The Grinch

Christmas morning!

It almost seemed like the cliché plot of a kids’ Christmas special. On Christmas Eve, an island grinch announced that Christmas was outlawed. No joke. A government official wrote and signed a proclamation declaring that Christmas was forbidden on the islands. No celebration, no gatherings. He even called on the police and military to enforce the edict.

We were surprised. We’ve never seen a proclamation that would seemingly limit the religious freedom of both islanders and foreigners alike. The current government has been less tolerant than previous ones, even insisting that islanders all practice the same form of the local religion, but nothing like this. And if they wanted to crack down on religion, why wait until the day before Christmas to make this proclamation?

Right away we had a couple theories where this last-minute proclamation had come from. Sometimes the islands do things for appearances. We doubted that they were actually going to go door-to-door and stop people from celebrating Christmas, but maybe they wanted to look like they were taking a hard-line on religion. It could be for political reasons or to ingratiate themselves with a country that has similar laws. The islands are dependent on aid from other countries and it wouldn’t be the first time that we had seen the island government do something for the sake of international aid money.

Making Christmas cinnamon buns

Someone sent us a link of the actual proclamation. Reading it, we realized the a big motivator was fear and confusion. It talked about defending their way of life from colonial powers. It talked about young people not knowing their own religion and being drawn into the debauchery of Christmas—a holiday for drinking, dancing, and promiscuity. It was obvious that the writer of the proclamation saw Christmas as a depraved celebration that went against the basic morality which the islands prize. So the edict was really going against the alcohol-infused dance parties thrown by some of the island hotels this time of year. But the edict said any and all Christmas celebration or gatherings were forbidden, even in homes.

We got news of the edict on Christmas Eve afternoon, but it didn’t actually effect our plans. We were going to celebrate quietly at home as a family. But it did make us wonder what this meant for the future. We always have a Christmas party with our English Club—would that be illegal in coming years? Our son overheard us talking about it and asked in a nervous voice, “Are we breaking the law by having Christmas?” We reassured our son that everything would be okay. But in all honesty we were uncomfortable with the direction in which it suggested the islands were headed.

So how did it end up?  Anyone who has seen one of those Christmas specials on TV knows how the story ends. The grinch can’t stop Christmas from coming! Especially when he is totally wrong about what Christmas is all about. Go ahead and get rid of the drunken hotel soirees, that doesn’t get rid of Christmas!

Christmas puzzle & read-aloud

Ultimately, the island grinch was brought down by another government official. The next day a higher ranking official threw out the proclamation and in his brief announcement suggested that the “grinch” was now in trouble for having made the decree in the first place! 

So it looks like Christmas on the islands is still safe, but its clear that we still have our work cut out for us to inform islanders what this holiday is really about!

PRAYERS ANSWERED
Our island friend was married a week ago and it seemed like everything went well.  We were thanked profusely for our participation.  Our travels over to the neighboring island have gone well.  It’s been good to see our friends and meet up with some of their friends again.  We were able to give a training on the 2 Kingdoms (mostly in French!) which was very well received.  We thank God for all His faithfulness to us in 2019.

PRAYERS REQUESTED
An island sister was just struck by tragedy as her pregnant sister just died along with the baby. Apparently she had been sick, but her death was not expected. Pray for peace and comfort in this difficult time and that the right people would be able to come alongside her and the rest of the family. We continue to struggle with health issues: colds, Megan’s back, and even stomach bugs have slowed us and gotten us down.  Pray for restored health.  We’ve heard of some possibilities for new team members to join us.  Pray that God would lead the right people to join our team.  Our teammates will be coming back from vacations and home assignments in the coming month.  Pray for their safe travels.  Pray for a great new year!