell with us. “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” (Matthew 1:23) Hallelujah!
Thank you for your faithful partnership with BIO and with Joyce’s Kids. We hope that this Christmas season will be one filled with God’s richest blessings! “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.” (2 Corinthians 13:14)
LATIN AMERICAN DIRECTOR’S YEAR IN REVIEW
Jeff and Sandra Price
Merry Christmas friends and partners! We trust that the Lord is blessing you as we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. This year has passed by rapidly, and a lot is changing in the world in which we live. Fortunately, we worship a God who does not change, and we can remain confident in our salvation and calling! This has indeed been an interesting year that has seen us travel over 50,000 miles as we visited over 60 churches in 27 States. In addition to our travel in the US, we were also blessed to spend time in Bolivia.
Interestingly, the day we returned to the United States, our government put out warnings encouraging Americans to reconsider travel to Bolivia due to the unrest and the pandemic. The same is true in many areas of Latin America. That said, as the Lord opens doors we will be returning to Bolivia next year as well as ministering in Peru, Chile, and Mexico. While in these countries, we will be focusing on leadership development and pastoral training. We are thankful that God is allowing us to partner with you to reach people with the Gospel.