Christmas 2024

Sitting here, writing this year’s Christmas letter from our new home in Toronto is honestly a bit surreal. It’s been a long year, with Joel’s severance over a year and a half behind us. A house in Detroit sold and a townhouse rented. One local church we said goodbye to, and a new one we joined. The girls, once in three different flavors of schooling, are now all in the same Christian school. 

We are humbled by your generosity and prayers both in Detroit, Toronto and beyond. So many of you were the hands and feet of Jesus to us as we moved. Stark Road Gospel Hall sent us off with love and prayers and Agincourt Gospel Hall welcomed us with open arms. 

Moving was a huge change for our family, with so many unknowns. When our second rental contract fell through in Toronto, when a buyer backed out from buying our van in Detroit, when all our stuff was already in storage in Toronto, and we were still without work, it was hard to see what God was doing in it all. 

Until the text messages started coming in. Unprompted, a friend sent a song to encourage, another friend offered to sell our van, and Rachel’s aunt and uncle offered to take us in as long as we needed. Many unexpected gifts of practical help and so much more we can’t take time to mention… We were encouraged by your own stories of walking by faith or enduring hard times. 

And we lacked nothing, through the entire year. We are humbled and amazed.

We found the townhouse we’re currently living in, just as it went on the rental market. A wise relator and our sovereign God made sure we had the place we needed. We moved in, found the girl’s school and started piecing our home life back together. 

Joel started work in November on a contract for Scotiabank in his field— as a Product Manager in Application Security. Adjusting to a new company has been hard, but we are both so grateful after over 13 months of waiting and not knowing. Rachel continues to teach Accent Reduction one on one from home while she writes her book on motherhood. 

Elise (grade 7) is growing up fast and discovered two friends who were also new to NTCS (North Toronto Christian School). The three of them are so happy to have each other. Meeting them made her transition just a bit smoother as she still misses her old friends very much! She continues to write her books and plays while also illustrating a book for one of her new friends. Pre-high school life has been very challenging academically, but she has risen to the occasion and is adjusting to the new expectations. 

Adele (grade 4) is still easygoing and imaginative, and has made friends with all the girls in her small class. She eagerly looks forward to celebrating her 10th birthday party with them in December. She still loves building and would rather be playing lego or Minecraft than anything else, except perhaps sledding, but you need snow for that and they are all praying for more of it! 

Maddie (grade 1) is seven and loves her new teacher with all the devotion we’ve come to know and love in her. She told me that she “loves Ms. Wong and she’s the best teacher ever.” She also made a friend in her class and the two are inseparable. She is also doing really well in her schoolwork in spite of still being on the waitlist for a behavioral and academic evaluation some time next year. 

Hannah (senior kindergarten) surprised us when her teacher described her as very “serious and mature” for her age! We weren’t sure if we were talking about the same child, but once we picked our jaws off the floor we had a hilarious parent-teacher conference comparing notes between home and school! Apparently she is serious, well behaved and mature for her age, keeping other students on task. We’ll leave the home-version of Hannah to your imagination, except that she is a poster-child for a youngest child.

As we wrap up this Christmas, we stop to remember the incomparable gift of Jesus to mankind. And this year, we definitely feel that the generosity of God has overflowed spiritual realities and invaded our physical world in so much tangible care. God has been very good to us in many ways this year.

Thank you to each one of our dear friends and family. Each of you means so much to us and we’re praying that the hope and peace of Christ fill your home and hearts this Christmas season. 

Love, the Holmes