Dear "Santa"

Hey all! Writing you from the Land of Gold- Ghana! Yes, we got to go home for Christmas! This is thanks to incredible donors who bought our tickets for us, as we could not afford the tickets on our own. We are especially grateful as we haven't seen my sister Rebecca and her husband Binoy and their kids in 3 years! They are missionaries in India, doing a tremendous job serving the Lord there. We know we are going to be tremendously encouraged here and find times of refreshing both physically (can you say Mom's pecan pie?) and especially spiritually. Join us in thanking God for such a blessing!

Remember as a kid writing your Christmas wish list? Personally, I usually wished for toys, especially toy guns, action heros, army men or maybe even a Game Boy (remember the old monochrome ones). Well, over the years, I have matured a bit (though I still like having a Nerf Battle with my kids). As our ministry has expanded this year, our wishes (or rather needs) have also expanded. Here is our grown up Christmas list. Maybe you can help fill "Santa's" shoes? :D 

>More people praying for us. Could we get 100 people to take 1 minute a day and pray for our ministry? This is a really simple thing, but is of huge importance! Could you commit to praying for us every day, even for just a moment. Pray for our work, for our health, for those we minister too... you can keep up with our blog also to stay current with our prayer needs. 

>More people to visit us! We are always encouraged by visitors, showing them our work and country and watching them be encouraged by what God is doing in Cameroon. We always want more visitors! You can visit for a week, a month, even longer! We really believe you would be just as blessed as we would be too... so this is a 2 for 1 Christmas wish! :D 

>People to spread the word about our work in Cameroon. With me growing up in Ghana and Brittney coming to Christ latter in life, we don't know a whole lot of places where we can share about our work in the United States. Generally, most places won't have us share if they don't know us... but they might know you! If you can talk to one or two people about our work, steer them to our blog or just put in a word for us... it wouldn't cost you anything but a few breaths! :D 

>Sponsors for our Schoolkids. We have 14 kids (if you don't count our own 3). For them to have top-notch, Christ-centered, character building education costs us about $600 a year per student in curriculum costs and teachers' salaries (for French, Computers, and starting next year, Cameroon History and Geography- these are taught by well-trained Cameroonian teachers). This is really not that much when you consider the caliber of education these kids receive. Their parents already cover part of their transportation costs as well as uniforms and food, and our coworkers the Harrises cover the cost of the school building. Would you consider sponsoring a child for $50 a month? If you are interested, we can send you a schoolkid's picture and a little bit about them so you can pray for them specially. 

>Help us get to the States! We are really excited to see you all! However, this time, it has been difficult to save up for our tickets as we usually do. Some of our supporters had to withdraw their support due to financial difficulties, while at the same time our mission expenses have gone up as our mission has expanded. To be blunt, we do not have the cash on hand to buy our tickets as of now. They are going to be about $900 per person one-way (about $9000 total). You would like us to be able to come see you right? :D This year, we have depended on special gifts to stay afloat financially due to our growth and concurrent loss of support. So far God and His people have always come through and despite the operating at a monthly deficit, we have never really had to go into debt. We do though need to buy our tickets fairly soon, as prices start to rise the closer we get to our departure date, and at the same time, oil prices are at a 7 year low right now. If you could think of us as you do your Christmas shopping, God can use you to continue to enable us to carry out His mission in Cameroon. 

>Thanks for reading and God bless!