Dear Friends,
Thinking about Christmas always leads me to reflect on all the things that happened in the past year. And this year in particular makes me thank God that I am alive and in good health. It really took me by surprise when my younger brother, José María, passed away from a stroke this spring. The day after his death, the phone rang at home and they gave us the news that my brother-in-law, Antonio, was dying in Chicago of coronavirus. And three months later, another of my wife’s brothers went into the presence of the Lord. Now do you see why I am so grateful to be writing this note?
This Christmas, I think about God's decision to send his only Son and become incarnate in our pain. God chose to do this by using a humble maiden, a carpenter, and workers who looked after their sheep. God used those who have less, those with a pure heart, and those who were willing to submit to His Will. Definitely, in the Manger event, there is no room for the prosperity gospel.
As I write this greeting, I also have great pain in my heart for my people in Honduras who suffered in November from two powerful hurricanes – just ten days apart! La Lima, the city where I grew up, is in ruins because it was under water for more than 24 days.
This Christmas, I will join the victims of the flood, the dispossessed, those mourning the loss of dear family members through the coronavirus, the unemployed, the marginalized, and the orphans and single mothers of La Lima who lost everything.
Dear reader, I encourage you to join with the vast host of angels – the armies of heaven – and let us sing together: “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.” (Luke 2:14, NLT).
Your friend and servant,
Ernesto Pinto
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