Hope, Peace, Joy & Love

The four themes of advent

For those of you that don’t usually celebrate Advent— it is marked by the four Sundays preceding Christmas. Each Sunday has a different theme- Hope, Peace, Joy and Love. In our family we usually celebrate advent by reading different stories each night from creation through to the story of a baby born in a stable in Bethlehem. But each Sunday we highlight for the kids how these different stories and the story of Christmas is about God bringing hope, peace, joy and love to humanity.

Hope, the promise of a bright future even when the current realities are hard.

Peace, the calming of fears even in times of uncertainty.

Joy, the inner triumph and soul contentment that cannot be shaken by anything of this world.

Love, the embrace of one who has given everything freely and lovingly to make us his own.

Our English Club gathering!

We had our annual English Club Christmas party on Wednesday and we always get lots of questions. Islanders generally haven’t been exposed to Christmas much (except for scenes in movies and stories from islanders who have visited other countries).  As they look around our house decorated for the holiday, we naturally get lots of questions like, “What is that called?” “Why do you have that?” So we end up explaining stockings and ornaments, snowmen and reindeer. But ultimately these are not the most important things for them to understand. It is the more abstract ideas of hope, peace, joy and love. They can’t be fully encapsulated in a few words, but on Wednesday we told stories, we sang songs and tried to explain the ways that one simple birth made these abstract concepts reality.

The next day we had a very different gathering. It was the same room with the same decorations. But instead of the mix of English students, it was a group of women dedicated to understanding the real reason for this holiday. We studied the story in the local language. We all shared our observations and input. We marveled at the command of “do not fear” from the angel and then marveled again at the peace and joy that descended on those who received the good news. We thought about what it would be like to be a woman in this culture, pregnant before marriage and what the message of “do not fear” would mean to her. Then we questioned why the baby would be born in a stable of all places. Until one woman rejoiced at the idea that in his love, he had become accessible to all, even to the lowest of us. At the end, earnest prayers were lifted up in a mix of languages and we went away with a firmer grasp of that hope, peace, joy and love available to us.

Acting out the story: Mary on the donkey

They were both Christmas gatherings. Both included singing and discussion. Both gatherings ended with some snacks and socializing. And we had a good time at both. But the first was a group of people primarily interested in the English language and the culture of English-speaking countries. Most were students who came because we have knowledge they desire. The second group wasn’t there for us or anything we could give. They were there to celebrate and discover knowledge available to all, but only found by some, the promise and richness of hope, peace, joy and love. 

May we all find these amazing gifts this Christmas season.

PRAYERS ANSWERED
We had a wonderful Christmas day yesterday celebrating as a family and with our team. Our kids finished their exams at the local school and are already enjoying the break from classes. We finally had the women’s gathering that had been postponed for several weeks— it went well and was an encouraging time. Our English Club Christmas party went well and was well-attended. After much suspense and drama, our teammates’ visas came through!  Our downstairs neighbors are feeling better. We have an appointment with a doctor in Kenya and a place to stay. 

PRAYERS REQUESTED
This past week was exhausting and we’re feeling tired. Pray that we can have some restful days while still getting the things done that we need to do. One of our old neighbors is marrying off her daughter next week and wants us to be involved. The problem is that she isn’t a great communicator and isn’t clear in her expectations. Help us to be good friends to her and know when we need to be where. Two of our teammates are traveling today to mainland Africa for vacation— pray for safe travels and a relaxing trip. One of them needs to renew her passport while she is there, pray that the logistics for that go smoothly. Tom wasn’t able to do the final study with the small group of men, so he will do it this Thursday. Pray for a good meeting and that they would continue to gather on their own even after this initial series is finished.