My African Christmas

For the past 22 years, Christmas has been a celebration of Christ’s birth with family and friends. It has been filled with candy canes and frosted cookies, trees beautifully decorated with ornaments and multi-colored lights strung across houses, stockings stuffed on Christmas morning and powder white snow covering the ground. Hot chocolate, snowmen, ugly sweaters, gift exchanges, caroling, Salvation Army bell ringers, and rejoicing at Church with a community of believers are always part of this holiday season. 

It is a wonderful, beautiful, joyful season every year, and to be completely honest, I miss every part of it. As I sit outside my room in Diani Beach, Kenya to write this, everything is the wrong color, everyone is speaking the wrong language, there are no lights or pine trees, and Santa has certainly not made it to this part of the world.   Instead of white, I see lush green trees; instead of English (or Swahili), people are speaking German here; instead of pine trees, I’m looking at a giant Baobab tree; instead of reindeer, there are monkeys climbing around; and instead of “Merry Christmas” it’s “Happy Krismasi”. It all feels so wrong. Yet, my calendar is still trying to convince me that it is in fact December 25.

And while it all feels wrong, I can find comfort in knowing that people all around the world are celebrating for the same reason: Jesus Christ is born! What more do we need than to simply celebrate that our Lord and Savior has been born to save us from our sin and death? When I focus on this, nothing else matters. With or without a Christmas tree I can still be joyful for His birth!

However, I do miss having a community of family, friends and fellow believers to rejoice with. Because we are spending a few nights on the coast, we are unfortunately miles from wherever the nearest church may be, and in reality, I’m thousands of miles from the community I would like to be with back home. In the most literal sense, I am clinging to Jesus as I simultaneously rejoice and cry out for strength. While I have no doubt that God has called me to Africa to be His hands and feet, it’s at this moment that I need his peace and comfort because the reality of not being home for the holidays is quite difficult.

In reading Luke this morning, a story I have heard and read many many times, I have a new appreciation for the reality of Christmas.

“While [Mary and Joseph] were in Bethlehem, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and placed him in a manger, because there was no room available in the inn. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.’” (Luke 2: 6 – 14).

I can’t help but think that Jesus was born into a life similar to that of Muyenzi. Actually, Bethlehem was probably more of a happening place than our village, but no water or electricity, being laid in a manger in a stable amongst the goats and cattle all sounds so familiar. While I normally would feel sympathy for their circumstances or guilt for having been born into “so much more,” I feel none of that this year. I have been happy with my simple life in Muyenzi; it just is what it is. So I can’t turn on a light; I’ll use a candle instead. So I don’t have a stove; good thing I can cook on charcoal. So I don’t have running water; that’s what buckets are for. So the market is 7km away; that’s why God gave me two legs. I promise you, it’s really not that bad. While I might not choose this life for myself, I can still find joy and happiness in the simplicity of it all. However, without Christ by my side every moment of every day, I don’t know if I would feel the same about all of this. And it is for His presence and saving grace in my life that I rejoice this year.