My Christmas- Diverse Cultures- 1 Jesus

December 27, 2022December 27, 2022 ~ jesusluvsall ~ 31 Comments

Singing Christmas songs like Joy to the World and listening to bible verses being read such as Luke 2:10, “Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people” have a meaning for me that is a concrete reality. This past Christmas was an example of that.

It started on Friday after my English class at the Ukrainian church. I planned to come home after class, but my friends told me the youth were singing in church that night, so I joined them. It was a blessing to watch the children and the youth sing Christmas songs in English and in Ukrainian.

Christmas Eve started off with having lunch with my friend Luis from El Salvador. Then we went to my church for Christmas Eve service and were joined by Alexey and Ruslana from Ukraine. As we sang songs such as Joy to the world and listened to Luke chapter 2 being read, I thought about the blessing I had of sharing Jesus with diverse cultures and Christmas Eve was one such moment. Christmas Day I went to the Christmas service at the Ukrainian church and then had lunch at Alexey and Ruslana’s home.

In the past Jesus has blessed me with sharing Christmas with friends from many countries such as Brazil, Bosnia. Belgium, China, Congo, Germany, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Peru, Vietnam and more. So when we sing songs like Joy to the World and listen to the angel’s message of good news for all people, the all people part gets my attention.

It all underscores for me that there are many cultures in our world, but there is one Jesus who loves all people and died for all people, so they can have forgiveness and eternal life by believing in Jesus.

As I sat in Christmas Eve service with Luis, Alexey and Ruslana, that was my thought as we sang Joy to the World. I was there with friends from two other cultures celebrating Jesus.

Thank you for reading. God Bless.

She Has A Laptop Now

October 18, 2022 ~ jesusluvsall ~ 26 Comments

A friend of mine receives slightly used laptops from people and works on them. Then he gives the laptops to ministries or people in ministry. I emailed him about a single mom from Venezuela I wanted to get a laptop for. Carmin came here with her son in August 2021.. She works hard at a Kawasaki plant here but has a thirteen year old son to provide for and also sends money to her parents. She could not have bought a laptop, but I knew it would help her practice English at home, make it better for her to video chat with her parents, and connect with her son’s school, so I wanted to see her have a laptop.

My friend had a laptop for her. I picked it up early last week, It cost me nothing and cost him only the time he spent refreshing it. I went a Walmart. Yes, for such a worthy purpose I walked in quickly to such a place. I got a violet backpack to put her laptop in.

To have a little fun with it, last Tuesday I told her I had a surprise for her but I could not tell her the surprise because then it would not be a surprise. That gave her most of the week to wonder what the surprise was. Sunday morning in our group, I gave her the backpack and told her to open it. The look on her face was priceless. Then I showed her how to access things for her son’s school.

It feels like a Christmas morning for me when I can see my friends blessed like a few months ago when Samuel was given a guitar by an older couple from church. Seeing the joy on the faces of my friends is wonderful.

Tomorrow my young friend from Ukraine will receive a violin. My friend from church who is the Youth Symphony Director/Conductor will visit my class to bring her the violin. I am SO looking forward to see my young friend Ester’s reaction.

Seeing others blessed is a huge blessing. When someone blesses one of my refugee/immigrant friends, I view it as them also blessing me.

Thank you for reading. God Bless.

That Was Fast- September Flew By

September 25, 2022 ~ jesusluvsall ~ 13 Comments

It’s the last Sunday of September already. It feels like I blinked and September flew by. The saying time flies when you are having fun seems to apply. This has been quite the month. Jesus has blessed me with many opportunities this month.

It started with getting a car earlier this month thanks to generous people. That has allowed me to go to the Ukrainian church to teach on Saturday mornings. We have fun while studying. I love to see their smiles and hear them laugh especially knowing what they have been through.

My morning class started again this month, That certainly adds to time seeming to fly by. It is great to be back with the moms learning English, so they can help their children. They are going to decorate our classroom tomorrow, but something tells me they won’t want my help with that. 🙂

This morning I will see my Hispanic friends at church. We will practice English, sing a few songs in Spanish and pray. This afternoon I will go to a birthday party for an eleven year daughter of friends of mine from Mexico.

With all of this fun I have been having with my friends from other countries, it might be full steam ahead to Christmas. Did I mention there are only 90 shopping days left until Christmas?

Thank you for reading. God Bless.

Labor Day Weekend and Update on Books and Vehicle

September 4, 2022 ~ jesusluvsall ~ 8 Comments

Labor Day weekend is here. For my international readers, Labor Day is the first Monday in September in the USA. In our minds here, it represents the end of summer because it is our last three day weekend with warm weather. When I was a child, it was a sad day because it was the day the neighborhood swimming pool was drained and closed until the next summer.

One Labor Day stands out in my mind. Over a period of about seven years I mentored/tutored a group of young people from Vietnam. One year they were excited to invite me to a picnic/barbecue they were having in a park. Fortunately for them, I showed up. The reason I say fortunately is because they were grilling pork ribs. They took them off the grill too soon. The meat was not cooked thoroughly. I told them, “don’t eat them and put them back on the grill.” They asked why and I explained about what can happen if pork is not cooked properly.

My Labor Day this year is going to be spent online making sure I have all of the details about publishing my book on Amazon researched. Well unless I receive an invite to a picnic. 🙂 Now that my books are wrapping up, I have an idea for another one. So writing might commence tomorrow. My pastor is halfway through my draft of Jesus Understands Trauma. He told me he is “LOVING IT.”

Speaking of my book Jesus Understands Trauma, I chatted with a friend who is fluent in English and Spanish about translating my book into Spanish. She has agreed. After I publish it in English, we will work on the Spanish version.

I am blown away by the generosity of people donating for me to have a different vehicle. I will see my friend Doug this morning at church and talk with him about when to go look. As I sat at a bus stop yesterday, I took note of vehicles driving by. My one thought each time whether they would be easy to get in and out of. As someone living with Psoriatic Arthritis, that is a factor for me.

For my friends in the USA, I hope your Labor Day weekend is blessed and relaxing. For all of my readers, I hope you have a blessed Sunday.

Thank you for reading. God Bless.