Connections

I am thankful for those of you who take the time to send Christmas cards, letters, and photos. Man, do I ever love those! It's such a joy getting interesting mail around this time of year, AND I truly love hearing from all of you -- whether you are my cousin, high school pal, church friend, co-worker, college roommate, or one of Scott's buddies. Sadly, we are cheap and choose to send a holiday email (yet to be released)... it's not that we don't love you, it's that we couldn't possibly afford to send a letter to everyone in our lives who we want to stay in touch with! :)

I love that it's easier than ever to stay in touch and get reconnected with people, even if it's been years since you've communicated with them. My dad is champion of this. He'll call up someone he hasn't spoken to in 30 years (he loves to brag about this) and just resume a conversation, as if this is the most natural thing in the world. Just today, my friend Joe found me online, and I know I haven't seen him in over three years (which is a pretty long time if you're under 30). One of my best friends and I have never lived in the same area--the closest we came was when she lived in Chicago, and I lived (and still do) in Minneapolis. We met at camp and actually wrote letters before the advent of email.

Did you find it interesting that you are the 2006 Time magazine Person of the Year? I haven't read the article, but apparently the human race was chosen for the increased interest in websites like Blogger, Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube. It's amazing that I can get to know virtually any internet personality in the world through these portals. My sister Emily is half-way around the world, and yet she doesn't seem so far away when I visit her sites. Of course, does she update her blog very often? No. (But I'll forgive her for that.)

Among the Bethania Sponsor-a-Child team, we have had a very interesting conversation--both in the US and India--about connecting children and sponsors. We think that Americans enjoy having a personal connection with an individual child, to make their sponsorships more meaningful. On the Indian side of things, there is a viewpoint that children need to be rooted in a sense of community. This is very significant. It is well understood that Eastern cultures place family and community above the self, whereas Western cultures see things the other way around. When you stop and think about it, our Bethania children should feel empowered by the people and resources around them, not dependent on a "distant sugar-daddy." But what is really cool is that prayer is one good way to connect these children and sponsors, and all of us.

I am thankful for you, my friends and family, and I hope that you and I will stay closely connected in 2007. My warmest holiday wishes to you all!