I pray this finds you all in good health and that you had a wonderful Christmas with friends and family. It was definitely a different Christmas for me, but I think because of the lack of 100 in. of snow and the different way that Africa celebrates Christmas, I really did not feel homesick. I know, sorry to my family. :) Truly though, a friend of mine here really helped me to prepare for the Christmas season. I was worried this would be the hardest time of my year in Africa, but she reminded me that in a year, I’ll be spending Christmas the same way I always have and that I’ll be able to celebrate it in this way for the rest of my life. How often do I have the opportunity to celebrate in another culture and worship with Christians in a totally different way?
Well with 90 degree heat and dust storms swirling around, I celebrated Christmas with my new African friends and family. We started the evening of Christmas Eve with a family dinner at the orphanage. Most of the time, the kids get their food and will eat all over the courtyard and in little groups, but for the family dinners, we all pull together tables and benches and eat as a group. Many of the kids return home for Christmas or parts of their vacation- many still have some sort of family in the surrounding villages. This year though, about 12 stayed at the orphanage (as well as our babies and toddlers) so we ate Riz gras (Rice with a sort of sauce mixed in) and we each got a piece of meat and a piece of eggplant on it. It was really good! I was a bit surprised when they dipped their large cups into a big bin that came out with a bright yellow drink- very similar to Koolaid. A special treat for the holidays. I finished the meal by making the group “blonde brownies.” They absolutely love baked goods, so it was great to share this with them :)
The Christmas Eve service at our church was supposed to start at 7pm. Of course it didn’t, so Ruth and I didn’t even leave the house to walk over until about 7:45pm. With barely anyone in sight at the church, we went into the pastor’s home (connected to the church courtyard) and visited with him for at least another half an hour. He didn’t seem a bit concerned that the service had not started over an hour later than it was supposed to. :) The things to get used to here… The service was really good! In some ways so different than the States, and in some ways, so similar. When the children came in acting like little sheep being herded by the shepherds, I couldn’t help but picture our little ones in church dressed up in white, baaing like sheep- slightly different look, but so similar. And when the choir sang “Angels We Have Heard On High” in their heart language of Mooré, my eyes misted as I felt the familiar warmth of home- slightly different with the African drums playing along with the carols, but so similar. And when the children stood in a line and took turns reciting the story of Jesus’ birth, verse by verse, I had to smile at the same sort of reactions they had; some yelling the verse, some quiet, some rushing through, some forgetting their lines- in a language I could not completely understand, yet so similar.
The kids behind me singing- recognize the song?
A girl's group singing/dancing- all in front row probably younger than 10 years old, what dancing skills!! :)
The service went til 1:30am. Yes, you read that right. I left at the ‘official’ end of the service, but many stayed for more singing and dancing til 4,5, maybe even 6 in the morning. What a passion to praise God! What a celebration of Christ’s birth. And the commercialism of the season really is non-existent here. Gift giving really is not that common, there are not the big shopping malls and people rushing around stressed out over last minute gift purchases. What a refreshing difference and reflection on the true meaning of Christmas. Of course there were moments when I got tired or frustrated with not understanding the Mooré at our very long service, but I was just overwhelmed by the idea of how similar this could be to Christ’s actual birth. We picture our Lord being born on a snowy December evening, in a small but cozy stable with straw all around, the animals softly talking to one another. We picture the baby Jesus wrapped in soft, white clothes and sleeping soundly in a small but maybe slightly comfortable manger. We even portray the story in our own language, English, with our own greetings and cultural understandings. But how different it was. When I watched the story unfold in Africa, I realized that Jesus was probably in a hot, dusty, and dry stable. Dirt floors and animal… waste… all around. The donkeys do not quietly speak, but LOUDLY yell as well as the wonderful roosters making noise, animals moving around, etc. It was not comfortable. Mary and Joseph were probably exhausted by the trip, long lines all over the crowded village, and with her difficult birth with no doctors or nurses to help. They might have had a pange to wrap Jesus in, but it was probably the bright leftover cloth from one of Mary’s outfits (the cloth used here to make the clothing- many woman have a 3rd pange wrapped around their waist to use in case they needed to carry a baby on their back). And when I heard the people in our Christmas drama greet each other in Mooré. “Nayzaabree” “Zaabree kibari” “Lafi” “Lafi bala” “Zakrumba” “Lafi. Zakrumba” “Lafi”… I realized how different the greetings and cultural language would be in the little town where Jesus was born.
Christmas day was a bit different as well. We had breakfast with the kids- I really wanted to make them breakfast, so made pancakes, about 40! Brought out peanut butter, jelly, and syrup for them to put on the pancakes. It was so funny to watch as they took huge spoonfuls of the toppings- probably more than the pancakes, and quickly ate the 2 ½ pancakes given to each :) The kids all went to church, and Ruth and I planned on leaving about 10 to head to Ouaga for Christmas with missionary friends. A little bit of drama with one of the kids, so got out later than we had hoped. We arrived in Ouaga and had a GREAT meal with 4 of Ruth’s single, woman missionary friends. So fun. We actually got turkey!! We then sat around in their home and watched lights on their Christmas tree (they found it for only $30 in Ouaga- usually the western type of things are SO expensive here!), and then exchanged gifts. How nice to be included in this great evening of fellowship. The missionaries have all been here for 20 years or more, so the amazing discussions we had, and the prayers and fellowship shared was really great. We spent the night at their home, and are now at the SIM guesthouse in Ouaga til I leave for my New Year’s trip.
Christmas with some BF missionaries! 
The beautiful Christmas tree :) Almost like home!We decided to do a shorter, less expensive trip to western Burkina Faso instead of Benin/Togo. I’m going with three other SIM short termers to Bobo Dialosso and Banfora- known for waterfalls, greenery, and a different sort of culture than the east side of Burkina. I’m real excited to see another area and of course spend time with the girls :) It’s funny though, I already miss the kids and know that two weeks away will be a bit weird after 2 months with them.
More updates to come in the next week or two! Thanks for your love and prayers and the various Christmas cards and emails. I feel your love from thousands of miles away :) Praying you all had a blessed Christmas season, and are staying warm in the snow, rain, ice, and fog. :) May God bless you in the closing of 2008!
A servant for him,
~Liz
Me with our nurse Bea and the new meds for the clinic
The babies and toddlers with their NEW diapers- bright white if only for a few hours :)
The issue is that we’re trying to figure out if there is even an interest for this because the postage will cost quite a bit. We’d have to plan on a fairly large order to make it worth it for all of you! If you can let my parents know by NOV. 29 we can get the order out to the States hopefully in time for Christmas. Again though, if there isn't enough interest, it probably wouldn't be worth it to send a little order- sooo don't plan on this for your only Christmas gift until we confirm :)
