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Christmas – a time to take action and reach out to one another!
Dear brothers and sisters, dear friends of the mission!
We are infinitely grateful to the Lord for the freedom and opportunities we currently have. The past year has shown us how quickly major life changes can prevent us from being part of the community and take away our ability to help one another. Sadly, we must acknowledge that even today many of our brothers and sisters are facing great difficulties. We hear daily of wars, disasters, rising prices, and widespread hardship.
Christmas is a time when we come together and help one another. We are the light of the world. The darker the expectations and the worse the forecasts, the brighter our actions shine.
Jesus says, “I must do the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work” (John 9:4). These words are just as relevant today as they were then! Let's look around; perhaps there is someone in our community who needs help, support, or a kind word? Perhaps in our family, among our relatives, in our neighborhood, or in our town? Not only in our country, but worldwide! We can only achieve this together.
As part of its Christmas campaign, CDH-Stephanus has planned several mission trips. The aim of these trips is to visit numerous Christian communities and offer them spiritual support. We want to learn about the needs of our brothers and sisters on the ground, bring them help, pray with them, and enjoy vibrant fellowship. We want to strengthen our brothers and sisters in faith and serve them. This will foster unity among Christians in the poor countries from which we have traveled. “Remember all the way the Lord your God has led you” (Deuteronomy 8:2).
Young people should have the opportunity to get to know Christians from our Pentecostal movement abroad, to make friends, and to provide practical help to Christians in need. This is precisely what our Christian life is all about, as Paul writes: “In everything I have shown you that by this way we should work hard and help the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus himself, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’” (Acts 20:35).
For all those who would like to financially support the Christmas campaign, there is the opportunity to be a great blessing to poor people in Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Asia (Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and southern Kazakhstan) with just €18. Our brothers will personally deliver our gifts and organize the Christmas campaign on site. Please pray that the Lord will protect our brothers on their journey and enable them to be a blessing.
Finally, we would like to introduce an invisible yet invaluable service. Each of us is welcome to participate in this Christmas campaign, regardless of our financial situation or our mental and physical abilities. This service is prayer, which sustains our mission and our work! Corrie ten Boom once expressed it this way: "The greatest thing we can do for one another is to pray for one another."
In the next issue, we will report in detail on the distribution of food parcels to families, the "Shoeboxes for Children" campaign, and on trips abroad as part of the Christmas campaign.
We appreciate your prayers, your numerous participation in our Christmas campaign, and wish you a blessed Christmas!
Board of Directors of CDH-Stephanus
More information about the project and the opportunity to donate: