Dear Friends and Loved Ones,
We greet you once more in the wonderful and beautiful name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, whose birth we again celebrate in this festive season of Christmas.
We are always delighted to receive cards and letters from you at this time of year. One letter recently said, “You sure did a lot of traveling last year.” Well, nothing compares to what we did this year. David, as president of the CFO International board, felt a desire to visit some of the people we have had the privilege of meeting over the years at CFOI events in Peru, the Philippines, and in Seattle, last year, as well as those who have been on the Zoom call with CFOI on Thursday nights the last few years.
So, early in the year, we looked at a globe and at the list of folks we wanted to see, and realized that if we went around the world, going west, we could see them all. He spent the next 6 months planning, making reservations for flights and hotels and cab rides and sending funds to various people to take care of us on our visit with them.
Then, it was off to Fiji, to see a dear friend, Monica Raghwan and her family, as well as some of the CFOers in her area.
Sept. 17, we took a plane to Hawaii, where we made an attempt at adjusting to the time change and enjoyed the scenery, the flowers, the volcanoes and beaches of the big Island of Hawaii, and Waikiki Beach on Oahu.
We went next to New Zealand, in particular to see Frank Rigg and his wife, Gwen. They are 99 and 93, respectively, and we enjoyed our visit with them very much. We took a walk in a beautiful city park and toured the Hobbiton movie set for the Lord of the Rings series.
In Australia, we attended the Brisbane CFO event on Bribie Island and then spent a few days at the Gold Coast with CFO friends.
We facilitated training two days in the Philippines, and joined Pastor Mannix at his church on Sunday for a
beautiful service.
The youth at the training were such a blessing! One shared how coming to the training had renewed his desire to make changes in his life to follow Christ with new passion.
We attended the South Asia Regional camp and meeting in India, hosted by Nirmal Chandappa. We thoroughly enjoyed the camp, and were treated like royalty there. David received a long, orange shirt, and I was dressed in a gorgeous pink and gold sari, that I brought home with me.
We visited three countries in Africa: Uganda, Malawi, and Kenya. In each country, we reacquainted with people we knew and were graciously hosted by Ruth Mutesi and her husband Stephen in Uganda, by Pastor Harvey Chabinga in Malawi and by Joash Ligami in Kenya.
We attended a CFO One-day event in each place. Each was well-attended, very spirited and inspiring. We were given African clothing and jewelry, peanuts and pictures as well as lots of Love and hugs.
In Uganda, we also visited the Kibaale Primary School, which many of you support. They were very grateful to see us and to know that, since the passing of Pastor Charles Kunya, the founder of the school, we are still committed to doing all we can to see that the 500 children of the school are cared for. We looked at the playground land that was recently purchased. It still has corn growing on it, but after that is harvested, it will be converted. We also checked on the 10 acres of maize that the school is growing to help feed the children. It is doing well!
The trip back to the states was very long, so we broke it up by stopping in Athens, Greece, for two days. The first evening out, David’s cell phone was pick-pocketed. We were sick, knowing that not all of his photos and videos and interviews had made it to the I-cloud. But, others around the world have sent some replacements, so all was not lost. We returned home in time to vote on November 5.
So, that was the big deal of 2024. In over 32,000 miles, nine countries and many different beds, we were blessed all along the way as Father directed our steps. We are thankful for the prayers of our family and friends.
We also made a few trips north and east to see family and friends, and we attended three CFO camps, in Florida, New York and Georgia, in February, May and July, respectively.
We also spent a week with David’s family at the beach. Sunsets are always beautiful and the time together is always a blessing. Food, games projects. And, just relaxing by the ocean. Next year Martha’s family will join us we hope.
We planted the usual big vegetable garden and harvested bushels of squash and beans and cucumbers and melons and tomatoes, along with a few peppers and sunflowers and some basil, a few okra and one carrot. That is all that came up from a whole row of seeds.
I finished a huge quilt in September, and am working, now, on smaller quilts for the Christian City mission just south of Atlanta.
We have hosted various people in our home this year, most recently, Pastor Harvey, from Malawi. He was a ray of sunshine.
We welcomed my second great-grand child into the world. Easton Haliniak was born on June 26. We got to see the cute little fellow in August when we went north for a wedding, and again at Thanksgiving. We were blessed to be with both of my daughters and a bunch of family at that time.
And now, we are preparing for Christmas. We saw the movie, “The Greatest Christmas Pageant Ever” with my daughter, Jennifer, and her husband, Mike. It is worth it, if you get a chance to see it. We have attended two Christmas concerts. I made 6 loaves of Stollen, a German Christmas bread. We decorated the tree and the bushes out front. I have done no shopping. NONE. Oh, well. Christmas will come, ready or not.
Have a blessed Christmas, each one of you, and a happy and prosperous New Year, 2025 Can you believe it?
Love, Martha and David
