Skip to main content

A Ugandan Christmas

This year was my first African Christmas. It was the first Christmas away from my family. Basically, it was a bunch of "firsts". Nothing was the same, and I had the time of my life. Christmas Eve in America always brought me to church to join with other believers in the celebration of our King.This year, it involved bon fires and dancing! I wish I could have got some pictures of the beauty. I am always taken away at night with a fire. There is just something beautiful about the crackling of the wood, and the smoke rising to the starry sky. We sang some African praise song. These were songs I learned at New Heart, my precious church in Boise. I was missing them terribly lately, and singing those songs with the beautiful kids of Redeemer House brought some contentment in my heart.
Christmas morning was filled with hot chocolate and church. The kids had some friends from America come and spend the day with them. They had all kinds of sugar, and played and played and played! They were all over the place! I gave up trying to keep up with what they were doing. It was beautiful. I love watching kids play. It brings contentment to my heart -- The perfect Christmas gift!
(Christmas Morning Hot Chocolate)
It was good to step away from the commercialized Christmas of America. I sometimes get caught up in giving gifts and doing all the meaningless (but still fun!) things. Take away spending as much money as possible. Remove the decorations. Forget the guy in the beard. And (dare I say?) throw out the Christmas cookies. Take it all away, and you have a baby in a manger. One born to die for the entire world. This Christmas, I got to step away from the multitude of the American Christmas traditions. As I result, I was reminded of that baby. Now, we still had the decorations, the gifts, and even some cookies, but behind it all we remembered Christ. We took the time to praise Him. I needed that reminder, and I came to Uganda following that baby, because thirty years after that first Christmas, he died for me and for the rest of the world. And the rest of the world needs to hear of that wonderful salvation.
I have also been blessed with technology. Most of the time, I cannot stand it! I am just not good with it, and don't always like to be dependent on technology. However, it has been a wonderful way to stay connected with my family. We were able to skype their Christmas morning. I pestered them until they woke up through facebook by commenting on a thousand pictures. It was wonderful to be able to talk with them... even if they made one of my favorite treats in front of my face. Haha. While I was waiting for them to wake up, a few of my kids and I made this wonderful video. It is our "Merry Christmas to those who know Auntie Mary" So hopefully it works (like I said, I am not good with technology!)



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saying Good-Bye. The Boise Effect.

Saying goodbye is never easy, and since I have been overwhelmed with a massive amount of them in the past few weeks, I have decided to simply look at the blessings. No one truly understands relationships that are built until someone leaves. I have spent three and a half years in Boise. I built amazing relationships with people I will never forget. I believe my time in Boise molded me into a stronger, more whole person. I know God brought more and more of His glory to my life because of my time in Boise. My faith was stretched time and time again. I was challenged in scripture, and grew so much in my knowledge.  I made a wonderful group of friends through school. In the past three years, I grew so close to these people! It is funny to think that I have only known these people for three years. I feel as though we have known each other forever. That is how close I became to students and professors. Together we opened our hearts, and allowed Christ to move in our lives in w...
2 comments
Read more

The Invisible

They come to church every Sunday. The details of why they chose to walk through the doors vary with each woman represented. But at their core, they are searching for truth. They can bring nothing to the table, except themselves. They have little education. They have no money. They have nothing to offer. What a beautiful opportunity the church has to love these women with the love of Christ, teaching them the truth they may not even realize they hunger for. But this doesn’t happen. These women are invisible to the eyes of the leadership. If by chance they are seen, they are seen as a disturbance. Soon, they grow weary of being invisible and they stop coming, searching for truth and acceptance elsewhere. Although the faces change with the seasons, these women are always present. My eyes have recently been open to these beautiful women. Apuun, a friend of mine, started attending church. She professes to be a Muslim. As she continues to come, I am the only one who talks with her. I ha...
Post a Comment
Read more

Reflections of Grace

Most of us know the quote, “Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift, that is why they call it 'the present'”. We use it to remind ourselves that today is what counts. We must focus on what is in front of us, and cherish today for what it brings us. This is so critical. When we begin focusing our thoughts and energy on the past or the future, we miss out on the blessings God is prepared to give us today. Jesus told us not to worry about tomorrow “because today has enough trouble of it's own”. We cannot dwell on our pasts because Jesus came to free us from the troubles of our pasts. Yet, we must have a healthy dose of both past and future if we are going to make the most of our present. I have a tendency to dwell on the future, especially right now. I want to know what the next big adventure God will allow me to experience. I want to start preparing now so I do not have to wait another five years before, and then finding out I am suppose to be halfway...
Post a Comment
Read more