Dear Friends and Family,
Christmas caroling can be heard everywhere. Can we fully comprehend the coming of God to earth in the form of baby Jesus? On December 19, the little choir we are a part of sang the Negro spiritual “He Come from the Glory” at our Gateway Community Church (a.m.) and at the community service (p.m.); and on Christmas Eve we sang the cantata “He is Born” in the two services of our church.
Many of you had a part in seeing our children grow up, so we want to include their pictures. How grateful we are that we could house-sit in Niverville, next to Deedee and Greg and their 3 teens, for the past two winters. Our oldest grandson, Connor, is studying at the Torchbearers in Capernway, England. Now, during the holidays, he is visiting Hardy’s nieces and nephews and their families in Germany… and in those weather conditions!
Scott and Daralee are constantly on the go with their 6 children. They are an outdoors family. Hardy went ice-fishing twice with them recently.
We happily share Delanie’s great news of her engagement to a wonderful Englishman. She and Max are busily planning their wedding for August 20, 2011, in Kandern, Germany.
Our 10th grandchild, Finlay, will be 2 years old in January. Dorina and Dion have a landscaping and snow removal business which includes the Waterloo-Kitchener Airport. Dion is much in demand these days, sometimes working up to 48 hours around the clock.
Frequently, we are asked if we are going to Micronesia again. As you may recall, we were teaching in the Pacific Islands Bible School on Weno, Chuuk. The larger Bible school with dorms was on the island of Tol and could only be reached by boat. These colleges, as well as the main college in Guam, were up for accreditation renewal. However, the island colleges could not pass the standard and would thereby have hindered Guam. They were temporarily dropped and a rift took place. The dorm college has continued without financial assistance as Faithwalk Christian College. The college in Guam is now Pacific Islands University (see http://piu.edu/). We are so happy to continue to have many contacts with our former students. Please keep the schools and students in your prayers.
Accreditation makes it possible for the students to get a Pell Grant from the States. Chuukese students are still going to Guam for further education. However, they need to pass a TOEFL test. English teachers are needed.
So, are we going to Micronesia again? Well, we just received an invitation from the PIU on Guam to go and teach on the island of Yap this coming spring semester. We are willing; and if all the bureaucracy (visas, medical, airline tickets, course preparation, finances etc.) works out, we should be on our way - probably for 3 months at the most. Please pray with us for the Lord to guide us in all these matters!
Snow is softly falling and the temperature is -30 °C according to the Weathernet on the computer, but we are “snug-as-a-bug-in-a-rug” in our apartment on the 3rd floor of Happy Creek Estates (with a view of the Rockies). The forest where we can go for hikes is almost at our doorstep. We are one block from Hwy 16 (the Yellowhead). Look for the huge Canadian flag at the Husky gas station; we are right behind it. Give us a call (see below), we can meet you or you come here. It would be nice to see you.
Thank you for your Christmas cards, letters, and emails!
Always grateful to the many who have encouraged us through prayer and in numerous kindnesses these many years, we commend you to Jesus our faithful Lord.
May His peace and joy be yours at this Christmastime and throughout 2011!
Hardy and Irene Sunderwald
612-135 Mountain Street
Hinton AB, T7V 0B5 - CANADA
Tel.: +1-780-865-0131
E-mail: sunderwald@yahoo.com
