December 2007 Update


Vespers at NPC We celebrated the birth of Christ many times during the month. First, at the Vespers Service at Norton Presbyterian Church. Then as we watched “The Angels Sing” , the ABC special filmed at NPC in November, on a Spokane station from 2 to 3 am Christmas morning. Thank you Wayne and the Chamber Singers for your wonderful music, and Janet, Michael, Kathryn, Shelley and Jenifer for your beautiful solos, and the pastors and youth for your scripture readings. (Click on photo for larger image).

On Christmas Eve, we attended a service with Marilyn’s brother Bob and his wife Marilyn at their church. And on Christmas Morning, at St. Martin Church in Heisler, Alberta (where Marilyn was baptized sixty-seven years ago), we attended mass with her brother Gary and his family. This was a sad day for all of them as it was their first Christmas without Aaron, who died in an accident last August.

Matthiessen Clan On Boxing Day, forty out of the forty-seven members of Marilyn’s immediate family gathered at her sister Carolyn’s home. There are two newcomers this year – Garisen, who is five months old, and little Maya Rose, who is just six weeks old.



Winter Wonderland Thank you heavenly Father, for watching out for us as we drove nearly a thousand kilometers through out Alberta to visit family and friends. Thank you too for your snow-covered mountains, your Rocky Mountain Sheep and the elk with huge antlers, your vast prairies, the hoarfrost and winter scenes straight out of Dr. Zhivago, some of which was filmed in Southern Alberta. And thank you that we were able enough to cross-country ski in your winter wonderland, where everything is so peaceful and quiet, and we enjoyed listening to the “sounds of silence”.

Murugi and Karl In Edmonton, we visited with Murugi, who is from Nyeri, Kenya, and her husband Karl. All of us were very concerned about what was happening in Kenya after the elections. Murugi had called her brother in Nairobi, and we had sent e-mails. We felt better a few days later when we got some replies and learned from friends in Nyeri and Kitali that things were ok in those areas. Please pray for peace and goodwill among the Luo and Kikuyu peoples of Kenya.

Murugi has a degree in Forestry from the University of Nairobi, and she now works for the Alberta Forestry Department, monitoring via satellite the effect of pollution on trees world wide.

Our “When God’s Children Need Help” article is in NPC’s January “Spire” – see www.norotonchurch.org/publications/Spire Page 7.