Calle 5 #14-32
La Mesa, Colombia
aaronlaurak@gmail.com
Christmas Reflections
Dear friends and family,
¡Feliz Navidad! The month of December has been full, exciting, at times frustrating, and occasionally sad. But the overwhelming sense on this day after Christmas is that we actually had a good time celebrating here in Colombia.
The day before our friend Ruth left for the United States two weeks ago, she said, "Oh, you guys are going to have so much fun for Christmas!" At the time it was hard to believe. We felt far from family, and we missed the familiar sights and sounds of Christmas in Virginia.
Several things converged in the past few weeks, however, to make it an enjoyable and meaningful holiday season. We got our long-awaited golden retriever puppy, Luna. It has meant more work at times, training her to do her business outside, to not bite or jump up on us or the furniture, and to come when called. She wakes up at 6:00 every morning and lets us know with whining and barking that it's time to eat. There have been a few tense moments when Luna, Rico our cat, and Abby all demand attention at the same time. But we mostly feel joy when we look at our little puppy, something Laura has always dreamed of having.
We realized the other day that in many ways we have right now the "farmette" we've talked about wanting for our dream house. It just happens to be in Colombia, and we have fruit trees rather than a huge vegetable garden. We continue to thank God daily for calling us to Colombia and providing us with this wonderful place to live in La Mesa.
Our friends have brought us joy as well this Christmas season. Christmas Eve we invited our friend and language tutor Sarah Daza (Ruth's sister) for breakfast. We feasted on pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream, sausages, raspberry juice, and spiced coffee. Then we read the Christmas story, sang a few carols, and opened our presents we had bought each other, along with the ones we'd received from the United States. It was gratifying to watch Abby's face light up as we unwrapped the gifts. Sarah was genuinely grateful for the chance to celebrate with us, since many of her loved ones were not around for the weekend.
Later that day we enjoyed an evening of food, drink, music, lights and fireworks. We could feel the excitement in the air as we walked down to Martín and Elsy's house. Neighbors had their huge speakers out, blasting festive music. Houses were lit up with flashing lights, stars, Santas, reindeer, and nativity scenes. We exchanged gifts with Martín's family, and later visited the home of Colegio Americano principal, Guillermo Vargas, who lives with several bachelor brothers. It was our first time there, and the quantity and variety of lights was astounding. Their three-story town house was decked out with flashing colored lights on every floor, with a five-foot diameter rotating star on top of the water tank on the roof. Inside we found several other visitors enjoying cocktails, food, music, and the glittery revolving Christmas tree in their living room. Guillermo then invited us up to the roof to enjoy a fireworks display at around 11:00 pm. Fireworks and music accentuated our mile-long hike back to our house, and continued to resonate late into the night. It was a Christmas Eve to remember.
The church celebration on Christmas day also surprised us. We had been disappointed with the lack of Christmas emphasis in church during the weeks leading up to Christmas. The December 25th service, however, was dedicated to the holiday. Sunday School in the morning focused on the true meaning of Christmas. Martín reflected on the "wise men" we read about in Matthew, who traveled miles and miles in search of the newborn king in order to offer their gifts and their adoration to him, expecting nothing in return. In the evening worship time Laura and I helped lead some traditional Christmas hymns in Spanish. The children shared carols and short dramas. Martín preached about making every day Christmas, by letting Jesus be born in our lives anew. Then Aaron showed a video he and Laura had made of the church's ministry to marginalized children in the nearby town of Anapoima. A women's group had put together Christmas gifts for some 60 children, including clothing and toys they bought, as well as stuffed animals they had received from their sister church in Nebraska, Wood River Mennonite. It was a very meaningful service, and we felt privileged to play a role in it.
During another part of the 2 1/2 hour service Aaron led some songs in English with the help of several adults who had been in the conversational English classes this month. Teaching these classes to children and adults was another highlight of this month. We met twice a week with each group, covering topics like the alphabet, names, telephone numbers, greetings, family, hobbies, and clothing. Over 20 children participated throughout the three weeks of classes, though the numbers dwindled towards the end. The adults were a smaller but more consistent group of 8 or so. Aaron enjoyed the opportunity to plan and teach lessons once again after a six-month hiatus. Laura also helped in several of the lessons, and even Abby did her part in entertaining the children and adults. It was definitely a family ministry.
To sum up, we thank God for surprising us this Christmas season, and we thank you our friends and family for supporting us, for your cards and e-mails, and for your continued prayers. While we have missed you, we also feel strongly that this is exactly where God wants us right now. Thank you for helping us follow God's call.
Peace on earth, goodwill to all!
Aaron, Laura & Abby