CHRISTMAS

Probably my most unique Christmas yet. And that’s not saying much, since every Christmas prior (minus 2 celebrated with my new Chase fam) had been spent with the Newcomb clan. I loved all of our traditions— Christmas Eve skiing on Mt. Hood. Gourmet Christmas breakfasts created by Mom, ate in our ‘jammies. Stockings. Gifts. Christmas Story read by cousin Matt.

So, this year, Seth, Sara, and I (along with our friends who are like our family here) talked and schemed and planned (well, Sara and I planned… Seth listened and gave input) in the hopes to bring together all of our traditions and to perhaps create some new traditions for our time here in Burundi.

We didn’t do so well on the creating or maintaining of traditions. No skiing (obviously J). No smokies for Sara. Christmas breakfast wasn’t very gourmet. But you know, even though it WAS very different, it was good… in a new way.

Christmas Eve day we all ran around doing last minute shopping (no holiday rush here… just getting ingredients for the evening dinner and creative last minute stocking stuffers from a store ran by Chinese with random, cheap goods— “T 2000”). And then, with a group of our good buddies, we had a simple dinner of homemade pizzas, fruit salad, and all kinds of baked goodies that we could concoct here. We finished the evening with Christmas carols and Christmas worship songs, with our friend Doug on guitar.

Christmas morning, we sipped the last of our Starbucks coffee (thanks to the G-Shep team who had brought some out) and opened our stockings. I got Sara, Sarah (who joined us from WR Rwanda), and Seth all goggles in prep for our Kigoma trip (see pix) and Seth a new supply of his favorite creamy peanut butter. We opened a few presents from each other, then hit the kitchen to make breakfast. Sara made waffles while I blended my fave fruit smoothies. Randomly, we played a bit of badminton in the backyard (as I bought rackets for Seth at T-2000, and he had also bought some for himself while he was there earlier that same day! The downfalls of limited shopping options!) That afternoon, we had a big dinner with a collection of other missionaries and NGO workers, and we concluded the day with desserts and games at a friend’s home.

So, it was good. But I missed many things from home— no Christmas Eve service (although we had attended a Christmas service the Sunday prior), my dear family, and the intangible FEELING of Christmas that was just… well, absent.

But I am reminded that all of those things are more surface. Those things that make up that “feeling” of Christmas time. I know that, of course, the essence of Christmas, is much more, much deeper, much richer— the message that Christ brings. The coming of true peace to the world. Reconciliation for mankind. Freedom from suffering, poverty, and hunger.

And, you know, the hope for those things, I think I can see more clearly HERE.