city cry

Luke 2:9-11 "An angel of the Lord appeared to the (shepherds), and the glory of the Lord shown around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to yu; He is Christ Jesus the Lord."
I love the Christmas season. I love being able to celebrate it with kids and teens. It is a time of love and thankfulness; a time when we can come together to glorify God for all He has done for us. For the past 11 years I have celebrated with kids in Chicago, but this year I got to celebrate internationally with kids here in the Philippines.
I work with teens in a group called TOFFiC Band (teens on fire for Christ) and you already heard in an earlier article how we took them out to eat. Yesterday, Dec. 22, we had a Christmas party at Project Destiny with the street kids. They heard the story, sang songs praising God, ate a great feast, and received gifts which included a shirt, sandals, a toy, and other practical things they could use in their lives on the street. We had around 50 that came and together we had a good time. Please continue praying for these young lives. This party lasted from 8 am to 1:00.
Next came our party in Golden Ribbon, my old neighborhood, with the younger kids from 3 to around 12. We met in the yard of our old apartment, joining our landlord there who also invited kids. I had around 45 kids come who I work with, and there were around 45 or 50 others from the other group. Kids were everywhere. We introduced them, sang songs and had a few special praise dances put on by the kids themselves. Then we played several group games and had prizes for them. There was a sack lunch and a gift at the end for them. Together they brought glory to God as well. I know that God the Father must sit in heaven with a huge smile on His face when He sees and hears children praising Him.
Being here, it was my first Christmas away from my family and I did miss them. It was an honor to be here with the kids though and to also celebrate my first Christmas with my new wife. Merry Christmas to all of you. Hope you have a wonderful time too.