And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
Luke 2:10-11 (ESV)
This past month or so, I (Ryan) have been reflecting on joy and what it looks like to live with joy in the midst of the brokenness and darkness of the world around us. I admit that in the past year I have especially felt weighed down by the circumstances that beat and batter our neighbors and the ways in which addictions have such tight holds on the lives of those around me. I have been angered and disheartened by the ways that those who wear the name of Christ ignore the needs of the poor, foreigner, widow and orphan. I have felt insignificant and weary as organizations and government agencies have made decisions and taken actions that have greatly impacted my family’s lives and the lives of others I care for, leaving us with great levels of uncertainty.
As a result, over the course of this past year I discovered that my joy in life was gone. I was left with a level of numbness and a feeling of certainty that things would continue to get worse in the world around me. In a difficult and challenging conversation with Erin, she with the help of the Holy Spirit, helped me see that my focus had been far too often on the circumstances of brokenness, pain, weakness, unfaithfulness and death instead of on the one who is the source of all joy, love and hope and who offers healing, strength, and life.
The following week, while visiting our friend in Guinea-Bissau, my parents and I reconnected with our dear friend who lives there. In her work she is surrounded by darkness, sickness, death, loneliness and great hardships, yet she is the most joyful person I know. Spending time with her in conversation about the joy she exudes challenged and encouraged me to take my eyes off of the circumstances that surround me and to choose to respond in gratitude to God for his presence with us and the work that he is doing in the world all around us. While pondering these conversations last week I was reminded of Psalm 16:11 says of God “… in your presence there is fullness of joy…”.
The night that Jesus was born, the angels brought a message to the shepherds of “good news of great joy”. They were told to go and look for the child who was the “Savior” for “all the people.” In the midst of the harsh circumstances of their lives as poor shepherds, living under the oppression of the Romans, excluded from their own communities due to their jobs, they were told to go and find the source of life, God in human form as a baby, and to share this message of hope and joy with everyone that they met. They were told to carry the message of Emmanuel, God’s presence with us, in the very midst of our circumstances, bringing light, hope and joy into the darkness.
Top Left: A selfie with new friends
Top Right: Ryan teaching English at the school our friend started
Bottom Left: Playing games with the school kids
Bottom Right: The village in Guinea-Bissau at sunset
The day that I returned back to Scotland, I received word that the young man who had lived with us for three months back at the end of 2021 and who had become a dear friend had died unexpectedly. As a family we mourn the loss of his life yet we are filled with gratitude that God had brought him into our lives. We take comfort that through our friendship he met Jesus and fell in love with him. We are filled with great sadness but we also experience a sense of joy that he is now with Jesus and that the hardships he experienced throughout his life are at an end.
As a part of InnerChange we make seven commitments when we become fulltime staff. One of our commitments is to Celebration and the poem written below helps remind us of how we choose to live in a way that turns our focus away from the circumstances and towards Christ who is the source of our joy and celebration.
I will celebrate the light of Christ in a world of darkness
the life of Christ in a culture of death
the liberty of Christ in a kingdom of captivity and
the hope of Christ in an age of despair
I will rejoice always and in everything give thanks.
After playing games with the school kids they sang a song to say thank you.
InnerChange (our missional order) has released our Annual Ministry Report. Many of you will have received something similar from Novo if you have supported us financially this past year which covers all of Novo’s ministries, however this InnerChange report is specific to us as an order. The report shares both the numbers and some really encouraging stories of God at work around the world from missionaries within InnerChange in communities like ours.
Dinner with our friend Malte in Dakar, Senegal
Thank you for your prayers for me and my parents covering us on our trip to Senegal and Guinea-Bissau. We had a wonderful time reconnecting with longtime dear friends, made new friends and had many experiences of God’s goodness, provision and protection. In particular we give thanks that God kept all of us healthy and able to engage in the various activities each day. We also were kept from harm when Guinea-Bissau’s army took control of the government through a coup the day we left the capital. Thank you again for your prayers.
Erin’s father Marc is through his course of chemotherapy and it accomplished what the doctors had intended by preventing the cancer from spreading to other parts of the body. Please keep praying for Marc as he will have an operation in early January to remove his bladder. Erin will travel back to be with her parents for several weeks to help them at home while Marc recovers.
We want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas from Scotland. May you experience the joy of Emmanuel this season and into the coming year in spite of the circumstances around. Thank you for journeying with us this past year and for continuing to support us going forward. We would not be able to do all that we have been called to do without your companionship and support.
