This past Sunday service was great. We held the whole church service downstairs in the fellowship hall. There were a few more than 20 that braved it out in the snow – before the village plows got around to doing their thing. I have a great system going. I drive a car here and they give me a garage to keep it in. But, do I have to shove snow? No, a little old bearded man shows up from out of nowhere in his little old red farm tractor with a bucket on the front. He does the snow removal for me. He is so good that I don’t even have to clear the snow away in order to swing the garage doors open.

Back to church now: We are studying through the Book of Philippians. I gave the overview of the second half of chapter 1. Great scripture. Paul makes that statement, “for me to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Now, that is identification with Christ. Paul views his life in such a way that as he sees his life, he is really seeing Christ from start to end, and therefore, he isn’t clear where he begins and Christ begins. The boundaries aren’t important. It all belongs to Christ and ends in a glory called “gain”.

Back to Church again: We split the groups in half, under the facilitating of two group leaders. These two discussion groups dealt with material and questions taken from a workbook based on the morning scripture. They really discussed issues taken from their own life situations. I stay away from the groups because they need the time for their own free expression, without an outsider’s ear. But I get reports from the leaders, afterward. I am gaining insight into the issues that concern those that live here in this culture. It is neat to think of these Christians here as growing.

It has been snowing for several days now, and the temperatures have been well under freezing. So, this snow cover will be the one that will continue on into the winter. It has been down into the single digit temperatures for several nights. Even now, I heard the snow plow go by. It is early and the plow is to provide a way for the working people to make their daily commute to Storuman and work. There is ice under the fresh snow on the roads - so, drive carefully! What a contrast to Florida. With no wind, the snow builds up on the tree branches and produces a white world of wonder. I walk out into this scene for exercise and find that many other people do that, too. It is so quiet, as the snow dampens any sound. The birds are lively, searching for seeds somewhere in the trees nearby. This is the place to be. Few cars pass by when I go to language school. The lumber trucks are a menace. They are those tandem arrangements with long logs piled high. Worse thing is that these trucks churn up a cloud of snow behind them. As you go by in a car, driving in the other direction, you see and then you don’t see. There are several seconds when all is white. Just look for headlights that might be following behind that truck and be careful. Stay on your side of the road as best you can. But, remember, there is an edge to that road and once off it, there is no easy return. Always pray for travel here. God is everywhere and He is faithful.

Pray for our little Church here at Gunnarn. Please pray that the leaders of the discussion groups will really be training themselves for leadership roles within the church itself – that they may be taking on my role in dealing with the whole program. I won't retire - I will just go on to the next best thing the God provides.

In Christ,

George