December 25, 2010
Sitting in the yard under the trees watching a blue jay sized bird with an iridescent blue green back and a red cap enter a knot hole in a tree to feed its young. (No pictures because the camera was dropped and is quite dead.)
Glad tidings of great joy to all peoples from Zambia where it doesn't look anything like Christmas as we know it in North America.
Our Christmas Day began at 5:30 AM as we joined our family and friends at Elizabethtown Brethren in Christ Church via Skype for their 11:00 PM Christmas Eve Candlelight and Communion Service. We were able to sit out under the trees, serenaded by birds, as a clear African morning dawned while they were concluding their day in darkness lit by candlelight. It was wonderful to almost be there in person as we experienced the service and greeted lots of friends afterwards who were quite surprised to realize that we were communicating "live."
While we were on line, we downloaded a Christmas album via Itunes - a gift from Sam Kibler - and brought it home to play. Somehow we had missed loading this album into our Ipod in the States but now we could play our traditional Christmas morning rendering of "Joy to the World."
Then we had just enough time to get ready for the Christmas service here at the Nahumba BIC church. It began with singing a bit after 9:30 AM and continued until 12:30 when a sumptuous meal of rice, mixed vegetables, chicken and broth was served followed by a variety of cake and cookies, most of which were baked by Darlene and Emma - a project which consumed all of yesterday. Seems there is a tradition here of a Christmas Day meal and collections of money are made to buy provisions which various people then prepare for the meal. Imagine our surprise when 14 pounds of flour,10 pounds of sugar, plus margarine, eggs, milk and baking powder were delivered to our house with the instructions simply, "Bake cake." So she and Emma dug up some recipes and spent the entire day baking cake and cookies. By evening they had still not used up all the supplies but had plenty of baking done.
The service was indeed "Christmas" with several songs of the season mixed in with others which were definitely appropriate to the message of the coming of our Savior. A drama was presented by the young children which touched on all they key elements of the Christmas story including Mary giving birth to the baby Jesus - a teddy bear for this purpose. The pre-teen choir, led by a dynamic member of the group who faithfully mimicked the enthusiastic directing of Zambian men, did a rousing version of "Joy to the World" followed later by an encore in which the congregation was also invited to sing. Overall, we sang this piece 5 times. Then there were several music groups which comprise the bulk of the services here. Pastor Konayuma preached an excellent message from the Luke 2 text of the angels appearance to the shepherds developing these points -
- Christ's coming is good news of great joy bringing love, joy, peace and unity
- Christ's coming was as a Savior to all peoples
- Christ was not born in a respectable place. He is not born in respectable people but in needy people and He changes them.
- Christ receives glory when we receive Him and tell the good news by living the new life. Then there is glory to God in the highest.
We returned home mid-afternoon, rejoicing in the glory of the day but wiped out and took a great nap!
In other news:
We're in what is known as the "rainy season" in contrast to the "dry season." When we were in Zambia in 2008 in September, we never saw a drop of rain, just one small cloud in the sky and everything, except the Jacaranda trees, was brown. Now we have clouds every day. Sometimes just passing cumulous and other times, heavy overcast and rain punctuated by heavy thundershowers. This Christmas Day is sunny and warm. Everything is green and growing very fast. Several times now there have been beautiful evenings as the sun breaks through the clouds in the west and just lights up everything with a soft glow.
Last week Gene offered storage space to BIC Compassion Ministries for some corn meal which needed to be stored until distribution could be made. What he didn't realize at the time was that "some cornmeal" was a whole truck load of 50 pound sacks and that they would need help unloading it. So he spent the better part of an hour helping to carry sacks of breakfast meal into the store room. Quite a work out.
Last week we picked 2 dozen lemons from the tree in our yard which will be turned into juice and frozen. We're also watching mangoes and avocados ripen, and bananas growing. From time to time we get a few strawberries from the patch in the garden. Yesterday Gene planted some green beans, carrots and soybeans. We'll see how gardening goes here. The soil requires a lot of enrichment and we've begun composting everything we can.
We're having quite an adventure receiving phone calls and visits from people we don't know seeking information regarding things about which we know nothing. So we ask our own questions, usually of others, and gradually we begin to put the pieces of the puzzle together. There are a lot different "projects" (i.e., western assistance) going through this office. Some are designed by the Zambian church and assistance is requested, some are long-standing subsidies that come from BIC missions, some are the result of a pastor making a plea to an individual in America and receiving assistance. Some come into being because an American visiting here perceived a particular need and desired to help. We then become the channel for this aid. Some goes to individuals, some goes to churches, some goes to Zambian BIC ministries. So, it's a challenge to learn all the nuances of these and to keep track of them. We can see the day coming when we'll have more of a handle on this and we can turn our attention to other ministry.
One of the people we're handling sponsorship money for is a lady who teaches in a school for children with disabilities. She is continuing her education in this area with a vision and deep passion for helping the Zambian BIC church give greater attention to this particular "vulnerable population." We're excited about our growing relationship with her and the vision she has.
We're trying to really cut back on the 2K trips into town, not just to save Kwacha but to save the vehicle and ourselves. It is extremely rough, filled with serious potholes and several gullies across the road. With the rains here now, the road is steadily being taken apart. One of these days we won't be able to get out.
Well, we do wish you a very blessed Christmas and may Christ be born anew in your lives as you remember His coming among us in the form of a servant.
Mweende kabotu (Travel well)
