From the Editor

If ever we needed a story about love in Paris, we need it now. If ever we needed a story about love in Nigeria, Iraq, West Bank, Lebanon, Egypt, China, the Philippines, Palestine, Mexico, Israel, Chicago, Grand Rapids, name your place, the whole world, it is now. These last days have been sad and scary. Hate explodes in other parts of the world and sparks even more hate in our own country. In this time of year when many of us prepare to celebrate the birth in human form of the greatest love there ever was and is, we look over our shoulders at the evil in human form that seeks to destroy all love.

We need the light of love in this darkness. In our own small way, we bring you the light and love of another Janet Sheeres Sinterklaas story, in which Paris plays a part. Janet sent me the story over a month ago, long before the attacks in Paris.

We bring you a story of love in the form of chili sauce, sent in to us by a loving son who wants his mother to see it in print sooner rather than when it is too late.
And foremost we bring you love in a Christmas Meditation by our own Sierd Woudstra.

I pray this issue will bring a little light to you in this darkness, and that you will find strength to continue our work of bringing love to all people. What will you do in the coming year? We need thousands of little acts of kindness to outshine the explosions and gunfire happening all over our world. Maybe it’s time to finally get rid of that “If You Ain’t Dutch, You Ain’t Much” bumper sticker and replace it with a DIS sticker. Bring a stick of banket over to the neighbor you haven’t met yet. Send some young person a gift subscription to Dutch: the Magazine. As for me, I’m going to share my chili sauce.

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