The best Christmas gift for 2009 came early.  His name is Benjamin Kai, born on

September 19, son of Adam and Tori and our very first grandchild.  As you can tell,

he is exceptionally handsome, very bright, musical, athletic, charming and spiritually

sensitive. What more can be said?!

       And he is a Christmas present.  Kai will not recognize or remember his first Advent,

but we are fully aware  that  he is  with  us and  how  his presence  shapes  the season.

Holding him.  Loving him.  Talking about him.  Talking to him.  Buying for him.

Traveling because of him. Planning around his schedule. Thinking about him. Praying

for him.  It’s remarkable how much a little baby changes life.

      Looking to the future, we see many delightful Christmas seasons with him as well

as other grandchildren, like the little girl that our daughter Rachel and husband Chris

are expecting in January.

      Most of all, we pray that our grandchildren will know Jesus Christ as personal

Savior and Lord and that together we may able to celebrate Christmas as Christ- followers.

 A baby at Christmas time is a wonderful gift.  We thank God for children, grandchildren,

and perhaps someday, great-grandchildren.  A baby born 2000 years ago, however, is the

One we are most thankful for.  He’s the One who was born to die.  Born to die on a cross,

so that you and I could have eternal life.  His name is Jesus and He is the One who

truly shapes this glorious season and all the seasons.

                                  “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift.”

                                                    (II Corinthians 9:15).

We pray that your Christmas may be filled with Him and that your new year may be more

of Him.

                       Ben and Kathy

Sampson

This is the church of Agnes, the former witch doctor. The cross on top of the church has survived fires which destroyed the church three different times.

kathy, Agnes & Ben

Hanson family. (Several generations of missionaries.)

Our accomidations in tanzania.

The shower and bathroom

The Kitchen

Dinner time at a local restaurant.

The village outhouse

Kathy and I spent four days in Tuscany, visiting Sienna, Pienza,Montepulciano,

San Gimignano and the countryside. So check out life under the Tuscan sun.

*Waiting for our train to Vernazza, one of the villages that makes the CINque Terre -

a beautiful stretch of Italy along the Ligurian Sea. We spent three days in Vernazza.

*Some of the 256 steps to our place in Vernazza. As you can imagine Kathy had a

rough time getting our luggage up the hill.

*Meanwhile, I grabbed a bite to eat.

*After Vernazza, we returned to Lake Como, to spend three days at Biaggio.

Here's the terrace of our apartment. The next few pix are from Biaggio.

The main cathedral in Florence.

Not a good picture, just more evidence that Kathy is a big hit with Italian men!

The next few pix are from Verona. The first shot is the

"Juliet" balcony of Romeo and Juliet fame.

The next set of pix are from Venice and Burano.

The first shot is from St. Mark's square.

Venice

The great cathedral in Milan - the third largest church

in Europe, parts of which date back to the 14th century.

The next pix are views from a boat trip on Lake Come, also known as Lake "Clooney".

Check out the villas - vacation homes for people like the king of Saudi Arabia,

Sophia Loren, George Clooney and many retired pastors and missionarys.

*We took a day trip to Lugano, Switzerland, which sits on Lake Lugano.

*Views from our hotel overlooking Lake Lugano.

The basilica of St. Francis in Assisi.

Assisi

Roman temple that was converted into a church in Assisi.

The next set comes from Assisi, the home of St. Francis.

Enjoy the translation from Italian to English.

The next shots are from the isle of Capri. Very romantic!

The next pix are from Sorrento.

The next several shots are along the Amalfi coast and the

winding streets of Positano.

Nice View!!  I wonder what insurance costs.

The next several pictures are from the ruins of Pompei,

destroyed by the volcanic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D.

Kathy being serenaded in Rome restaurant. She is a big hit in Italy!

St. Peters Square

The arch of TITUS.

The Colosseum.

Look close, there are people on the second level of the colosseum.

Chinese-Italian wedding in front of the arch of Constantine.

St.Peter's at Night.

This is the PANtheon in Rome, built by the emperor Hadrian.

Jon Lee took this picture of us as we departed the Detroit airport this weekend. We will be traveling to Europe with Hungary as our first stop.

Our rental car.

A popular outdoor cafe.

The Danube River.

Our hotel in Budapest.

The Altar at St.Stephens Cathedral

Hungarian Parliment

A picture of us in San Francisco with the island of Alcatraz behind us.

We took a fun ride on a San Francisco cable car.

We enjoyed a meal at the C.I.A Restuarant.

Kathy and I with Pastor Shawn Robinson (Clayton Community Church near San Francisco) and his son Benjamin.

For the culinary crowd - that is The French Laundry in Napa Valley.

Kathy Borsay and Peggy Bidondo enjoying the beauty surrounding Clayton california.

Kathy, reading on the deck of our California home.

Beautiful Napa Valley.

Sea lions near pier 39 in San Francisco.

Lunch at Union Square, San Francisco, with Chuck and Peggy Bidondo, our incredible hosts in the bay area.

Our home for six days. Thank you Chuck and Peggy Bidondo.

Kathy, with the background of olive trees, vineyards and one of the mountains that forms the Napa Valley. God's handiwork!