I'm going to say
words. Because they're true and honest. Not because I have regrets. But because
I have feelings.
One of the hardest
things right now in this Holiday Season so far from home is that I'm a first
world girl in a third world country. (I know. You thought I was going to say
family. But really, I had braced myself for that. That was an expected
struggle. This caught me unaware.)
I miss the hustle and the bustle of the holiday season. I miss putting on my pea coat and scarf and boots (oh! How I miss boots!) and going to the mall, all decked in Christmas cheer with seasonal music playing and people with parcels talking and laughing as they flit from store to store. I miss going to Starbucks and getting my red cup, regardless of what design is or isn't on it. A triple grande peppermint white mocha. And I miss looking through their ornaments and mugs and watching people pass by the glass windows while my coffee is being hand crafted. And I miss following whoever I'm with as they work on their Christmas shopping, because, let's not play, my income level was on the low side, so I wasn't actually involved in much consumerism myself.
And I miss finding
the exact something I was looking at in the mall (but was a little too
expensive to buy for myself, especially during the holidays) under the tree,
because the person I was following saw me eyeing it and thought to get it for
me.
I miss the spirit of
giving that's found back home with all the atmosphere of the season mixed in.
(Not that there's not a spirit here! These are some of the most generous people
I've ever met, but the atmosphere is a little lacking…)
I know that the
spirit of giving can become a little corrupted with the spirit of receiving and
consumerism, but for a lot of people, I think that the "pagan"
aspects of Christmas still have Christ at the heart, reflecting His gift to the
world in our gifts to each other.
And I miss the whole
shebang.
Here, stores have
some garland and a garishly decorated tree. Sometimes Christmas music is
playing but often it's a bit odd… Like the mash-up of Hark the Herald Angels
and Dame La Gasolina we heard the other day. And it's really no weather for a
pea coat and the lightest of scarves would be stifling. The other day I thought
it felt like a nice spring day and looked to see it was 90*.
How I miss all the
little things "The Season" entails…
But even while I get
tucked into bed with visions of lattes dancing in my head, I know that the
reason for the season is Christ coming to the world for everyone. Even these
people with tacky Christmas trees and an utter lack of winter here in Papua New
Guinea. And we're here, my little family of 3 1/2, to help see transformed
lives, through translation, literacy, and incarnational living. To help those
far from God, to help the skin Christians (nominal Christians), and to help
those with the cargo cult mentality (a mix between consumerism and the
prosperity gospel) be raised to true life through the most precious gift of
all: Christ Jesus.
So I'll download a
Christmas music playlist, and decorate my house as pretty as I can, and watch
Christmas movies, all shamelessly in the name of teaching my son American
culture so he won't return to America as a bushkanaka (jungle hillbilly). And while I'm relishing in the semblance of Christmas culture I have cultivated here, I'll busy myself with work to help bring the Good News of the birth of Christ to the people here in their heart
language, so that it can truly change their hearts.
All of our work is
done through generous people who are willing to give a bit of their income to
the Bible-less of Papua New Guinea. If you would like to extend the Spirit of
Giving this Holiday season to this ministry, whether through a special gift or a
monthly commitment, you can check out our giving page or email me personally
and I can let you know how you can help! Thank you!
1 comment:
Elizabeth,
I am inspired by your words as I sit here in Lula, Georgia on the other side of the world from you and your beautiful family. It has been unseasonably warm here but finally some colder weather moved in so a coat feels good for a change. I am inspired by your move to your new home. I look around my room where my husband is watching a high school football playoff game and see with new eyes all the little convienences I take for granted and I am humbled by your simple wish not for central air conditioning or a 60 inch high-def tv, but just good old fashioned Christmas spirit. I too love the decorations, the smells, the bustle, and I think, most of all, the music of this special time of the year. But your words have put it all into perspective for me. Christ, my Lord and Savior, died that I might receive God's grace and mercy. The work you are doing there is so important and it takes people with determination and persistence and a warm, caring spirit to spread the Good News of our Savior's birth, life, death and resurrection to all the world.
Thank you for choosing to go on this journey and from my house to your's, may you all have the Merriest Christmas and continue to celebrate where God has put you at this time.
Best wishes,
Pat Thomas
Liberty Baptist
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