Monday, January 9, 2012

LIEDSTRAND 2011 Christmas Letter





All’s well in the Liedstrand apartment “down under.” We’ve been here in Australia for 4 whole years – we’ve set a record for living in one place the longest ever, now that the kids have moved out.
All the girls are here in our itty-bitty 2 bedroom apartment for the next 4 weeks! We’re squishing in the kitchen that’s made for one – we’re walking all over the City, along the river walks in the 75-80 degree weather, neither hot nor cold. The Christmas music is on, we’re visiting friends….it’s almost feeling like “home” here in Oz.
One of my goals was to get all our girls graduated by next May….they are all graduating!!! Hooray. Holly has her Masters in Intercultural Studies, Julie her Masters in Teaching, and Krista her undergrad in Education. What more could they want? Another Masters??? They always keep us guessing.
Holly is continuing on at Liberty Uni as a graduate assistant for Women’s Ministry. She is now working on her Master’s of Divinity… another 2 years of seminary. She hopes to someday go back to Africa to work with street children. Holly and Julie also stay busy working with inner-city children of downtown Lynchburg. They just had a big Christmas event where many children came and were entertained by a rapper, break-dancers and of course heard the Christmas story. Keep Holly in prayer as she is going on a mission trip to Nepal May 15th-Jun 20th.
Julie has kept very busy between her studies and inner-city ministry. She will be student teaching this spring. She also stays busy salsa dancing and studying Hebrew and French.
Krista got a fluffy white Pomeranian puppy named, Buddy who keeps her on her toes. She is graduating this May and then student teaching in the fall. Pray for her summer plans, as she has none at the moment.
Dennis has us guessing too. After finishing the big Study for a copper project in Papua New Guinea, he’s out in space awaiting his next position. We all have our guesses as to where he will go next, but one thing is certain – it will still be in Australia.
Brian is fortunate to be away from the Christmas rush….well actually away from anything to do with Christmas….out in Afghanistan. He gets up from a good day’s sleep to begin work at midnight, starting with yummy left-over dinner from the night before. If it’s not too busy, he can take a work-out break. Lunch comes at breakfast-time, then dinner at noon – time to get off work. 12-hour days, 7 days a week, right through Christmas & New Years, no decorations allowed. Back to the good ‘ole USA in March, and back to Civvie life in June. Ahhhhhhh.
No big trips last year (except a trip to New Zealand), no big events (except I saw the Queen of England), no weddings or grandkids. Not even coming. So I am writing a book about all our past adventures. Look for a little eBook coming soon on Amazon.com…..
Let us all remember the “Reason for the Season,” and endeavour to “Keep Christ in Christmas,” now and forevermore.

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