Christmas news

Hello Friends and Family ~

We had good intentions of sending out official Christmas cards with a picture and news and everything this year, but this is what you’re getting instead! Dudley put together a pretty e-card with a Christmas Day 2009 picture and I’m typing out a – hopefully – brief Colorado Callison update for the year.

Autumn plans were a bit compressed in light of the quick purchase of a new house 3 houses down from the one we had been renting! As we have lived here in Littleton, Colorado for the past 2 years, our hearts have begun to really settle here amongst our neighbors on this street, this particular location in the city, our wider community and the beautiful seasonal climate. And we decided this summer we were ready to make the decision to stay put. So when we heard that the most perfect house on our street was going into foreclosure things fell into place for us to purchase it and moved really quickly due to the finances/bank possession/etc. So we’ve been on the move – literally - this past month! I know, I know, things wouldn’t be on the right axis in the universe if the Callisons didn’t move every 2 years, and we can’t have that on our conscience now, can we?! So to keep things steady and in balance, we moved! It’s actually a really great story of God’s provision - not only for us, but for the (unbelieving) family that lived in it before. We had tremendous opportunity to share with her and help her transition her family to a new place. One day, when we’re sitting around visiting, we’ll tell you more about it!

In June, Dudley completed his first year with Christian Associates. He truly enjoys the people that make up the “CA tribe” (as it is affectionately called) as they live to advance the Kingdom around the world. You can expect that Dudley is energized by the challenges of administrating the organizational side of CA - especially in this difficult economy - keeping his diplomatic skills in tact and his mind sharp. The flexibility and diversity of this job are part of his enjoyment of the work, too. CA has an office suite at a nearby church, but since so much of his work is by computer conferencing and email he can work from just about anywhere…and he does! Coffee shops, the house, book stores, you name it, they probably know Dudley’s favorite table and drink! In addition to CA, Dudley has a support contract with T Bar M Camps in New Braunfels, TX where he spends time every other month or so serving as a pastoral consultant to their staff and interns.

For those of you involved in our support raising team, we’re coming close to our goal! Though we had a few people drop off due to economic pressures, we’re currently at 80% funded for this ministry position. Thank you all for your prayers and support! Dudley feels so blessed to be able to spend the days in a high-impact ministry role. If you would like to join our support team, just send a reply and we’ll send you the steps to take.

Molly and Claire are great…totally loving 4th and 1st grade, loosing teeth right and left, swimming, biking, reading, singing, soccer-ing, gymnastics-ing, all those things little girls love to do. They are still red-heads (yay!), learning to navigate their world as believers in public school, and loving all their friends up and down our street and in our community. It’s such a joy to parent them, play with them, and watch them grow! They certainly provide lots for us to think about (Claire as we’re walking out of Home Depot: “Mom, what’s a street walker?”) and activities to enjoy (“We want snowshoes for Christmas!”).

We are so thankful for each of you and the part of our life story you share! Wishing you many glimpses of His Glory in 2010,
Dudley and Laura, Molly and Claire