Last night, Sunday, Dec. 8th, I wanted to sit down and start on my Christmas letter, but I had the TV on and was fascinated by the stories about the struggle of Nelson Mandela, the sacrifices he made, the suffering he went through, to achieve this dream of a free, democratic south africa and I was mesmerized and wasn't able to continue. I was part of that struggle, as you well know, and it brought back many memories. Sometimes I wanted to smile and other times I felt like weeping. There is no doubt that he has touched all of us, far and near with his being just who he was, humble, committed, forgiving, reconciling, giving us a pattern for our own lives where we may find some of these things seemingly too challenging for us, but if he did it, against all odds, then there is no excuse to believe that we can't do the same. He made the gospel values come alive. Now the rest is up to us, wherever we may be, to take up the challenge to make our own contribution to making this world a better  place in whatever way we can. I will stop here. Love and Peace, Cas