December 25, 2003

Greetings Friends!

We pray this letter finds you well and in Christmas spirits! We Kosters have had yet another eventful year full of blessings!

We are on our second year of living back in Grand Rapids after living in Boston Massachusetts for a time. Steven is on his second of four years at Calvin Seminary, Deb is part-time at Blodgett, and all the kids are in school together at Sylvan Christian School.

We’ve settled in quite cozily to our home in Alger Heights and enjoy sharing it with as many people as we can. The kids enjoy playing in the neighborhood, walking to the library, and running errands to the corner grocery.

Jessica, at age 12, is a sweet young lady. She has participated in the middle school Science Olympiad and plays flute in band. She has also joined all the 7^th grade sports teams she can, including soccer and basketball. She loves the camaraderie of the team and the cool red & white uniforms they get to wear!

Nathan, now in 3^rd grade, is glad to be in the same school for two years in a row for once. (Last year, Sylvan was his fourth school in as many years!) He too has played soccer this year, and he is currently enjoying a weekly basketball clinic for 9-year-olds. He’s also active in the boy’s club at church and has especially enjoyed making friends in the neighborhood. Jess and Nate also each spent a week in the woods at Camp Roger this summer. Now Deb finally has someone with whom to sing all those camp songs!

Sam, age 6, is in first grade and every inch a school kid. She has learned to read just about anything and continues to be a self-appointed fashion consultant. She enjoyed her first sports team this soccer season and was doubly pleased to sport a big number “1” on her navy blue team shirt. For the first time all three kids are in school for a full day, and we’re further thrilled that Jess is old enough to babysit the crew. Mom and Dad can now go out for coffee at will!

After working full-time since coming back to Michigan, Deb has just reduced her hours at Spectrum Health’s cardiac rehab unit to weekends only. The new schedule allows her to be home and awake for five days at a time! We’re all looking forward to a better balance of breadwinning and time for family and ministry. The part-time position requires us to pay more for medical benefits, but after we had committed to reducing hours, an unsought gift covered our concerns. The Lord certainly does provide!

Steven has had a busy year. He learned to read ancient Greek and biblical Hebrew and completed a master’s thesis in telecommunication at Michigan State. This year, in addition to a full-time class work, he is serving in a part-time internship at the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship where he is exploring the wise use of video media in worship. He is also still doing contract work for Avid Technology, the company for which he worked in Massachusetts.

From our annual April camping trip (frozen outhouses!) to our first family drive-in movie (watching from the car roof!), we’ve worked hard to squeeze in adventures between working and study. It seemed our bags were always packed for a quick camping trip or a visit to the grandparents’ cabin. We also appreciated the grandparents kidnapping the kids anytime Deb was working a stretch of days. The kids became regular fish swimming in grandma’s pool or playing on Michigan beaches. Even Deb got good and sunburned. We also enjoyed biking outings in the neighborhood and discovering area bike paths. The grand finale of the season was riding our two tandem bikes in Ohio for the Midwest Tandem Rally. We had great family fun touring the Wright brothers’ museums and learning about their first flights.

Back at home, we have been very blessed with new communities. We joined our neighborhood church since moving back, Seymour CRC, and have been very warmly welcomed. We are enjoying the many service opportunities and look forward to leading a new Christians’ group in our home this winter. Calvin seminary has also been a great community of support for us. Steven has become involved with the student senate and Deb loves coordinating pot lucks and other social events, as well as leading a women’s Bible study.

In all, this has been a very busy and challenging year that has also shown many accomplishments. We have seen God’s provision for us in so many ways as we continue the journey of the past few years toward full-time ministry. We have more years of school to go, but already this summer we’ll be serving a church full-time for a few months. We are excited to see God’s leading in our lives and look forward to what the New Year holds!

With love,

Steven, Deb, Jessica, Nathan, and Samantha Koster

P.S. We’ve failed to send out many letters in the past few years, so if you haven’t heard from us in a while, it’s our fault! See http://www.koster.com for some back issues!