It's already the middle of October, the air is getting cooler, and thoughts of the holidays are filling my mind. More than anyone around me, I am excited about Christmas. I love this time of year, celebrating, gift-giving, and of course, all the holiday treats that go along with the Christmas season. My family's traditions include a 10 foot tall real Christmas tree (which is always a fight to actually get INSIDE the house), chocolate everything, homemade German marzipan, and a house smelling like apple cider when you come in from playing in the snow. I remember listening to Christmas music months in advance and having parties to decorate our home with everything Christmas. When we were younger, these months were busy with Christmas plays and recitals. Even though the youngest in our family is 16 now, we still get presents from "Santa" and get excited about the "Christmas mouse" leaving us candies every night throughout December. All of November and December are spent finding the perfect present for brother, sister, or mom. I say all this to say that I love Christmas, and I've been blessed by years and years of great Christmas.
I have never lacked. Period. We have never lacked food; we've never even lacked indulging ourselves for the holidays. We have always celebrated gift giving. We've always given to one another generously, and received generous gifts from others.
I think my excitement over Christmas this year is due to celebrating here last year and seeing just how differently things happen. For your average Honduran living in poverty, Christmas is not a big deal, it's the same struggle to put rice and beans on the table as the day before. There is no extra income, so presents are out of the question. The kids don't know about Santa because he's never brought them anything before. The city isn't decorated with light up snowflakes or nativity scenes on the corner, and if you drove around all night to see houses decorated with Christmas lights, you'd only see a couple. This is not to generalize and say that no Hondurans celebrate Christmas; there is a wealthy population that celebrates very similarly to the States. However, the majority, and especially the families I work with here, do not have the luxury of celebrating, being free from the stresses of violence, lack of food, and abuse situations for even one day, much less a couple months.
I know material things are not the true "meaning of Christmas," and I'm certainly not trying to say that Hondurans would be better off adapting to American traditions. I just desperately want these kids, these families, to feel something different than what they are used to this Christmas. I want them to feel extravagantly loved, God's love. I want them to feel provided for, God's provision. I want them to be full of joy, God's joy. I want them to feel a warmth in their home, God's arms around them.
I'm working on a Christmas Outreach Program to reach about 30 families with food baskets, a community Christmas Dinner, Christmas presents for the children, and a Christmas Gospel message. My goal is not to provide material things for the sake of material things. I want to provide food so families can eat on Christmas, so that the people who are many times "invisible" know they are seen and deeply loved by a God who provides for their needs. I want to provide a community Christmas Dinner so we can sit at a table and feel the warmth of fellowship together as God's children. I want to provide Christmas presents for the children because they are likely the first presents of their little lives. Lastly and most importantly, I want to present the Gospel so these dear children of the Most High know that it is not I, nor donors who were luckier in life, that provide for them, love them, and stand with them. It is a God who deeply knows and loves them, and who came to this Earth in the form of a child to save them and give them an eternity rich in joy, peace, and love.
This is my Christmas this year - reflecting on the undeserved blessings I have experienced my whole life and pouring out all the surplus God has poured out on me. If you want to partner with me, please send me a message. Happy early Christmas. God Bless!
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