Just having
passed the 5 month mark, and coming up on the half way point (which happens to
coincide with my birthday on the 27th), I feel it is time for some sort of
update and/or reflection. Not sure where this blog entry is headed, but I’ll
play it by ear, just as I do in my daily life here in Marouge.
Obviously,
Christmas in any other culture would be different than back home, but here, my
church doesn’t even celebrate Christmas. Because December 25th is
not the actual, exact date of the birth of Christ, the church leadership here
has decided it is inappropriate and unbiblical to recognize the day. I find
this a little strange given that they do celebrate new years in the church with
a worship service lasting long into the night, but I don’t seem to remember
December 31st mentioned in the Bible either… They didn’t even give a
hint of holiday spirit during the month, and the sermon on the Sunday before
the holiday was about the end times. Cheery indeed.
We found
our own ways to celebrate and make the season special and bright. The local
pastor held a small party in our honor knowing that Christmas is a big deal
back home. It was a nice gesture of our friends to come together on our behalf,
but it felt a little empty knowing that they were not celebrating the birth of
Christ as we have been brought up to do. I happened to find a single strand of
colored, blinking Christmas lights at the market. It was a lucky buy, and
really helped to brighten up the house. I also downloaded my favorite holiday
album to have some nice background music. It helped, but of course, it wasn’t
the same as being home.
It was all
an interesting time to reflect on what Christmas really is, and if it is
possible to authentically celebrate without all the tradition, family,
consumerism, and snow that I have always associated with it. On the actual day
that all my friends and family back home were exchanging gifts and drinking
cocoa around the fire, I walked to my friend Nikol’s house to get out of the
house for a bit. I was a bit exhausted from a bought of holiday blues, and so I
lay down to take a nap with her 2 year old son. As I was laying in her house
(or rather her small shack), I looked around at the crumbling walls of mud and
stick, I listened to chickens and kittens scurrying underfoot, and I was poked
by the scratchy stuffing coming out of the makeshift mattress I was laying on. As
I snuggled with this tiny, vulnerable child, I reflected on my current
surroundings and how similar they were to that first night of Christ on earth.
Mind you, when and where Jesus was born was a bit colder, and he was surrounded
by human onlookers instead of just chickens. And of course, Jesus didn’t come
into the world as a two year old. But to think that the Creator of the
universe, the Lord of all living things decided to send his son into the world
in such a humble setting- it really hit me what that meant for humankind.
Especially the humankind that still live in such conditions. It was a unique
way to celebrate the day. No presents, no feasts, no hubbub. Just a tiny baby,
a humble shelter, and a peaceful rest.
New Years
was a much bigger deal. We had a lengthy service at church, lasting from 8pm
until the turn of the year. The service included singing, dancing, boisterous
prayer (none of this is too abnormal for our church services), and towards the
end, a small talent show. Apparently, people wrote the name of their acts down
on slips of paper that were too be drawn at random to decide who would have a
chance to perform. There was one small skit and perhaps a mini sermon or two,
but most of it was singing. I was surprised to find my name had been chosen, as
I hadn’t written my own name down, but I didn’t mind. I just insisted the
guilty party who slipped my name into the basket come to join me in singing a
hymn in harmony. The actual moment of midnight wasn’t recognized, but as I took
a break from dancing my heart out, I checked to find 2012 was officially over
and 2013 had begun. It was a good way to usher in the new year.
I have to
say that my favorite holiday moment came a while after the holidays, when Jon’s
(Jon is my co-SALTer here) Mom and Grandma came for a visit. I was only
expecting them to carry a few small goodies that I had my own mother send to
their house before they came. We cannot receive packages through the mail here
due to exorbitant customs costs, so we rely on visitors or workers traveling
back and forth to carry care packages for us. I did receive the goodies, but I
was so very surprised and delighted when Jon asked me to come into his room to
have a little mini Christmas with his family members on the night of their
arrival. They had wrapped a handful of gifts for each of us, complete with the
little “to:” and ” from:” tags with our names printed on them. It felt just
like home and I couldn’t stop smiling as I opened a small set of hand tools for
gardening, various Trader Joe’s treats, and nice soaps and shampoos. I then was
given two full (reusable!) shopping bags of craft paper, candy, pencils, books,
and magazines from my own family. Later, while in Port Au Prince, I was able to
collect all of my Christmas mail as well, and I must have had upwards of 15
cards and letters. So the point of telling you all this is to say thank you to
my support community. Little gestures go a long way, a very long way and I
really appreciate everyone who has sent me a card, written me an email, or
offered up a prayer for me during this experience.
Life has
pretty much settled down back to normal after the holidays, Jon’s family visit,
and hosting a few groups from MCC here. It’s back to gardening, trying to
navigate the tricky system of getting money, materials, and workers all in the
same place in order to get work done, but mostly just hanging out with kids,
being present in the community, and building meaningful relationships. I’ll try
to be better at blogging in the next few weeks and return to my “Let me tell
you a little something about…” series. Until then, I hope this finds you all
well, and I hope you have had a promising start to this near year. May it be
filled with new opportunities, challenges, discoveries, and love for us all!
Peace.
Annie.
