Good luck on the quiz. Your cash prize may already be in the mail.

In 2006 Jamie Baits
A. Turned 16, studied hard, loved Jesus, and learned a lot.
B. Played volleyball and basketball at her school, taking third in the volleyball tournament and first in the basketball tourney. The basketball victory was especially sweet as it came against arch rival AIS Falcons. The revenge, er um, redemption, was sweeeet!
C. Toured some northwest liberal arts colleges with her Dad in October and really liked some of them. The whole mascot issue does present some problems. For example, do I want to be called a Lute (PLU in Tacoma), or a Seattle Pacific Falcon (see AIS reference above), and when exactly did Pirates run amok in Spokane (Whitworth) and how many of them were Presbyterians? We are not limiting Jamie to northwest options and she plans to take a similar California trip in '07.
D. Enjoyed having a new sister (Chelsea, see below) and a new brother (David, ditto) and the same old parents and younger brother.

In 2006 Micah Baits
A. Turned 12, studied hard, loved Jesus, and learned a lot.
B. Followed Christ in baptism at Rio Tapantí in December. The water was brisk, but the joy was warm.
C. Played three parts in three plays for the school drama night. It turns out he's quite gifted and hammy; who knew?
D. Enjoyed soccer, volleyball (champs), and basketball (champs) on the MBS Middle School team.
E. See Chelsea and David below.

In 2006 Gary
A. Celebrated 19 years of marriage with Mylinda and took credit for the aforementioned accomplishments of his children.
B. Taught classes in Bible in various settings and helped coordinate educational events for the Baptists of Costa Rica.
C. Cautiously celebrated the success of the Chargers. San Diego sports fans know the importance of maintaining low expectations.
D. Enjoyed his October trip, seeing colleges with Jamie and speaking in several churches. Thanks to all the good people who put me up and put up with me.
E. Started a home bible study group for restless Gringos.
F. Spoke at the Marian Baker School graduation.

In 2006 Mylinda
A. Traveled to the U.S. five times, mostly working conferences and building sister church relationships.
B. Taught and coordinated classes for the Baptists of Costa Rica.
C. Got back into bike riding and did a 40 mile ride, uphill both ways.
D. Said goodbye to her father Ed, who died in June at the age of 66 after a long battle with Parkinson's.*
E. Spent Christmas night in the emergency room with a tube down her
throat. She's fine now, thank God!
F. Celebrated 19 years of marriage with Gary.

*When Mylinda's father died, he was surrounded by family, including Mylinda who arrived with Jamie shortly before Ed's death. Later Micah and Gary came and all four of us got to participate in the service along with the cousins and aunts. The people of Judson Baptist in San Bernardino were so gracious to the whole family and truly blessed us. Ed had been deteriorating for sometime due to his 12 year struggle with Parkinson's. Ed will be remembered for his love of family, his gentle spirit, and his sense of humor.

In other news
A. Nephew Danny Hanke got married to Becca in May.
B. Sister Dede Gerstner and Nephew Nick Baits got married, though not
to each other.
C. We said a tearful goodbye to our dog Flicka (Diabetes and tumors)
D. We said tearful goodbyes to Chelsea and David.

Now, about David.
David González Sáenz is an 18 year old Costa Rican
A. Who came to live with us for two weeks in November of '05.
B. Who would up living with us for over a year.
C. Who became part of our family and won our hearts.
D. Who taught us mucho about culture, friendship, family, Spanish and soccer.
E. Who made significant progress toward his high school equivalency.

Now, about Chelsea
Chelsea Sneller is a 17 year old friend from Calvary Baptist Church in Salem, OR
A. Who stayed with us from July through December of '06.
B. Who studied with our kids at Marian Baker School and helped the girls win the basketball championship.
C. Who learned a lot of Spanish.
D. Who became part of our family, tolerating our oddness, most of the time.

We should add that we enjoyed visits from work teams and from several individuals. If you visited us, please know that we enjoyed your specific visit the most. For those of you who did not visit, you're running out of time and excuses. Just do it!

We also enjoyed or are currently enjoying and recommend the following books:
A New Kind of Christian (thanks Jan and Weldon) and A Generous Orthodoxy (thanks Mark Rambo) by Brian McLaren
Blue Like Jazz by Don Miller (thanks Mark)
Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder (Thanks Rene Manley)
When Jesus Came to Harvard by Harvey Cox (Thanks Rene)
Traveling Mercies by Anne Lamott (thanks Sister Barbara)
God's Politics by Jim Wallis (Can you believe I bought it myself?)
Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them (Off color at times and profound at others) by Al Franken
(Thanks Ray S.). It was autographed too!

Have a great 2007 and experience the blessings of the "Word who became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood." (John 1:14)