{"id":178,"date":"2010-12-24T23:45:35","date_gmt":"2010-12-25T03:45:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/clauson\/2011\/02\/07\/post\/"},"modified":"2011-05-31T13:07:33","modified_gmt":"2011-05-31T17:07:33","slug":"december2010","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/clauson\/2010\/12\/24\/december2010\/","title":{"rendered":"Praying for a White Christmas&#8230;"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure style=\"width: 139px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"margin: 4px 9px\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2010\/12\/MN-snow.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"139\" height=\"194\" align=\"right\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Playing in the snow<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>We are currently in the U.S. and will be celebrating Christmas and the New Year with family and friends. We are guaranteed to have plenty of \u201cwhite\u201d this holiday season. \u00a0 In Monterrey, too, people are hoping for a \u201cWhite Christmas\u201d. \u00a0Of course, they are not pining for a snow fall; rather, they are praying that their families, neighborhoods and city would experience a holiday season of peace. \u00a0Please join us and our brothers and sisters in Mexico in praying that Monterrey and the rest of the nation would experience the kind of peace that is defined not only by the absence of violence, but by the presence of Jesus.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Oh God, help us to work to free the world from the scourge of war, violence, and hatred. \u00a0May we rededicate ourselves to living faithfully the Gospel of peace, love and forgiveness. \u00a0 Amen \u00a0 (An Advent Morning Prayer)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Thankfully, there does seem to be some slight improvement in recent weeks in regards to the security situation in Monterrey. <!--more--> The roads and highways are now better controlled by the police and military (we even drove the highway to the border last week, something that had previously been off limits.) However, even if there is improvement in the big picture, there is a deterioration in the situation in many of the marginalized neighborhoods as rival cartels battle for territory and recruits.<\/p>\n<p>This reality has at times hurt participation in the ministries of the Family Development Foundation as people choose to stay home rather than risk walking the streets down the hill to our door. \u00a0At the same time, it has made the Family Foundation\u2019s community ministries all the more relevant.<\/p>\n<p>The last weekend in October, we arrived at the Foundation for a costume party planned by the families of Dos Cerros. \u00a0As we got out of the car, we heard a helicopter cycling nearby &#8212; a sign that there most likely had been another shoot-out in the neighborhood and the military trying to survey what\u2019s happened. \u00a0We were certain no one would come that afternoon, that the families would hunker down in their homes. \u00a0But no&#8230;slowly but surely, the families began to arrive, dressed in costumes and ready for fun and fellowship. \u00a0We began to see how much the ministry of the Family Foundation means to these families.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"margin: 4px 9px\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2010\/12\/Keyla.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"127\" height=\"251\" align=\"left\" \/>We finished off the year with several posadas (Christmas parties) and our annual volunteer dinner. \u00a0With around 60 volunteers in attendance, we celebrated their service to Christ and their neighbor and the many ways God is at work in and through us all together. Keyla, a 17 year old young woman, who lives in the very conflictive neighborhood of \u00a0La Campana, gave her testimony. \u00a0Like many of the people involved at the Foundation, she is both an active participant in the youth club and a volunteer. \u00a0She shared with us the blessings she has received while serving the forgotten children in her community. \u00a0It is a joy to be a small part of her life and so many other people\u2019s lives while we watch them grow in their faith and service.<\/p>\n<p>Now, we are enjoying the gift of being with family for the holidays. \u00a0And, we are waiting and watching for the Christ-child to come. \u00a0We are praying for us all &#8212; friends and family in the U.S., Mexico and around the globe &#8212; to experience a \u201cwhite Christmas\u201d filled with joy, hope, peace, love and Christ\u2019s presence.<\/p>\n<p>With hearts full of love and gratitude,<br \/>\nNils, Erika, Matias and Lucas Clauson<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-report-this\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/clauson?moderation_action=report_form&object_type=post&object_id=178&width=250&height=300\" class=\"thickbox\" title=\"Report This Post\">Report This Post<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We are currently in the U.S. and will be celebrating Christmas and the New Year with family and friends. We are guaranteed to have plenty of \u201cwhite\u201d this holiday season. \u00a0 In Monterrey, too, people are hoping for a \u201cWhite Christmas\u201d. \u00a0Of course, they are not pining for a snow fall; rather, they are praying [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[545,27955],"class_list":["post-178","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-fundefam","tag-monterrey"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Praying for a White Christmas... - Clausons in Mexico<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/clauson\/2010\/12\/24\/december2010\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Praying for a White Christmas... - Clausons in Mexico\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We are currently in the U.S. and will be celebrating Christmas and the New Year with family and friends. 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