Tip of the Week-- December 18, 2014

Holiday spirit, when you are living out of your normal context, is a tricky thing.  If it becomes the focus of your Christmas season, you'll spend all your time chasing after a set of emotions that you can never fully recreate and miss out on learning deeper lessons that your new context can teach you about the celebration of Christ's birth.  If, however, you spend no time trying to conjure up some holiday spirit, you pass through the holiday hardly reflective of the meaning.  Our emotions are like that--wanting all or nothing--and we have to call them to participate, but not dominate.

So while I'm not wearing a red Santa hat or dreaming of reindeer this Christmas, I've made some intentional choices to bring along some of the symbols of Christmas in order to call my heart into worship and reflection.

I offer you the following tips for your African Christmas:

1. If you have a Christmas tree, it is likely seen better days.  The thing is probably a bit misshapen and the pre-lit branches probably don't work.  You've got the most bizarre assortment of ornaments.  Your tree isn't going to win any beauty awards.  Silly as it is, take your Charlie Brown Christmas tree out of its dusty box and set it up.

2.  Despite being the "cold season", your house needs no sources of heat, and it might seem counter-intuitive to put flames all around.  Who cares? Light candles, lots of candles.  Put one on every table and shelf you can find.

3.  When you are driving and see that guy wearing a woman's fuzzy sweater, little that cold edge in the air bite just a bit more.  You can almost imagine snow...

4.  Give gifts.  And more gifts.  It doesn't matter what; something simple will more than suffice.  You'll find something in the local market.  Go give your gifts and greetings until you are exhausted.

5. On those cold evenings after spending all day out giving your gifts and greetings, light your candles, sit in front of the tree and your nativity, and grab a blanket (turn on a fan and your swamp cooler first, of course).  Sit there and reflect.  Soak up Christmas in all its simplicity.  Remember that being out of your normal context gives you an insider's view of what actual happened that first Christmas.  Remember that all your need for fresh hope, refreshed joy, and new peace sets your heart up perfectly for receiving Emmanuel, God with us.

Merry Christmas!

Prayer Requests

1.  All my Christmas outreaches are still coming up!  The first of them will be tonight when I invite a group of friends over for a great dinner and evening of hanging out.  I'll explain the Christmas story to them (many have only the most vague idea about Christmas).  I'll do this again on Monday and Tuesday nights.  On Monday, we will head to the prison with gifts of hygiene items for the prisoners, and we'll show a movie called Hope.  Pray that each of these events would go well and would be led by the Holy Spirit.

2. I will be heading to the capital city for Christmas to spend it with dear friends that have recently moved there.  Pray for safe and easy travels, as well as a blessed celebration.

3. Praise the Lord that Mali has no more active cases of Ebola and those that were being followed because of their exposure to those with the disease have all been released.  (Due to certain rules of public health, they won't declare us Ebola free for another couple weeks, but in effect, we are FREE).  Please continue to pray for the countries affected by this terrible disease.

4.  Pray for a good start to the New Year.  Pray that the Lord would lead and guide myself and my team in this upcoming year.  Pray that the work of the hospital would continue to advance!

See you back here in the New Year!