Christmas 2010 greeting


Alex & Brenda Awad

Dear friends and family,


Christmas greetings of peace, joy and love and all the best for a Happy New Year!

We thank God for you and your support to the ministries we serve—Bethlehem Bible College, East Jerusalem Baptist Church, and the Shepherd Society.

Reflecting on some highlights in 2010 reminds us of God's ever constant love and faithfulness. In March, we were pleased to be a part of the first ever international conference for BBC entitled, Christ at the Checkpoint: Theology in the Service of Peace and Justice. With around 500 participants it was very successful and has encouraged us to have a 2nd conference in 2012. For further information, visit the college's website: www.bethbc.org.

We were delighted in May to have a visit from our son, Basem, and his fiance’ Pim. During their visit it was our joy to host a reception for them in anticipation of their wedding on January 9, 2011 in Bangkok, Thailand. Basem met Pim while she was studying for her Doctor's degree in the computer field at the University of MD. When she returned to her home country, Basem also moved to Thailand and has been teaching English at Thammasat University for the past year and half.

In early June we traveled to Germany to speak on behalf of the college and the Shepherd Society. Rev. Alex Kajnath, pastor of the Grafing Lutheran Church, arranged our schedule with various hosting churches and Christian organizations. We were received warmly and were happy that Alex was able to share, and hopefully enlighten others, about the realities of the church and politics of the ME. While in Germany, we visited Alex’s sister Diana and her husband Werner, as well as their son Tobias, his wife Connie and their baby Phillip. In addition, we made a short trip to Switzerland staying near Thun, at the foothills of the Alps. A wonderful Christian lady named Heidi Müller invited us to stay in her apartment while she was in Palestine. What a great blessing! The country side and mountains were very beautiful.

Afterward, a visit by our son Randy made our summer extra special. Before he left, we visited Tiberius and the upper Galilee, the Dead Sea and spent a few days in Aqaba on the Red Sea.

In December, we plan to celebrate a late Christmas and two birthdays (grandson, Skylor-3-and son, Randy-26) in Thailand with our daughter, Christy and husband, Dave. Sky’s birthday is Dec 25th and Randy’s is Dec 28th. This will lead up to the wedding of Basem on Jan 9th. We look forward to a lot of family, as well as friends, joining us for this celebration. Details for the wedding can be found on:
www.basemandpim.blogspot.com.

We are so thankful for all the blessings of 2010, right down to the month of December. In particular, Alex discovered he had some blockage in an artery leading to the heart and the problem was quickly resolved after several exams that led to his having a Cardiac catheterization procedure and the insertion of a stent.

In conclusion, we wish you a very blessed Christmas full of the joy of the season!


Alex and Brenda