Dear fellow missionaries,

Below is the Christmas letter that we sent out for our annual Christmas card. It included two photos taken on our trip to Croatia last spring. One evening there was great photo op with sheep on the northern part of the country. And the second was of a small Christian church at Nin near Zadar in central Croatia. Nin is situated in a lagoon on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. The church is one of the oldest still in Christendom that is standing intact. My guess the reason it still stands is because marauding soldiers did not think it significant enough to pillage.

A few thought about our visit to Croatia:

Croatia is the costal part of what was once a communistic country of Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia was torn apart by various factions within the country. Most of these factions were religious groups with economic and political ties. This was complicated and most of the rest of the world could not figure out what they were fighting about. I think the primary reason we could not figure it out was because there were three groups fighting each other for control. This left a terrible trail of bloodshed throughout the country. When you visit the peaceful rocky seashore one wonders what all the fuss and blood was about. One is reminded of the words of Longfellow, “There is no peace on earth, I said, “for hate is strong and mocks the song Of peace on earth, good will to men.” We see the same problem in other parts of the world yesterday and today. Fortunately the Croats have been able to sort out their lives, and now allow the gospel to be taught in their land. We visited two small groups of saints while there. It reminded me of my missionary days in Taiwan 50 years ago. Longfellow goes on in his poem, “Then pealed the bells more loudly and deep: “God is not dead, nor doth he sleep; the wrong shall fail, the right prevails, With peace on earth, good will to men.” We hope all for you, we love you and pray for your best.

President Harris

Dear fellow missionaries:

We joy in the knowledge we have that Christ came among the sons and daughters of man to lift and to reach out to those who struggle, search and wander. The peoples of Croatia, indeed the world, can recover and so can we as we race through life. We pray for you and yours and hope for the glorious peace to come.

Merry Christmas to all.

Sister Harris