It has been wonderful to hear from friends and family this Christmas. I admit I avoided facebook a bit. It was too hard to see everyone in front of their trees enjoying a traditional holiday. I typically pride myself (my first mistake, pride) in always celebrating Christ at Christmas and not letting my circumstances determine my joy. It has been very hard the past several years to have yet another Christmas where I felt like my family was split between two continents. This year I would finally have that and I expected to be overwhelmed with joy (my second mistake, expectations).
On the 23rd we would normally be working as a family to help with our churches Christmas Eve Eve celebration (we celebrate on the 23rd so that no school staff is asked to be away from their family for the holiday and so that many families can enjoy traditions together on Christmas Eve). I was missing a chance to worship and celebrate our good news in addition to Christmas. We walked into the restaurant at our hotel and they had put Christmas lights up on all the bushes and trees. Just a few hours earlier I had texted my mom about "I'm not sure how you decorate a banana tree for Christmas". I cried. I couldn't help it, it was such an unexpected piece of Christmas.
The next morning, Christmas Eve, we walked into the TV room to see this:
It's the box for the Christmas tree. Either Ugandan's really do find a use for everything, or they are mocking me. Either way it made me laugh.
The night of Christmas Eve our hotel hosted the most wonderful dinner celebration. It was outside under the stars, next to the pool. There were candles on all the tables and lanterns in the trees. We sang Christmas music and worshiped together. We unknowingly sat under a tree with white flowers and when the wind blew all the petals rained down and looked like snow in the candle light! God was clearly working overtime to heal my homesick heart.
(Waiting for all the guests to arrive)
We each had a scripture on our plate (they are in German because the woman that runs the hotel is from Germany- Shannon we thought of you!)
The choir of volunteers from Germany.
(Sorry I forgot to take pictures of the African drums, we were too busy dancing in our seats!)
They showed a video with kids from the school (African Village Hotel is more like a village than a hotel) singing their favorite Christmas songs and traditions. We celebrated with traditional African drums and dancing. Then we all put our finger prints on a paper Christmas tree to unite the fact that we are all away from home but celebrating together.
Christmas day started like any other day. We didn't have a big tree or stockings but Father Christmas did bring each of the kids a handmade doll. I wasn't sure what to expect from Cara. Would she be disappointed? She had asked Santa to bring our dog, Reeses, from home. Nope, she was thrilled and couldn't wait to show everyone here her special handmade fairy from Father Christmas.
After breakfast we got dressed for church and headed out the gate of our hotel and through the banana trees for the short walk to church. There is something about walking along a dirt path in sandals that made me think our Christmas was probably more traditional than it has ever been.
Next we napped, which I will confess helped my mood quite a bit. Then it was off to bounce in the bounce houses. Yes, our Christmas included outdoor bounce houses. I'm not sure we will ever be able to say that again.
(Only Cara pictured, Isaac was too interested in lunch to bounce LOL)
We finished out the day by facetiming with our families (who had finally woken up by then- 8 hours apart). I'm not sure how well they could hear us, they were showing a kids movie in the area of the hotel where we can use the wifi, but it was nice for them to finally see Isaac live and not just in a photo. He said all their names over and over and waved and blew kisses to his new family.
It may have felt more like 4th of July than Christmas, but it was still a great day.
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We also received word from the orphanage that they had accepted a new child on Christmas Eve. This sweet boy was in hospital and fighting to make it through the night. I can't share the details but this boy is in worse shape than anything I have ever seen (even in TV or movies). It has been a weight on my heart this holiday season. The need doesn't go away just because it is Christmas. Ken and Cathy spent their holiday paying hospital bills and checking in on him. I have so much love and respect for them and what they do. It is not easy to rescue these Children. It is not easy to be the one that takes them in when everyone else has turned away and given up. My hope is that I'll be able to report to you soon that this sweet boy is well. Please join me in praying for him. God knows his name and every hair on his head.
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