Please Note: We will be taking a break from the blog as we go on vacation, so don’t expect many updates until the New Year.
(Pictures: Megan and some students at our Christmas English club; Tom teaching some carols at our Christmas party)
We live in a place where most people don’t celebrate Christmas. They don’t know much about it. They don’t know that it is one of the biggest holidays in the Western world. They don’t know about shopping, gifts, and malls, mistletoe and Santa Claus, sleigh rides and jingle bells. Most have never even heard the story of a baby being born in a manger. Does this dampen our Christmas spirit? Not in the least. Instead, we have the exciting undertaking of sharing Christmas cheer at every opportunity, and just like at home—Christmas is a good reason to have people over and celebrate. So in the past two weeks, our teammates and we have hosted more than 5 Christmas parties, taught about Christmas in classes, and shared the Christmas story with friends and neighbors. In so doing we have been able to share with well over a hundred people about Christmas!
What does an Island Christmas Party look like? Let us tell you about last night’s party as an example. Last night we invited the association of English teachers that Tom is teaching. Learning about Christmas is an excellent way to learn more English, so part of the time was dedicated to thinking about how a teacher can use a story to teach English. So, using different techniques, we told and retold the Christmas story three different ways. We wish you could have been there for the time we acted it out—and then for the great time of questions afterwards: “What did Mary’s family think? What about her fiancé? Wasn’t there something about a star? Who’s Son is he? What does Messiah mean? What does Savior mean?”
After that we put on Christmas music, brought out snacks and took a Christmas culture quiz. As they snacked on cookies, brownies and popcorn they answered difficult questions like:
Where does Santa Claus live?
A. In a tree B. At the North Pole C. In heaven D. In Germany
After going through the quiz, it was time to sing Christmas carols. We love to sing Christmas carols, but there is something really special about seeing people enjoy a Christmas carol for the first time. As Tom played his guitar we sang: “We Wish You a Merry Christmas”, “Jingle Bells” and “Go Tell It On the Mountain.” Many of them got out their cell phones to make recordings of our singing. We sang the songs over and over again as they tried to memorize the tune and the words. They simply did not get tired of it. All the while they would throw in questions: “What’s a bobtail?” “What does it mean to jingle?” “What is this word ‘salvation’?”
As the party came to an end our friends thanked us for the food and the fun and especially the singing. They want to teach all their classes these wonderful songs. As they left they wished us a Merry Christmas and we answered in kind. The best part was that all of us really meant it.
PRAYERS ANSWERED
We are so thankful for how well all the Christmas parties turned out. We are especially thankful for the party that we hosted at our house. The day was cool (so our house was not unbearably hot that evening), we had no power cuts (which have been almost every night recently), and everyone came and had a good time. The leadership conference this past week went well. Some of the participants brought songs they had written in the island language. It was very exciting to join them in singing these new songs of praise. Also, the teachers association that Tom is working with is really coming along. One of the female teachers who had been quite nervous gave Tom a big smile and said that teaching went really well this week.
PRAYERS REQUESTED
On Friday we will travel to Spain to be with Tom’s family for Christmas. Pray for safety in our travels, especially for health. Some people have expressed concern about the H1N1 virus, as it is hits pregnant women especially hard. Pray for our island friends—that all the things they learned about this week would penetrate their hearts and minds with true meaning and significance of Christmas and desire to learn more. We said goodbye to one of our language helpers and friends this week. Ankili has received a scholarship to study in Russia and leaves for 2 years or more. Pray with us for his adjustment and for the things and people that will influence him there.
