1. Our holidays seem to have passed us by very quickly, it takes no small amount of adjusting to celebrate overseas where normal you might spend it with family!

2. We prepared meals for two different churches Christmas services here in Harbin and both services we’re filled with guests.

3. I preached the Matthew account of Christ’s birth and invited unbelievers to believe on Him in the light that Matthew was trying to describe.

4. We took the week off from language school allowing us the extra time to prepare for these special services including a caroling outing to one of Harbin’s largest malls!

5. We sang carols and gospel music in front of hundreds that gathering around us at the mall. I had a few minutes to talk about Christ the over loud speaker and invite them to church.

6. The owner of the mall enjoyed our singing and invited us back to perform again, perhaps we’ll take his offer and plan more aggressive evangelism next time?

7. I spent two days visiting a farming community in China. It took several hours by train to get there, then a bus down a long straight farm road.

8. We were welcomed by a body of believers, mostly elderly women and a few men. They were excited for us to come and teach the bible which we did one by one for several hours. It was a blessing to be a blessing, but I was happy to get back home to my wife! I hope we can do more in the future with the millions in these distant communities.

9. We just came home from our New Years service. We memorized some scripture, had dinner, and spent some time praying together while discussing how the Gospel has change out lives in the past year. I believe we are witnessing God working the churches here. Now it is grain of a mustard seed, but, Lord willing, something great and unexplainable is coming.

10. I’m determined this year to stick to a reading plan for the Bible this year (www.bible-reading.com), but not to read through, but also meditate on the Scriptures through writing. Learning to write is a skill set that all believes should develop especially while spending time in the Word. I hope that after a year, I will have a great deal of commentary and personal growth tid-bits at the end of 2014. I will record these writings at wordpress.johnwalz.com