Friday, October 19, 2007

It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas!

Why is it looking a lot like Christmas here in North Africa, you ask? Is it the cold, damp nights that have descended upon the Sahara desert? Is it the hint of tinsel and Christmas tree ornaments already making their way int0 the seasonal section of the stores? Is it posters put up in the mall about when Santa will arrive for pictures? Nope, although I am sure that some of you are already experiencing that!

Although we are having cooler days and nights here than the summertime highs, there are no snowflakes falling or blustery winds! And, for better or worse (I can't decide which is better) Christmas consumerism and obsession does not hit this country where only foreigners celebrate the holiday. The closest we have ever had to "jolly old saint nick" is....well....hmmm.....I know there must be some sort of comparison here, but I can't think of it off the top of my head. Anyone reading this blog who has been or lived here, please help me come up with it! So, you ask again, "please tell me why you counted the days until Christmas yesterday" (which I actually did, do you know we ONLY have 67 more days).

Well, we received a package yesterday. One of our teammates gave us a package slip. We were excited, because receiving packages here is a little like college. Remember that? The slip you received from grandma with banana bread and cookies that came just after your not-so-hot chemistry test..that didn't actually happen to ME, but to my roommate once. Anyways. So, we went to the post office to pick up our package and realized it was from our church in FL. I opened it up in the car on the way home. This was too exciting to wait the whole 10 minutes to our house. Inside were a whole bunch of wrapped Christmas presents!! WOW!!! Now, you are thinking EXACTLY the same thing I was thinking-who in their right mind is really that organized to have gathered presents, wrapped them, and sent them to Africa MONTHS before Christmas. Then, I saw a letter and realized that our pastor's wife had sent us their Christmas newsletter and family picture. WHAT?? "They've already written their newsletter and taken their family picture!!!!", I thought. Seriously?! That is what I secretly thought too, although I am sure they are reading this blog, so I will be careful not to write how truly crazy and type A I thought they were.

So, I read their newsletter and think to myself, "Hmm, some of this information seems older than a year-I thought their kids were older than that. I just saw them this summer!" I looked at their family picture and noticed it said merrily "Christmas 2006". One of the gifts was unwrapped and it a baby rattle for a 3m old. I thought to myself, "well, it is a little too young for Joy, but it is the thought that counts." Now, it took me a few more minutes than it has probably taken you to figure out what happened. I turned over the box to look at the stamps and realize that the customs receipt and stamp in the corner say Dec 2006. This package was mailed last year!! 11 months later. No explanations, no reasons, except that we think it sat in a post office in a neighboring country for awhile.

My first two reactions were to laugh and say "whew". The laugh is because every day I find a situation where I am able to mutter, "TIA-This is Africa" and the arrival of this package certainly fits. The "whew" is because NO ONE actually is crazy enough to send something that early and be that organized...my whole worldview is back to normal again and I know I am not required to start worrying about Christmas newsletters and family pictures yet!

However, it did get me thinking about Christmas. Only 67 more days....maybe if I start worrying about it now instead of December, you will get a Christmas newsletter actually around Christmas! It also made me realize that in the following weeks (can I say weeks now, or do I need to still say months) nothing much will change here. There is no holiday to mark the celebration of the birth of our saviour here, no churches to begin singing Christmas hymns like "what child is this" or "hark the herald angels sing, glory to our newborn king", nothing to announce the arrival of our messiah; the one who has cleansed us from all unrighteousness. I guess that isn't completely true-there will be at least one house singing "Away in the Manger" here in the North African desert. Can I start now?

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