It is December 27, and Christmas has officially passed. As I reflect on the past few days, I can't help but smile. We had such a great Christmas here in Northern Ireland due to the many ways that God has blessed us and the magnificent people who have helped us to feel like part of a family away from home.
We started out our Christmas celebration on the 23rd as we went to the YAV house in East Belfast. Because all of the volunteers had different invitations for Christmas dinners, we decided to have YAV Christmas Eve and Christmas a day early. It is tradition for many of the volunteers to have chili on Christmas Eve, so we started our celebration with a wonderful dinner of chili and oyster stew (made by Karl since it is one of his family traditions). The chili and stew were accompanied by a wonderful spread of other delicious treats. After dinner, we hung out and talked, played games, and listened to music until Ellison surprised us with a touching Christmas devotion. He put so much effort into it - it was perfect! Earlier that week, he went around gathering greenery and finding candles to make his own advent wreath. He then set up his room with candles, greenery and the wreath for our devotional space. Karl played some music, and we did some readings and a reflection....it was all very touching and set the scene for the days to come. We then spent the night in East Belfast and woke up on Christmas Eve to exchange our secret Santa gifts with one another. Santa even came and visited in the night (I don't know how he knew we were celebrating one day early....I have a feeling Ellison had something to do with it)!
We started out our Christmas celebration on the 23rd as we went to the YAV house in East Belfast. Because all of the volunteers had different invitations for Christmas dinners, we decided to have YAV Christmas Eve and Christmas a day early. It is tradition for many of the volunteers to have chili on Christmas Eve, so we started our celebration with a wonderful dinner of chili and oyster stew (made by Karl since it is one of his family traditions). The chili and stew were accompanied by a wonderful spread of other delicious treats. After dinner, we hung out and talked, played games, and listened to music until Ellison surprised us with a touching Christmas devotion. He put so much effort into it - it was perfect! Earlier that week, he went around gathering greenery and finding candles to make his own advent wreath. He then set up his room with candles, greenery and the wreath for our devotional space. Karl played some music, and we did some readings and a reflection....it was all very touching and set the scene for the days to come. We then spent the night in East Belfast and woke up on Christmas Eve to exchange our secret Santa gifts with one another. Santa even came and visited in the night (I don't know how he knew we were celebrating one day early....I have a feeling Ellison had something to do with it)!
 |
| Christina and I enjoying some deliciousness! |
 |
| Patrick in his Christmas jumper |
On Christmas morning, Karl and I got up and went to both of our churches' services. It was really nice to get to worship with both congregations and to see all of the people we have grown so close to on Christmas morning. After the service at Whitehouse, Rev. Liz invited us over to their house to have Christmas dinner with her family. When we arrived at their house, her husband told us that Santa had accidentally delivered things for us there. He then handed us two beautiful stockings filled with items they traditionally put in their family's stockings! We were so touched that they thought to include us in that way. We had a wonderful time with the Hughes, and the food was delicious!
Yesterday was Boxing Day, which is pretty much a continuation of Christmas here. Most families spend it together, enjoying one another's company and the presents they received the day before. We were invited into the homes of two families for Boxing Day, which we were very grateful for. It gave us a chance to see a little more of what Christmas is like here, and most importantly helped us to feel like we have a home here. I can't express enough how great the people are in our church communities and how much love they have shown us - it is unbelievable! The first family we went to see is a family of four, however their extended family was there too, so the company was great. We had such a fun time playing with the young boys and their Christmas gifts. Both of the boys received electric guitars and one of them received a drum set. Karl had a great time giving lessons on the instruments. After that we went over to another church member's house for a delicious steak dinner and great craic (aka fun). We watched stand up comedy, played guitar hero and met the family pets - a cat, a dog, 6 snakes, 2 bearded dragons, a chameleon, and a gecko! All in all, we had a wonderful Boxing Day.
 |
| SWAT drama rehearsal |
Yesterday was Boxing Day, which is pretty much a continuation of Christmas here. Most families spend it together, enjoying one another's company and the presents they received the day before. We were invited into the homes of two families for Boxing Day, which we were very grateful for. It gave us a chance to see a little more of what Christmas is like here, and most importantly helped us to feel like we have a home here. I can't express enough how great the people are in our church communities and how much love they have shown us - it is unbelievable! The first family we went to see is a family of four, however their extended family was there too, so the company was great. We had such a fun time playing with the young boys and their Christmas gifts. Both of the boys received electric guitars and one of them received a drum set. Karl had a great time giving lessons on the instruments. After that we went over to another church member's house for a delicious steak dinner and great craic (aka fun). We watched stand up comedy, played guitar hero and met the family pets - a cat, a dog, 6 snakes, 2 bearded dragons, a chameleon, and a gecko! All in all, we had a wonderful Boxing Day.
Christmas away from home was very different and difficult to be away from our family, but we would not trade the experience for anything. It was so neat to experience Christmas as part of a new community (YAV & Belfast) here. This Christmas, I experienced the love and message of Christ in a completely different way. Christ came into this Earth to teach us about the unconditional and everlasting love of our creator and how we are to live amongst one another in peace. I definitely experienced that love and peace in all of the moments of this Christmas holiday this year.
No comments:
Post a Comment