Season Greetings

Merry Christmas! Wishing you and your family wherever you might be a lovely and blessed celebration of Christ's birth. I'm sitting in a quiet flat, listening to a Stevie Wonder Christmas, missing home! No, it isn't Stevie that has me home sick. If I had the rest of my belongings, I'd definitely have Bing Crosby playing. I got back a couple hours ago from Vienna. I spent Christmas with my dear friend Wendy, who was in Vienna doing research for her dissertation, and her old roommate and friend, Carol, who is a full-time missionary in Austria, working with refugees. I met Wendy in Vienna on Friday night. After a breakfast at our pension in the 8th district, we took the Badener Bahn to Baden bei Wien, a suburb or small town outside of Vienna. I was happy to see a light dusting of snow, and even a little glad to have -3 C temperatures. The cold can be envigorating! We had 4 restful days of coffee talk, good food, and wonderful company. We mixed Austrian and American traditions and even invited an Aussie to join us on Christmas day. Then tonight Smetana's "Ma Vlast" or "Die Moldau" played as my train pulled into Praha Holesovice, the second train station in Prague, and I knew I was home or at least back in Prague. The feeling of "home" - I hope that will come in time. Missing you.