The Micah, Jamie, Mylinda and Gary Christmas Quiz for 2007

In the spirit of a lot of forwarded e-mails out there, if you do not read and complete the following Christmas Quiz you will suffer the following: your figgy pudding will curdle; your chestnuts will burn; your fruitcake will still be fruitcake. If however, you do read and complete the quiz you will receive the following blessings: give me a minute, I'll think of something.


In 2007 Micah Baits

A. Played volleyball (champs) soccer, and guitar
B. Acted in the school production of Charlie and The Chocolate Factory
C. Participated in Youth Group and church activities
D. Turned 13 and grew several inches
E. Enjoyed a summer trip that included Washington D.C., The Gateway Arch in
St.Louis, Arches National Park, Pacific Beach in San Diego, Arthur Bryant's
BBQ in Kansas City, the Oklahoma City Memorial, the Liberty Bell in Philly,
Betsy Ross' house, and lots of hospitality from friends in all of those places.

In 2007 Jamie Baits

A. Turned 17 and became a big shot high school senior.
B. Played volleyball (champs).
C. Applied to the following colleges: Pacific Lutheran (Tacoma), Azusa
Pacific (So Cal) and Seattle Pacific (in Seattle, duh) and was accepted (duh).
D. Worked at Redwood Glen, a Christian camp in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Working with our friends Jay and Joan was a great experience.
E. Got mononucleosis (but not from kissing) and had to take it easy.

In 2007 Mylinda

A. Taught classes and workshops and helped start a community center
ministry in one of the Baptist churches here as a way to prevent prostitution and
human trafficking.
B. Enjoyed the above mentioned summer trip and got to see family and lots of old friends at the American Baptist Biennial in D.C.
C. Rode a bike across Missouri (250 miles) with a group of good Baptists from the Great Rivers Region. She enjoyed the beauty, the camaraderie and the flatness.
D. Celebrated 20 years of marriage with Gary.
E. Helped with a World Mission Conference in September in
Sioux Falls, South Dakota

In 2007 Gary

A. Helped Mylinda with letter A above and
taught classes in Bible and preaching.
B. Enjoyed the aforementioned summer trip and
staying with great folks along the way.
C. Was the featured speaker at a number of events at the kids' school and youth group.
D. Celebrated 20 years of marriage with Mylinda
E. Completed the Christmas letter before Christmas!

In 2007 we were saddened by

A. The death of our seminary friend Natalie Retamoza (age 44) to cancer.
B. The war
C. The selfishness of human beings (including our own)

In 2007 we celebrated

A. The marriage of our niece Krissy to Tommy in June.
B. The recent news that Krissy is pregnant (they don't waste any time)
C. The faithful love of God.

In 2008 we hope to

A. Update our prayer card photo. It turns out our kids are tired of being 13 and 9 instead of 17 and 13. But Mylinda and I are perfectly willing to freeze the hands of time and don't see what the rush is.
B. Move back to live in Port Angeles, WA from July 0f '08 to June of '09. We will be visiting churches, participating in conferences, etc.
C. Forgive Jamie for abandoning us for college.
D. See the Chargers and Seahawks play in the Super Bowl (Chargers 31, Hawks 24) Sure, there are better teams, but having the best teams in the Super Bowl is so old school and is totally unfair.
E. See God do great things through selfish human beings.

We were thinking of making some book recommendations, but Mylinda's really the reader and she's not here right now. Besides, none of you turned in any book reports based on last year's recommendations.

Have a great Christmas and a happy 2008. And remember,
"Jesus is the reason for the time of year." (Wait, that's not quite right)
"Jesus is the purpose of the season." (Wait, give me a minute)
"Jesús es la razón por la temporada (Getting closer)
"The Word incarnated in the Nazarene carpenter should provide the metanarrative that inspires us to live fruitfully in the eschatological tension between the already and the not yet."

Bendiciones and blessings from the Baits family.