December 23, 2008

Santa

Here, billboard Santa is an African man wearing a green-and-white Santa suit. Sometimes Santa wears purple, depending on his mood.

I don’t know what to think about this (as well as many other things).

for me, this Christmas

People ask me about Christmas. Am I going to miss Christmas in the States? Do they celebrate in Kenya? What will it be like?

I put up two tiny, fake Christmas trees and some decorations in the house. It helps me “get into the groove” of Christmas. Whatever that means. Honestly though, a part of me feels excited to begin new traditions. To experience Christmas somewhere else in the world.

Besides, I think,
what is Christmas really and
how can it be truly celebrated
when there are those
without a Christ,
without a redemptive birth
to celebrate?

I do miss family and friends and (some) traditions (I’m not superhuman!), but the love of God compels us into outer darkness. I try not to dwell on my losses, but my gains. My first Christmas in Africa and I intend to enjoy it to the fullest.

“You can kiss your family and friends good-bye and
put miles between you,
but at the same time
you carry them with you in
your heart, your mind, your stomach,
because you do not just live in a world
but a world lives in you.”

- Frederick Buechner in Telling the Truth

into the east

“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea,
during the time of King Herod,
Magi from the east
came to Jerusalem and asked,

Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?
We saw his star in the east
and have come to worship him.”

Matthew 2:1-2

Just before I left California for East Africa, I would take evening walks almost daily. I was staying in a house on Big Sky Drive, perched at the base of a spectacular mountain ridge (which most of you know) called Wildwood.

Every evening, I had two options: walk west or walk east.
Every evening, invariably, I chose west.

West was the obvious, the natural choice – the choice of my flesh. In the west, the sky absolutely glowed in layers of pink and orange. Palm trees shimmered and reached for the cloudless, impeccable sky. Why would I not walk that way?

But one evening, as I descended the front steps, I felt God’s Spirit urging me, Turn left. Head east.

So I did.

I found myself surprised by the beauty I saw in that direction. A beauty less obvious, but there, nonetheless. A pink glow in a twilight sky. Refracting mountain faces. Blinking stars. And as I resisted the temptation to look behind me, at the burning center of the fiery sunset,

God’s Spirit spoke –

about the Church being willing to go into the east.
about being willing to move away from
the beauty, the glory, the light
about being willing to go into the outer darkness.

Just as a star drew men of wisdom into the east
and a Savior chose the east
for His descent, the east
continues to call forth
light carriers
truth proclaimers
teachers
artists
painters
servants –
ultimately, voices proclaiming …

O God our Savior,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas –

Psalm 65:5

Merry Christmas everyone.

p.s.
winston, churchill

What’s an East African Merry Christmas wish without an orphan story?

The toddlers continue to pass by the PR Office window and say, Hi, Hi, Hi. They continue to go for their Wednesday walks to the Ya-Ya Centre (shopping mall) saying, Ya-Ya, Ya-Ya as they go. The oldest toddler, Ken, says, Jah-Nay and puts his hand through the window like a tiny politician.

But by far, my favorite is Winston. I call him Winston Churchill. He's just learning to walk and so walks sideways and in zig-zag fashion past our window. Gotta love the little guy. There’s a picture of him below to make you smile and consider adoption...

“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak;
courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.”

- Winston Churchill (the real deal)