Merry Christmas for Swaziland!

Due to computer problems, this Christmas blog

is getting posted a bit later than what I’d hoped!
 

Due to computer problems, this Christmas blog

is getting posted a bit later than what I’d hoped!
 

Ellie and I had a great Christmas in Swaziland, celebrating with lots of our missionary friends here. Ellie’s “aunties” Katy and Jacci were with us for Christmas morning and spoiled her pretty well.

J
We were really excited to find a small bottle of real maple syrup here to go with our breakfast Christmas morning! Christmas dinner was at another friend’s house with several other missionary families. We continue to be thankful for the great missionary community we’re connected with here!

The weeks leading up to Christmas were filled with Christmas parties and preparations.

We had a Christmas Party at the beginning of December for the children that attend the feeding centers we work with out in the rural area. As always, it was chaos but good. Thanks to a donor, we were able to purchase a cow to slaughter for the event. I grew up on a cattle farm in Iowa, but I’d never seen the butchering process quite so close up before. Yuck. The children had a great time playing games and making crafts while the ladies I work with went at the cow with an axe in the back room, and then spent hours cooking it over the fire.
  
 

Last Thursday we had a Christmas celebration just for the women I work with. By the time it was over my face muscles hurt from laughing and smiling so much. Again, thanks to several donors we were able to have a big meal and every woman went home with a gift bag, including: lotion, candles, matches, laundry soap, salt, sugar, and gravy mixes that they typically eat with their corn meal mush. They were so excited about their gifts and broke into a spontaneous dance line around the room when we gave them out. 
 

We also
had a drawing at the end for some special prizes. You would have thought “The Price is Right” had come to Swaziland, with all the jumping and shouting there was. Seven women who had won different games throughout the day drew numbers to choose one of the wrapped up special prizes. The women not up front choosing, were shouting which present to pick and what they thought was inside. The women up front held their hands over their mouths and fanned themselves, they were so excited. The prizes included plastic containers (anything plastic is coveted here) with a dishtowel and soap inside, a lantern and kerosene, some “coupons” for a meal at Kentucky Fried Chicken with their American friends, and a special coupon good for a new pair of shoes. When each prize was opened there was more jumping and shouting, but the shoe coupon was the best. It might as well have been a new car, as S’Thembile, the grand prize winner, and her circle of friends hugged, jumped, and shouted with fists pumping in the air. We’re looking forward to taking the women to redeem their “coupons” after the New Year.

We also
had a drawing at the end for some special prizes. You would have thought “The Price is Right” had come to Swaziland, with all the jumping and shouting there was. Seven women who had won different games throughout the day drew numbers to choose one of the wrapped up special prizes. The women not up front choosing, were shouting which present to pick and what they thought was inside. The women up front held their hands over their mouths and fanned themselves, they were so excited. The prizes included plastic containers (anything plastic is coveted here) with a dishtowel and soap inside, a lantern and kerosene, some “coupons” for a meal at Kentucky Fried Chicken with their American friends, and a special coupon good for a new pair of shoes. When each prize was opened there was more jumping and shouting, but the shoe coupon was the best. It might as well have been a new car, as S’Thembile, the grand prize winner, and her circle of friends hugged, jumped, and shouted with fists pumping in the air. We’re looking forward to taking the women to redeem their “coupons” after the New Year.

In the last couple weeks with the women, our weekly meetings have focused on portions of Genesis 3 and Romans 5, in hopes of laying a solid foundation in the ladies hearts of why we need a Savior and the significance of Christ’s sacrifice. It was a great build up to our party celebrating the fact that God
did send a Savior to a world enslaved to sin. It was exciting to the see the women really celebrating and “getting” what it means that Jesus became
Immanuael—God with us. Throughout the afternoon of the party we did an abbreviated version of the advent candles, talking about the peace, hope, joy and love that in found in Christ alone.
Oh, I pray that they would come to know and love Jesus more in the New Year!”

We brought my Christmas tree from home to help decorate for the party. It’s the smallest thing you’ve ever seen, but the women were so excited to have a tree at their party. Afterwards they all wanted to have their picture taken by it, and struck some pretty funny poses for their photo shoots. One woman grabbed a cell phone and acted like she was talking on the phone by the tree, another pretended like she was putting on an ornament, and some posed with their gift bags on top of their heads. All of this, of course added to the soreness of my face muscles.

J
 

So, in spite of the intense Africa heat, we’ve managed to have a really great Christmas holiday. I may be using a little of the Christmas money I’ve been sent to purchase yet another fan for our house! I hope you all are enjoying a great holiday and are continuing to celebrate the birth of our Savior!