I suppose the virgin Mary would have said she was having a tough time on that very first Christmas. I'm sure Joseph was really upset when he drew the family donkey up to the inn in Bethlehem and found there was no room. Life is tough.

This year has been really tough for our family, and it's still going out in a hailstorm. This year, my parents moved into a retirement home in June, we put their house of 50 years on the market, and then my older sister died of cancer, Dad's left leg had to be amputated in September, and now...

Dad's other leg had to be amputated yesterday! If that's not enough, Dad will be in a nursing home and Mom has to move again to a different apartment between Christmas and New Year!

Praise God, our son Lex got here from college before the worst weather hit Europe -- but it took him 4 days of air travel! His bag didn't make it, though -- we're still waiting after 5 days. We also had a full day this week without electricity or heat.

Yes, life can be tough!

But, Oh, how GREAT a Saviour we have, who is tougher still -- who came into this "world of woe" to conquer death and sin and all Evil -- so that someday, Life will NOT be tough!

JOY TO THE WORLD!

Darlene and Clay have completed thousands of miles of safe travel this summer, and we are on our way back to Ukraine. We were able to make it to Jackson for granddaughter Rivka’s baptism in June, and we’ve had blessed times with Nate & Malaika on and off in our travels. Our youngest son Lex is a Senior at Belhaven, and landed a role at New Stage in Jackson this fall. We enjoyed seeing Ty and Irene in Virginia this summer. She had to travel back to Ukraine this month, however, in order to get a new passport. Matt and Erin came from Seattle to meet us for a weekend in Albuquerque. Clay’s sister Susan passed away this summer from cancer, and Clay performed the funeral. It has been a very difficult summer, on top of all the travel, but the Lord gave us good times with Susan, with Clay’s parents, and with all our extended family. Clay’s 90-year-old father is now in the hospital, and will probably have his leg amputated in coming weeks. We are thankful for the time we were able to spend with Clay’s parents, helping them move to a retirement center and close up their home.

This has been a very hard year. Clay's sister passed away in July, and his father’s leg was amputated in September. Dad has recovered well, and he is now permanently in a nursing home. Darlene returned to the States to help (after spending only 5 days in Ukraine!), but Clay had to stay in Ukraine to preside at seminary graduation. Thus, Clay was alone in Ukraine for a month to teach seminary, then met Darlene in the USA, where we attended the GMC conference in Chattanooga. We also cleaned out Clay's parents home, rented a truck and stored their things, and got their house on the market! That was hard: This is the house where Clay grew up; his parents had lived there for 55 years. So we're glad to be back in Ukraine for Thanksgiving, and we're looking forward to Lex being with us for Christmas.

Darlene is now in Mississippi with our 2 granddaughters – she made it just in time for Kendra’s 3rd birthday! Clay had to stay behind in Kyiv for a 2-week seminary session before heading to the States on June 3rd. We will be traveling all over the Eastern and Southern USA to present the work of the Seminary (Watch the video on our seminary page!). Please pray for safety and health this summer. (See our updated schedule below)