Kuira!

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas celebrating the birth of our Savior. We were so blessed to have my whole family down this Christmas, as my parents and siblings have now moved here permanently. It was truly a joy to spend the holidays with family!
This past month was buzzing with activity as we were planning and attending various Christmas concerts, events and activities. A local small group held a Christmas party for our students on the 3rd of December. The students had a lot of fun! One of the biggest blessings we can give others is our time, and the students were blessed as this group took the time to play games and eating with them… of course they loved receiving the gift at the end as well. 
On the 11th, we had our annual Christmas program, where the students performed the songs and skit they had practiced for the past month. Our students were very nervous, but they did a wonderful job and we were so proud of them! You can see a video of one of our students singing on our Instagram page “Oaks of Righteousness” 
On the 15th we celebrated our last school day by going to the trampoline park and eating pizza. It was a lot of fun to see the excitement on these children’s faces, as most of them wouldn’t have the opportunity to go otherwise. At the end of the party, we hugged our students good-bye and prayed over them as they go into vacation. Please join us in praying for God’s protection over them as many return to the mountains and will be exposed to excess drinking as they celebrate in the mountains.
 
This past month we were also so blessed to have a nurse and doctor come in twice. Once to teach the students about Alcohol and Substance Abuse; once to speak to the Jr. High students about sexual diseases. The Jr. High students were a little uncomfortable with the subject, yet we are so thankful that we have Christian professionals who are willing to walk the students through this subject with knowledge and wisdom, not only from science, but also from the Word of God. Since many Tarahumara youth get involved sexually at a very young age, we felt it was very important to help the youth understand what risks are involved in those choices. Please pray for the many youth that are so desperately seeking love. Pray they would come to understand the love of God that alone can satisfy their longing. Also, please pray for our youth in the school, that they will make different choices than the ones they see around them.
On the 21st, Sandra (our teacher in school) and I went to the mountains for 2 nights. It was truly a joy and encouragement to spend time with Ana Cristina and hear about what the Lord is doing in her community. She shared about how her family is opening up to the gospel and are asking many questions. She asks for prayers, that God would give her wisdom and courage to answer their questions. Also, please pray for the community, as there are people pushing to bring back old traditions of rituals and sacrifices. Please pray for Ana, as she will need to address this in an upcoming meeting.
Lastly, I want to finish with the encouragement I’ve received while reading “Laugh Again by Charles Swindoll”. I have been learning a lot about having a positive mindset and how we can find joy in the everyday things, even if they are mundane or difficult. He shared about Paul’s mindset in Philippians 1:12: Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. 13 As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. 14 And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear. It can become so easy to become discouraged or negative when we focus on the things that don’t go right, but what a beautiful example Paul left us of how we can be joyful in all circumstances! Thank you so much for taking the time to read this newsletter! Thank you for all your prayers and support, they are so much appreciated! God bless and Happy New Year!!  -Amanda