Chris writes: Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all!! Christmas in a different place yet alone a different country sure is strange and i must admit i found it difficult to get into the 'Christmas mood' and to think of it as us celebrating it away from UK. In addition we have even had some of that white stuff! A white Christmas! How amazing!! Our struggle remains the language and will probably continue to be so. Despite having said that when we arrived here seven weeks ago it seemed such a mountain for us to climb in terms of adjusting and getting to know our roles and the people that it is amazing to think what we have done in such a short space of time. We now have our boxes from the UK and are enjoying seeing our personal stuff around us and the place becomes much more like home. We have many good friendships out here now and will enjoy spending some time with them especially over the next week or so. Dave & Cindy have now left us for around two and half months so this will be the testing time for us, though the nursery is closed at the moment until 12th January there are always jobs to be done. We hope that we will be able to get a few days away for a break the week after next. So almost two months in and we feel fairly settled and are even adjusting to the erratic electricity supply which is particularly strange tonight - on and off every ten minutes or so. It would never happen in the UK - but then we are in Kosova and consider it a privledge to be here. Looking at the vast array of stars the other night - a sight i have not seen in a little while - made me think of that verse in Psalms 8: "when i consider the heavens...the moon and the stars....what is man that You are mindful of him...." Wow!! What a God! That is the most important thing - not our ministries but our relationship with God. How amazing!!

Lorraine writes- Today was the last day of Kindergarten for 2008. We re-open for the kids on Jan 12th, so the next three weeks will be very quite with out them and the staff here! Its been a joy getting to know the kids and staff over the last 6 weeks; learning about their culture and how they live and trying to learn their language. Having a break over Christmas and New Year will give us more time to get really settled and plant our feet firmly on the ground. I've found it hard to settle, but I guess moving anywhere new, especially a new country, does take time. Thank you for your kind words of encouragement. Life for a women here in Kosova is very different than in the west. I have to respect the traditions and learn to adapt to a new way of life. Now that we have our boxes, which arrived last week safe and sound, with our personal belongings in, its making the place feel really like home :-) Putting ones thoughts down isn't as easy as I thought it would be. But as Christmas arrives and with the New Year almost here, I'm praying that 2009 will be an amazing year where I can truly communicate whats on my heart. I pray that it will be a year of blessings and one where I will grow in faith and grace and serve the people of Krushe e Vogel/Kosova well. I endeavour to not get so worried about things and take one step at a time; to enjoy the surroundings and to develop deeper relationships with friends. We love to receive emails and post, so if you have any free time to write, we'd love to hear from you. Lots of love to you all and MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR xxxxx

Well we have now past another milestone and have been here over a month and settling into a routine. It has been a busy weekend with Dave & Cindy away in Greece over the weekend. first thing on Friday we had a problem with the heating then we had a call to say our Christmas parcels had arrived at the border so i had to drive to Mitrovice. From there i had to go back to Pristine but we got stuck in heavy traffic and by the time we arrived the office had closed early for the holiday weekend! That is Kosova! Went to another church run by a UK couple on Sunday and Monday for the holiday we visited the staff in thier homes and ate Baraclav - a sweet cake for the holiday time - a tough and filling day!! Dave & Cindy were back on Monday night and before dawn on Tuesday we were back to sort the parcels out. After another long day we got the parcels to our village around 6pmish - that's life! Still it is so good to be in the centre of God's will!!

Chris writes: it is hard to imagine but we have been here almost one month. We are settling into life here in Krushe and starting to take the people and the place to our hearts. We are finding out our roles and beginning to feel more at home. Dave and Cindy have been great - so patient and gentle with us - but are preparing to leave us in a few weeks! We did get to celebrate thanksgiving with them last week - wow! I have now driven the auto a fair bit and am getting to know where things are and also my way round Prizren - our nearest big town for banks and things. The weekend was flag day - an extra day off to celebrate the independance from Turkey and some traditional dancing and stuff at the school. We visited another church on Sunday - a good friend and brother is the pastor - a very humble local guy. Hopefully this weekend we will visit a church run by a couple from UK. It really is hard to think we have only been here for a month. The big one is the language for me and would appreciate your prayers for retention! The weekend could be busy as the Christmas parcels are due to arrive and am unsure at the mo how this will work out and whether we will have to go to the border to meet the truck or not.....