Family & Friends,

Merry Christmas! I trust all is well as we prepare to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. This past year has been relatively quiet for us, with the exception for the past few months. For most of the year we have been working on school work, Kyle in seminary working on his Masters in Theological Studies, and me finishing up my B.S. in Psychology. While in Bartlesville, Kyle had been working for Spencer Management, a janitorial service company. His hours were usually 5 pm-1 or 2 in the morning. We’re thankful to have him working different hours now!

The last three years (since Vennard) have been a time of trying to find out where we belong and continue on with what God has for our lives. To many outside looking in, it probably doesn’t seem like that big of a deal, but for us it’s been quite the journey of surrendering our plan for our lives and seeking God’s will instead. Our time in Oklahoma has very much been a time of reflection and growth in our relationship with God. We didn’t particularly feel called there, and for a long time struggled with why we were there.

Let me tell you about our year and what God has done in our lives. March held a fun opportunity for me to attend a Taste of Home cooking show, something I thoroughly enjoyed! April brought mine and Kyle’s birthdays. We celebrated mine by shopping and going to CherryBerry, Kyle was a little different as all he wanted to do was lounge around the apartment! We got a lovely visit from our friends the Keaslings, and our former professor, Jerome Van Kuiken and his family. He had recently accepted a faculty position with Oklahoma Wesleyan University. It was a nice surprise as we hadn’t seen any of them since Vennard closed. Kyle had been filling out pastoral job applications, and some days it seemed like we were not getting anywhere. Then he got a call back from Allerton Christian Church in Allerton IA!

August saw our second anniversary and the birth our friends’, John & Kristen’s daughter, Lylah! September we had the pleasure of visiting our friends, Jake and Jessie and The Penn’s, and Kyle had the immense blessing of sharing the meaning of and baptizing John and his brother DJ. This was his first time baptizing anyone-and to have it be friends-What a blessing! October has seen the most changes. Kyle got the call back to come and interview for the job in Allerton, a few weeks later he got the call back to come and pastor and on Oct. 29th we made the move to our new home Allerton Iowa!

Since having been at the church, we are learning to find a balance in everything, new schedule/routine and how life is in ministry. We are thankful for our time Oklahoma and how God has used us. We’ve made friends (and continued in other friendships) that we miss dearly. As we prepare for the Christmas season, we ask that you reflect on your relationship with God and where He is leading you. We would love to hear from you sometime too!

Love & Prayers,
Kyle & Tresa Ryun