Dreaming White Christmas

utumn’s arrival ushers in the beginning of the hectic holiday season, and we all eagerly anticipate the hustle and bustle of activities that revolve around our family’s cherished traditions. Before long we’ll have baked the turkeys and pumpkin pies and, surrounded by those we hold dear, we’ll express our thanks for another year of God’s blessings upon us. As we begin dreaming of a white Christmas, our missionaries serving in foreign countries around the world will begin yearning for Christmas at home with family and friends. For some this will be their first Christmas away from home, for others it will mark yet another year of many. But for all of them, the memories of Christmases past and the nostalgia for family and traditions will be poignant as they adapt to celebrating their cherished traditions in different ways in the culture where they minister—many of which are hostile to Christianity and those who share the Gospel. We invite you to visit Grace’s community blog online at http://revive.gcc.org to read the heart-stirring personal accounts from these faithful servants of our Lord Jesus Christ, such as Tarrie Schall, missionary to Asia. Brenda Larzabal: Bogota, Colombia [ Focusing On The Unreached Indian Groups ] Fernando and I were already headed to the mission field when we got married. So as we began to form the parameters of our family life, the country in which we lived had a strong impact on the “what and how” we chose to celebrate holidays and special events. We have tried to

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maintain the essence of certain holidays while celebrating them in a way that is perhaps more culturally appropriate. In some cases we have maintained specific aspects of the U.S. cultural celebration (such as decorating eggs at Easter) and then mixed it in with ways that our host culture celebrates the holiday (it is a holy holiday on Thursday and Friday and everything is closed (…a good day for having a picnic, attending church, etc.). The only U.S. holiday that we have chosen to keep exclusively in our family tradition is Thanksgiving. It is not celebrated as a holiday here. Here on the day that Thanksgiving is celebrated in the U.S., it is a work day and since our boys attend a national school, we cannot celebrate it in the traditional U.S. way. We have over the years sought to maintain the essence of the holiday by giving thanks to God for what He has done for our family and in our lives during the past year. We often have had to adapt the form of the holiday, sometimes celebrating it on Saturday with other Americans. But most often, we celebrate it in the evening when the boys come home from school. We try to have turkey (or chicken when there is no turkey to be found in the country), mashed potatoes and whatever fixings we can get that remind us of the traditional dinner in the U.S. I have learned how to make pumpkin pie out of squash that tastes just like the pumpkin pie that Mom made. We often have one of our national family friends over to share the tradition and significance with them. They have always appreciated that we included them in our special event. At each table setting there are two kernels of corn. After eating, each person at the table puts the two kernels of

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corn in a basket that is passed around while we each share two things that we are thankful to God for in this past year. We then pray together, thanking God for those things and for His goodness to us. Other national holidays are celebrated here as well like Christmas and Easter. However, the emphasis of the celebration here is less on materialism and more on relationships. Here in Colombia many people put up Christmas trees (those families that can afford them) and decorate their houses. We decorate our house and put up the tree together as a family the weekend after Thanksgiving. We celebrate more on Christmas Eve with friends or coworkers, as is the custom here in Colombia. We eat a big special meal late on Christmas Eve (typically homemade pasta or turkey). Gifts are exchanged and opened on this night. We have maintained the U.S. tradition of hanging stockings that we open on Christmas morning. I made each of our boys a stocking in cross-stitch, which we hang on a book shelf and then fill for Christmas morning. We have never celebrated (believed in) Santa Claus, though we do accept him as a fictional character of Christmas. On Christmas day in the afternoon, we get together at one person’s house with all the families of our mission, and everyone brings food and we have a mission family time together. The missionary women have a gift exchange, and we draw names so that each of the MK’s has something under the tree as well. * More Stories & Personal Accounts Found Online At REVIVE.GCC.ORG

02 | REVIVE.GCC.ORG > NOVEMBER 2007 - JANUARY 2008