To the Saints of Saint John's Lutheran Church,

Greetings in Christ, Merry Christmas, and a blessed New Year from Fort Wayne, Indiana. I am pleased to report that I survived my first Fall quarter, and by the time this letter reaches you I will be well into the fourth week of Winter quarter. First quarter was a bit tumultuous and much harder than I expected. I spent most of my time reading and studying, as Courtney can attest. Since then, I've begun to find a better balance between my different vocations, reassessed my priorities, and tempered my academic expectations a bit. The long Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks have been very helpful. In September, I was assigned as a field worker to Zion Lutheran Church here in downtown Fort Wayne under Pastor Douglas Punke. Zion is a beautiful church and faithful congregation, and we like it very much. They have already become a second family. I've begun to serve more regularly there, doing readings, helping serve the Lord's Supper, and also leading an Evening Prayer Advent service. The Seminary remains a place of great community centered around faith in and worship of Jesus Christ. Please pray it would remain this way, and that I and my fellow students would remain ardent in our studies and faith as we prepare to serve God's people as pastors and teachers.

Courtney and I continue to be humbled by the support we regularly receive in every form possible from so many different people and places. Thank you for being a part of that support. Thank you above all for your prayers, which truly have great power as they are working. Please continue to pray for us! Thank you.

The pictures (from top to bottom): 1. At the Oriental Institute in Chicago, which the Seminary sponsored a trip to at the end of Fall quarter. We saw lots of near East "Old Testament Times" artifacts, including Sennacherib's Prism. 2. Over Thanksgiving break we traveled to visit my brother Luke in Nashville, TN. Along the way we stopped at Mammoth Cave National Park. 3. Courtney excited to be at the Indianapolis airport as we prepared to fly to Colorado for her friend's wedding and to visit her family. 4. In front of Zion, our field work congregation, on January 1, 2023, our 1st Anniversary.

Peace in Christ our Savior,
Paul & Courtney Mroczenski