December: The end of the year, hospital visits, Christmas, finals, and fights.

Good Afternoon Friends, Family and Internet Wanderers.

December has been an incredibly difficult month for me. For many people in the church December is difficult due to all the different Christmas responsibilities that surround it. Thankfully Christmas was lovely and not an difficulty at all. For me this past month was difficult with a parent in the hospital, with final papers due, and with unfortunate fighting with friends. However it must be said that it is in these trying times that God shows up so much clearer than others, perhaps it is because I search for Him more earnestly in them. In fact if I were to characterize my feelings after December I would say that I am grateful.

Thankfulness

As some of you may know, my father was in the hospital for over a week with potentially life threatening symptoms. While it is not my place to speak of the particulars of the illness, I am extremely thankful for the prayers offered on his behalf and that he was able to come home. While he has had to make some adjustments as a result of this illness, overall he is in good health and spirits and so I thank God for that.

On that note I am extremely thankful for my support team of friends and family. I am not talking financially here although you are awesome there too. Rather specifically I am thinking of those many people who took time to go out of their way to encourage me this past month. This December I received a bunch of notes, cards, and other kind words; many from people who do not often offer them. All of them were needed and appreciated. Special mention goes out to the person in the office who heard and prayed for me as I was struggling to deal with a toxic relationship. It dawned on me this past month just how privileged I am to have a family who loves and supports me, and friends who seek me out to let me know I am valued. Thank you to all of you for your encouragement and support. Christmas this year was an incredible blessing because of all of you.

While final projects were stressful, I am glad to be done and to be looking forward to next semester. I got my final grades over the Christmas break and am pleased to report that I received my first A in a masters level course, as well as my first B+. As a historically C/B student I am really excited and pleased that my hard work has been paying off.

Prayer Requests,

I have been thinking a lot about what vision God has for the various areas I serve and wondering if  I am going along with it as best I can. My ministry work has been going fairly well as far as I can tell, but I have been feeling like I am missing something. I am not able to put my finger on exactly what I mean, perhaps it is a weirdness around settling into a routine but I am requesting your prayers. Please ask the Lord to show me where He is at work around me and how I can join Him. Please also pray for a sense of direction in ministry, do I continue to lead as I have or do I switch something up. (This is purely a stylistic request. I have no plans or feelings towards changing where I am serving, I just wish to do as good a job as I can where I am)

As indicated above December involved some significant struggles in a few areas. The one which is most troubling for me was the difficulties with friends. I will not go into details but please pray for both myself and my friends, that our relationship would be characterized first and foremost by Gods love and that we would be receptive to one anothers differences in constructive ways.

Finally, I have not received an updated total for my fundraising goal, but I can say that there was a lot of generosity this past month. I am extremely thankful for that and for you dear reader. Please pray that God would continue to provide for me and for those who support me, that we would all be able to experience his abundance so we can share it with others.

God Bless
- Stefan Klassen