Last Friday we had the last Friday Night Fellowship of the calendar year. Because of bad weather the week before it also functioned as the Christmas party at Daniel & Jamie Lin’s house. (see pictures) We were worried that not many students would come because it was after finals and often students leave immediately after classes are over. Well, we were in for a big surprise. The party was packed. It seemed like every student who ever came to a Friday night fellowship during the semester (and then some) were there. There was a real sense of community and family as both the Starbucks and Planetarium home groups enjoyed being together.

• One of the blessings of the party was that every student got to see a 15 minute clip from the movie, The Nativity (see on Youtube). Christmas, its implications, etc. were clearly presented through the story of Jesus’ birth and the reaction of the wise men, the shepherds, etc. I was looking around and every eye was focused on the screen. (see the picture above, we had to spread out to two wings of the house and up the stairs to fit everyone to watch) You could see that people were intrigued. Many said this was the first time hearing the story. We had some very good discussion afterward. Several said they want to come to future home groups because of what they experienced.
• Several students who went home permanently were sincerely touched as they left. One Japanese student said we were the ones who most helped him here. Another had a hard time talking about leaving. 
• ISI was honored with a special thank-you presentation at the English Language Institute at UTA.
• Jonathan got his first university acceptance letter from Texas State University in San Marcos, TX. That is his #2 choice behind the University of Texas (Austin).