Below is the Christmas letter that I wrote over a week ago on Guam to be published today. Despite the uncertainty that we are faced with today, I still believe this and we will continue to move forward as followers of Christ. We will begin the year with doctors and blood testing and see where we go from there. Have a blessed and merry Christmas.
Owen Christmas Letter 2016
Every Christmas I am amazed by the idea that God Himself actually became a human being. The ancient world had stories of gods taking on human form and, even in the Old Testament, God takes human form to talk with the patriarchs. But as John says "the Word became flesh and lived among us and we saw His glory." The great message of Christmas is that the second person of the Trinity became a human being to communicate God's glory in human form. And not only that, Hebrews 4.15-16 reminds us that the human form (resurrected) is something that Jesus took on for all eternity as our great high priest who ushers us into the presence of God.
This is what Joyce and I are doing as we "incarnate," by the power of the indwelling Spirit, Jesus into Micronesia through the relationships we have here. As Joyce teaches English, bakes cookies, grows gardens and lives her life before the PIU students, she incarnates the glory of God to them. As I teach Bible, preach and administrate the school, what is done in the power of the Spirit ministers and communicates that glory to our PIU family. (John 17.21-23) It is nothing unique to us. It is the calling of every Christian.
We are thankful to you that your support and prayers enable us to show God's glory and work for God's kingdom in Guam and Micronesia. My prayer for you is that you will see God's glory even more clearly in 2017 and that you will communicate God's glorious character with your actions and words to everyone around you. What God does in the heart and life of a follower of Jesus is a tremendous miracle. Thank you for allowing us to share that, as imperfectly as we do it, in this part of the world.
May your hearts be filled with Joy as you meditate on what God has done for you through Jesus Christ.
Blessings and Merry Christmas,
Dave and Joyce
Pacific Islands University
172 Kinney's Drive
Mangilao, Guam 96913
dowen@piu.edu, jowen@piu.edu
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