Christmas Giving- Chris and Kaiti Long

One of my favorite Christmas stories is A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Throughout those few pages, Dickens teaches us so much about life and the meaning of Christmas.

In the first stave of the book, Scrooge is cooped up in his counting-house hating Christmas, saying, "Bah humbug." He is ignorant to the poor, his nephew, and his workers. We see as he travels with the spirits how very unaware he truly was of the needs of those around him.

We don't have to hate Christmas or walk around yelling "bah humbug" to miss the needs of others. We can easily get caught up in our day-to-day activities and forget that somewhere in the world someone has lost a loved one, someone is battling cancer, someone is fighting overseas, someone is starving, someone is without a home...

Earlier this year a need was brought to the attention of our family. My cousin Chris and his beautiful wife Kaiti came to town and let our family know that they would be speaking at one of the local churches. What they said blew us away

When foreign students come to the United States to study, 80% of them will never step foot into an American home.

Moving by itself is a stressful thing, but imagine moving to a whole new country, an ocean away from your friends, your family, your language, your customs, your food… and have the people from that country never reach out to you and invite you into their homes.

This is where Chris and Kaiti Long come in. The Longs are a husband-wife missionary team working for Bridges International, which is part of the Campus Crusade for Christ ministry. Bridges International is a ministry that focuses on helping foreign students adjust to their new life in the United States by providing resources to meet their physical, social, and spiritual needs.

Chris and Kaiti- beautiful inside and out

Chris and Kaiti  reach out to the foreign students of Chicago. They spend much of their time meeting one-on-one with these students. This gives students a safe place and relationship for them to explore Christianity and ask questions. Chris and Kaiti spend a few hours a week at English Corner, where anywhere from 40-50 students from places like China, India, Saudi Arabia, and Iran gather to work on their English conversation. This helps with their English learning, but also gives them a chance to socialize with others. Chris and Kaiti help to provide for students' physical needs by being available to drive them to the airport, the grocery store, and the hospital. They help them learn to navigate the public transportation system and bring them to cultural events in the city. 

Dinner at the Long home

Not only do they try to meet these students' physical and social needs, but also their spiritual needs. The Long's host a bible study at their home where the students can learn and ask questions about the gospel and Jesus Christ. Many of these students have never heard the gospel or read the bible due to the religious persecution in their own countries. The Long's explain that the foreign students' short time in the United States is crucial, because it might be their only chance to hear the gospel and come to know the love of Jesus Christ.

One of Chris' most memorable moments has been working with two young men, Michael and Jimmy. When Chris met Michael and Jimmy, they thought that Christianity was silly and that God wasn't real, but as Chris continued to meet with them and invite them to bible studies, their hearts began to change. They were baptized last February and continue to live for Christ. Michael's family is visiting him for Christmas, and the thing he is most excited about is to introduce them to the gospel and bring them to church.

Michael and Jimmy trying American food

Kaiti talks of a young woman named Dee. Dee came from an Atheist background. She is attending school for biology and working on a cure for cancer. She used to believe that science and Christianity couldn't mix, but she became interested in Christ and began seeking him. Now she says the complexity of science, the human body, and cells point to a creator.

Kaiti and the young women she works with

The Longs say that the thing they have learned the most as they have been a part of this ministry is the importance of listening to others and asking questions. Chris and Kaiti explain that they can't just throw the story of the gospel at everyone they meet, but it is in truly listening to the story of the students' lives that build relationships, and it is in these relationships that they can began to share the gospel.

Just like other missionaries, Chris and Kaiti have to raise support through churches and individuals who will pray for and/or financially support their ministry. 

If you would like to support their ministry this Christmas season with a one time donation, you can donate through this link:

give.cru.org/0660405

or make a check payable to"CRU" and mail it to 3328 S. Emerald Ave, Unit 2, Chicago, IL 60616

If you would like to contact Chris and Kaiti you can e-mail them here-
Chris.Long@cru.org
Kaitlin.Long@cru.org

"Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise- the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased." -Hebrews 13: 15-16

The Giving Tree

We are always looking for ways to teach our children to give, especially during the Christmas season. This year we put together a giving tree to help them to think about others and not just about what they want for Christmas.

We chose twelve ideas to give back to others like the gift giving in the Twelve Days of Christmas.

We numbered brown card stock and wrote our giving ideas on the back. Twelve days throughout December we pull a tag down and then make/buy/deliver/send whatever the card says!

Some of our favorites include:

-Having neighbors or someone you haven't seen in awhile over for dinner
-Taping pennies to Sandy the horse at Meijer
-Leaving a homemade wreath or a pot of poinsettias on someone's doorstep
-Bringing goodies to different places in the community (like the local school, library, fire station, or post office)
-Donating items to families in need

December Down

I haven’t posted much lately. It’s December down for me. Time to tone down the writing, the early morning editing, and late night scribbling. Time to give my brain and hands a break, and focus on baking cookies with my kids, watching snowflakes through my windows, and celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

December is a busy month for everyone, including agents. Not only are they bombarded with all the holiday activities of the season, but also with all of the query letters flowing in as a result of nanowrimo.

So, I decided not to bug them this month!

You’ll still see me with a pen behind my ear and notebook in my purse. If I have a day I’m not subbing, or running to town, or tackling my turkey, then you may catch me editing with a cup of my favorite holiday coffee. No big pushes on anything though. I’ll save those for the new year!

Have a happy December!

Week Three Rewind- Saving Room

In the spirit of thanksgiving and the holidays, I'd like to talk about breathing room. In preparation of eating a huge (and delicious) holiday meal, it is always wise to wear pants that will give you some extra space.

That is what I've been needing to do with my writing. I keep writing children's books with large word counts, only to find out that bigger isn't always better. I guess overly large word counts can scare agents and publishers away (at least when you are a non-published author trying to break your way into the business)!

My goal was to give myself some novel breathing room. Children's novels should clock in around 50,000 words. The hardest part of writing my nano novel was to try and come in under that amount with a finished novel. Why under? Because when I go back to edit, I'll need to fill in plot holes, I'll get new ideas, and I'll most likely want to add a lot more! Ending my novel at 35,000 words gives me some space to work with, so that when my edited novel is ready, hopefully it will be at the right word count!

That is what I did this week! I finished my very first detective novel for kids and came in under the 50,000 word count. It is printed and set aside for January for editing, and I still have room to go. I got a good start on the second novel of the series which was inspired by a mountain dew grocery shopping accident (another story for another time)! My goal will be the same with that one too- keep it short and simple!