December 25, 2004
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 still on our trek through seminary. Steven is on his third of four years at Calvin Seminary, Deb has moved to the new Heart Center, and all the kids are in school together in the Grand Rapids Christian Schools.
Our greatest adventure this year was spending the summer in Canada. As part
of Steven’s field education, we were assigned to a church near Niagara Falls.
On the way home, we managed to squeeze in a visit to our former home in Boston
and visit friends in New York City. To celebrate their 17th Anniversary,
Deb & Steven went to St. Paul in November to see Garrison Keillor’s radio
program in action.
Jessica, at age 13, is in 8th grade at the Grand
Rapids Christian Middle School, and 
is now officially a teenager (and her parents wonder where the time went)! She’s
played on the soccer, volleyball, and softball teams in the past year, and plays
flute in band. In the spring, she (and her mom) cut off 10 inches of hair and
donated them to pediatric cancer patients. While in Canada, Jess made several
friends and enjoyed volunteering at the church day camp. She went on a Niagara
white-water tour and was trapped at the bottom of the canyon for several hours
when the only elevator broke. She was evacuated by dangling from a three-person
tram up the wall of the canyon.
Nathan is now in 4th grade and age 10. He too played soccer this year and is active in the boy’s club at church. He’s an avid reader, is learning to play the recorder, and loves doing drama in school. He has the art of the prat fall down flat. Since we left for Canada the week school got out and returned the day before school resumed, Nathan particularly missed his friends from our neighborhood over the summer. With the gift of another antique piano to our living room, Nathan has started lessons along with his sisters.
Sami, age 7, is in second grade. She continues to be the queen of fashion,
already sneaking extra clothes in her bag so she can change while at school.
She too played soccer this fall and is enjoying the girls club at church. She
is taking piano lessons and ballet classes. She loves being a ballerina!
Deb has just moved along with her entire unit at Spectrum’s Blodgett hospital to the new Meijer Heart Center downtown. She also enjoyed taking the summer off while in Canada. She is active at church, serving as a mentor to young mothers and leading a marriage course with Steven every other week.
Steven is still taking a full-time class load and working part-time.
He has been offering a seminar in worship video around town and even traveling
just a bit. He went to Denver twice! The highlight of the year was of course
serving Jubilee Fellowship CRC for the summer. He preached to real people every
week, helped develop their worship media program, and got to know something
about the CRC in Canada. While there, Steven was also privileged to walk closely
with a family through the illness, death, and internment of their husband, father,
and grandfather. It was a powerful experience of God’s faithfulness!
Before heading back to Michigan, we went the opposite direction for a swing through New England. We spent a week in the mountain lakes of New Hampshire, attending a family camp with friends from our Boston church. It was wonderful to see them all again and remember why we were excited to enter seminary in the first place. On the way back we visited friends in New York City and spent the night at their apartment in Manhattan. The kids even got to ride on the infamous subway to see Central Park and Times Square.
Once again, we have seen God’s provision for us as we continue toward full-time ministry. With at least one more year of school to go, we’re beginning to see the end in sight. 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