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Dear Refreshing Hope Family,

I hope this message finds you warm, safe, and happy wherever you are. Thank you so much for being a part of Refreshing Hope Ministries. We wouldn't be here without you. May the beauty of the Lord's presence shine on you this holiday season and brighten your life and that of your loved ones, bringing a wonderful celebration of Christmas and a New Year filled with happiness, hope, and peace.

It's a bit hard to believe, but the end of 2024 is upon us. Soon, we will release a video newsletter covering our journey through 2024 and our plans for 2025, but we wanted to take a moment to say thank you. While praying about our first newsletter, this verse came to my mind - a reminder that our dreams are on their way and at just the right time. We are truly here for such a time as this.

(Habakkuk 2:2–3 ESV) And the LORD answered me: "Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it. For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay."

We have continued building the infrastructure here and working behind the scenes as we develop a custom-built website for our church family. At the beginning of the year, we used three admin panels to manage RHM: one for the website, another for sending emails, and a third to manage our created content. These all worked together through custom scripts I had written. But each time something was updated, something else broke. It was a hassle and fragile, like walking on eggshells. You never knew what drama the morning would bring you.

The Lord impressed on us that we needed to break out of the normal, stop following what others are doing, and innovate using His inspiration. I cannot tell you how many times we heard, "Don't recreate the wheel," "Just use WordPress," or "Let the professionals do it." Yet, the Lord was giving us a blueprint for something better - not them. One website where everything we need to do is controlled from one place and work together seamlessly. I call it the "RHM Ecosystem."

It took me around three years of programming behind the scenes to design and build a social platform from scratch myself. I wrote it line by line without using frameworks (long story omitted here). I had planned to work on the new website for quite a while longer, but in April, the Lord created an "emergency" that required us to push it live, ready or not, when 50k of our devotional emails bounced back to us. We could no longer communicate with our members, and that began an upgrade path that led to the site going live far earlier than I had anticipated.

Today, the new website is much better and faster than anything we have ever had. It is also much more phone-and-tablet-friendly than last year's. It certainly wasn't ready for me, but as so many times before, I found that He doesn't seem to let that worry Him. We are now in the tedious process of restoring content and adding new features. We have a long way to go, but we have also come a long way from where we were.

We have managed to reach many goals this year that always seemed just out of reach because we were willing to break from the norm and not go with the flow of what everyone else was doing. We don't choose the easiest path. For example, choosing to keep the website ad-free because that is a better experience for God's people, even though it would be an extra income stream. Jesus said that if you did it for the least of His brethren, you did it for Him (Matthew 25:37–40). Wouldn't you want Jesus to have the best you could give Him? Then, do the same for His people.

We have made over 500 updates, with new features arriving weekly: https://www.refreshinghope.org/changes. We have also added many feature requests, such as Favorite Devotionals, tags, clickable Bible references, groups, and music. The Bible is now integrated into the website and searchable. We have worked to make the site more accessible and easier to navigate for the vision impaired so the blind can join us.

We are now at the tip of the iceberg, and there is so much more to come. We are here for such a time as this to bring hope to the Lord's people, Refreshing Hope.

Year-End Giving:

The Lord has faithfully taken care of us here, and each time we have had a need, He has provided for it somehow. We have to do the physical work, which I am fine with, but He gives us the tools, strength, provisions, and skills to do it. He puts the right people in our lives at just the right time to help us. Sylvia and I do this full-time and live on pure faith that the Lord will continue to provide for us. Today, I am happy to say that we aren't driven by financial needs, but I do want to mention this:

As a supporter of RHM, you may have plans to contribute at the year's end. If that's the case, then we graciously welcome your year-end donation, which may allow you to "render a little less to Caesar and a little more to the Lord." RHM is a non-profit organization, and your donations here are tax-deductible. So, if you wish to send a year-end contribution, please be sure that your gift is made by December 31 to be credited in 2024. You can donate securely online here:

https://www.refreshinghope.org/page/67/donations

Prayer:

If you need prayer, please click on the Prayer link on the website menu (you will need to be logged in). Here also is the direct link: https://www.refreshinghope.org/prayer. If you are interested in joining our prayer team, please contact us.

Thank you:

In closing, we extend our deepest gratitude for the abundant encouragement we receive from you, our church family. Your cards, gifts, and supportive words are the very expressions of God's love through you. We couldn't make it without you. I know that God has great things in store for Refreshing Hope, and we so appreciate each of you who has stood by us through the hard times. Our prayer wall is covered with your cards and letters.

We love you, and more importantly, God loves you. Thank you for being such an integral part of Refreshing Hope Ministries. Merry Christmas!

Pastors Dion & Sylvia