A Sunny Christmas

     I decided soon after getting to Africa that I wouldn’t be having Christmas this year. This would be my first winter away from home. How in the world could you have Christmas without snow or family? How could you have Christmas in the summer? How could you have Christmas in a place where they use umbrellas when it’s sunny? That is unheard of! Well, I obstinately shut out the Christmas music people would play and anything else that had Christmas cheer, though I did put a picture of my yard back at home covered in snow as my background.
    About a week or two before Christmas, Teisa gave a message beginning with the statement of how cool it was that on Jesus’ birthday, he wants to give everyone else presents. As simple as it was, I had never thought of that before. She proceeded to ask the group what they can give Jesus for Christmas. That message stuck with me.
    Then my team had to do a Christmas skit for all the kids at the feeding center. We had Jesus on His birthday with his friends. His friends said happy birthday, but then they had to go do something and would “be right back.” Decorating, food prep, family, friends, games, Jesus was left alone. He tried to join us with what we were doing, but he was rejected. Finally He yelled “It’s my birthday!” and we all went to him, with someone cheesily throwing out the line “we forgot what Christmas was all about!” and asked to hear of his birth.
     Christmas Eve rolled around and we went to a candle light service. Pastor Surprise gave a message about how on Jesus’ birthday, the angels came down from flapping their wings at God to flap their wings at the shepherds- at us- telling of the good news and pronounced peace and good will towards men. He went on to say that we would see angels on Christmas day- anywhere we’re at: on the road, at home, etc. It was a good message. Now let me tell you about Christmas day and the angels we saw.
    After having a nice turkey lunch with a  couple here at Micheal Childrens’ Village, we set out to spend the next few days in Durban- around an eight hour drive. We stopped in Ermello, ZA to try and find some dinner and it looked like a dingy town that we didn’t want to stop in. Nothing seemed to be open anyway. We were on our way out when we came upon a McDonalds. Well, most of the team seemed to be stoked at eating Christmas dinner at McDs… Me not too much, but sacrifices had to be made. While at McDs, we asked this Afrikaans man with his wife and two children which way is safer to Durban. He expressed concern and offered for us to stay at his uest house. We decided we would try the roads out for a half hour and see, and if they weren’t kosher we’d give him a call. By then it had started to rain with thunder and lightning on the way. We didn’t get far before coming upon a construction zone with flashing lights and “caution” signs. We couldn’t see much in the dark, and it was hailing, but one lane was blocked off with no one manning the traffic so we could’ve easily hit oncoming traffic. Thankfully we pulled over and decided to stay with the Afrikaans family, all awhile I was looking for angels in the flashes of light. and then I realized… They were our angels.
So I had Christmas after all. Who needs anything else when you have Jesus?