"He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end." Luke 1:32-33

Christmas at Gateway Woods can be an interesting time. Many of us have wonderful memories of Christmas that include snow, Christmas trees, presents, (too much) food, hot cocoa and crackling fires. But most of us probably also have memories of caroling, nativities, stories of the birth of Jesus, and prayers of thanks for a promise fulfilled. This time of year is always a reminder that many of the children that we serve do not share these same memories.

While getting the display pieces down from the attic, one of the residents asked what the nativity meant.

Years ago a houseparent told me a story about how their house was working to setup the Christmas nativity display that we have near our campus entrance. While getting the display pieces down from the attic, one of the residents asked what the nativity meant. The houseparent asked if he had heard the story of the birth of Jesus before he came to Gateway, and he had not! How mind blowing, that someone who grew up in Indiana could reach teenage years and never hear the story behind the Christmas holiday. We are so thankful for the opportunity to share that story with children and families that do not know its importance.

As Christmas draws near we ask you to be prayerful for many of the children that we serve. Please pray that this could be a time of healing with their families, and an eye-opening season for all. We will likely only have one Christmas with most of the residents on campus, and we hope that it can be part of a lasting change. Our hope is that in the future, when Christmas time approaches, these residents will remember that this time is not about presents, big dinners and Christmas trees. But instead this is the time where we thank God for doing the unthinkable, coming to earth to fulfill a promise, making Himself of no reputation and blessing all of mankind.

We hope that you have a wonderful Christmas holiday.