Farnsworth Forum

No, you're not seeing double! Our good friend Juliet made us matching outfits for Christmas, and we enjoyed showing them off at church this morning. Thanks, Juliet! We never looked so good!!!

The Student Life Team of PIU recently celebrated Rob's birthday at Jeff's Pirates Cove. Along with the happiness was mixed a tinge of sadness because the final two members of the Class of 2006 (PIU workers who arrived in 2006) are turning into one. Our good friend Melissa (seated to my right) is leaving Guam for her furlough. When she returns our time at PIU will be finished, and we will be heading off for our furlough and then on to Ecuador. Thanks for the memories, T.M. We will miss you and we look forward to the day when our paths cross again. Lots of love from all the Farnsworths.

Joel and Marisol serve as our resident carwashing specialists. Amelia and I like to offer moral encouragement and take pictures of the proceedings.

On December 19 our "baby" turned four. Where has time gone? Joel was so pleased to have a gift for his little sister. We found this party setup design in Parents magazine, and Marisol duplicated it, beautifully I might add. I have a very creative wife! Joel and Amelia posed next to Marisol's masterpiece. Amelia blew out her candle, all by herself!

Last Saturday I drove the PIU Big Brothers and Big Sisters to their Breakfast with Santa. It was fun to see the "bigs" interacting with their "little" brothers and sisters. Of course, we also had our photo taken with Santa. Here I am with Mary Grace, Mulan, Ransome, and KK. Amelia and Joel helped to bake the Christmas cookies this year. Guess who licked the spoon!!! This picture comes courtesy of our hosts Juliet and Ambros from our cell group's Christmas party. Great food and fellowship. Amelia fell asleep on the way home from the party with her new babies in tow. On Christmas morn the first presents opened were from Uncle Dave and Aunt Joyce, the president and first lady of PIU. Thanks. Our PIU colleagues Mary Lou, Niño, Hartmut, and Urte joined us for Christmas dinner. We had turkey, mashed potatoes with sour cream and cream cheese, crock pot mixed vegetables, bread and butter, cucumber salad, iced tea, cherry pie, ice cream, and applesauce cake. We had a

Although the miles separate us from most of you, our hearts remain near at this Christmas season and always. May you experience the joy that comes from knowing, loving and serving the Prince of Peace! We love you. Merry Christmas and God bless you in 2010. Aunque la distancia nos separa, nuestros corazones están cerca de ustedes durante esta estación de Navidad y siempre. ¡Que experimenten el gozo que viene de conocerle, amarle y servirle al Príncipe de Paz! Les queremos mucho. Feliz Navidad y Dios les bendiga en 2010.

Here's a quick December recap for all you faithful blog readers: Every morning Joel and Amelia open their small Christmas gift, on alternate days, after reading the Bible text from the Christmas story for that day. Joel and Amelia run their very own Christmas card factory. Joel poses with one of his card creations next to the Veggie Tales Nativity scene. These pictures were taken at our last community group function of the semester. We celebrated with three of the students who are December graduates of Pacific Islands University. The PIU Student Council Christmas banquet is always one of the fun events of the school year. Marisol and I are teaching the two-year-olds at Bayview this month. Caitlyn, Josiah, and the rest keep us hopping. I don't hop as fast as I did twenty years ago :) I'm glad for the happy hopping wife! We attended Harvest Baptist Church's Christmas pageant for the fourth straight year and hobnobbed afterwards with our good friend Lisa, the Harvest

Marisol passed her road test this morning! She is an official Guam Intermediate Driver's License holder. I am very proud of her hard work, and we are thankful to the Lord for answering our(and your) prayers. She told me afterwards that she wasn't even nervous. You mean, I was the only one!!!

We put up and decorated our Christmas tree today. This was the earliest we've ever done it. It was fun to work together as a family as we listened to Christmas music, even though it doesn't feel like winter here. It's supposed to be the dry season, but it's been raining much of the weekend. Here's a picture before. . . . . .and after!

We have a friend at our church that we enjoy talking to. Miss Essie is one of the founding members of Bayview Baptist Church. Her husband was a full commander during World War 2, and he and Miss Essie became good friends of General and Mrs. Douglas MacArthur. In Joel's history class we have been studying some famous Americans, including Gen. MacArthur. It has been thrilling for Joel to hear Miss Essie, well into her nineties, talk about the MacArthurs. After the war Essie's husband went into semiretirement with the navy and resumed his pre-war civilian job with CocaCola. CocaCola sent him to Japan to sell Coke to the servicemen there. Miss Essie says that "we were treated like royalty in Japan," and they spent much time with the MacArthurs who were also there at the time. When they moved to Guam later, they brought the MacArthurs' dog with them. They regularly watched their dog for them. Now that's what I call "living history."

The Pacific Daily News sponsored a turkey dressing art contest this year. Amelia and Joel both entered pictures. Although they did not win, they enjoyed participating in the contest. Here are their entries for you to see and enjoy as well. Thanks for your friendship, and God bless you and your families as you reflect on His goodness to you. We love you!

Thanks for all your prayers for our car situation. Our Ford Taurus died, and God provided a 2000 Mazda MPV Minivan with low mileage through the generosity of a friend from church who owns a car dealership. He offered us a deal we couldn't refuse. Rejoice with us!

A couple from our small group, Paul and Vangie, have started their own business. They invited us to their house last Saturday for a home school excursion. Vangie wanted to show Joel and Amelia how to plant. First we took a tour of their garden. Enjoy the following pictures. As you can see, the name "Garden Inspirations" is fitting indeed. We felt as if we were in paradise. Vangie showed such patience as she taught Amelia and Joel the fine art of separating pepper and flower seedlings and transplanting them. Joel and Amelia were so pleased and proud of their planting experience! Paul cooked us a delicious dinner, including grilled tuna and eggplant. Absolutely exquisite! At the end of the night, after planting and eating, we watched Joel and Amelia play with one of their cats, Snagga Woo Woo. We all helped to plant the sweet potatoes in our garden back home. The peppers and the flowers are now growing on our front porch. Here are the sweet potatoes planted and ready to grow. L