Welcome, everybody. This is Simon Gilbert with Inspired. Inspired if you're new to us, it's all about

meeting different people from, no, I'm not doing that this week, no, because it's Christmas

day and this is just an opportunity to say to the wonderful worldwide inspired community,

a very happy and meaningful and precious Christmas to you. I don't know how your year's been.

We've had multiple challenges and you might have as well.

But I hope that week by week you've been encouraged as we've heard this stunning stories of

faith under fire and people overcoming and God at work across the nations. Listen, I would love it

if you have been encouraged. If you wanted to give me a Christmas gift, the best Christmas gift

you can give me, honestly, is to leave us a review. I mean, we ask it week by week and a number

of people, hundreds of you have done it, but hundreds of you listen faithfully, or thousands maybe, and haven't done it. So it would just take a few minutes. Could you on Spotify or iTunes just give us a great review? And that means that the algorithm will take us to the top of the charts. And it's not about being chart toppers. I mean, each each week actually we do get to number one or number two in the UK charts,

but it's about more people hearing good news. And I think it's so very, very worthwhile. So please, if you've been blessed by the podcast, take those few minutes to do that. Another thing I'd just like to commend to you is let me share with you a message that I got from my dear colleague, ministry colleague, out in Burundi, which is going through a hell of a time,

Chantal, She wrote this to me a few days ago. Greetings from Bejumbre, Burundi. I'm writing this, Simon, with tears in my eyes and a wounded heart, as I see the struggle of my people, especially my staff. I wish I could go into a big hall or a valley and shout,

why all this Lord? I know he sees everything and he will change the situation at the right time.

Simon, things are no longer as they used to be. There's no fuel, there's no sufficient water, no electricity.

People have forgotten what it's like to travel by bus. They

walk long distances and are hungry. I'm crying as I write this. Yesterday, I went to the butchers.

I used to buy one kilogram of meat for 23,000 francs, but I was told it's now 47,000. I screamed in

despair as he told me that this Christmas it would be 60,000 francs from 23,000.

Now everything has gone up two or three times. The situation has become worse beyond your imagination.

Every day I received three or four people at my office or home telling me they have slept hungry.

Children didn't go to school. They'd been chased away from their

house because they didn't pay rent, etc. Simon, I know you always send Christmas gifts so that families

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