Christmas in Kenya

Well, Christmas day has come and gone here in Kenya.  While this day, and the days leading up to it, had it’s moments of sorrow, overall it was an amazing time to focus on the birth of Christ.  Here is a little summary of our Kenyan celebration.

 

As many of you know from our Facebook posts, we have many crafts adorning our home instead of our regular decorations.  We all had a great time making/decorating our tree, cutting snowflakes, making gingerbread goodies, and completing our advent activities.

 

 

 

 

 

One of the activities was for the boys to write a note/draw a picture for Hannah.  It was awesome, yet sad to see their little hearts pour out on their pieces of paper.  After completing their notes, they placed them in her stocking, where more will be added each year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Christmas Eve, we maintained our tradition of taking pictures of the kids.  Normally we would do this in front of the tree but this year we had a fireplace to use instead!  There was a notable absence in the picture without Hannah but the boys were sure keep it difficult to get the “perfect picture”.  You have to love their antics.  That evening, we attended the Christmas Eve church service at our church.  It was a somewhat difficult evening as I remembered last year’s service.  Hannah was a bit fussy so I spent a lot of the service in the foyer holding and playing with her.  As we listened to our fellow missionaries sing beautiful songs, I reflected on just how blessed we were and still are.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Upon returning to our apartment, we maintained our tradition of giving the kids their new pajamas to wear.  (Thank you again Tiffany for bringing these for us!)  The boys were so excited to all have footie pajamas to wear.  After they went to bed, Steph and I got everything ready for the morning.  We were thankful for the two packages that arrived on Monday that gave us all a few surprises.  We also used a few items from earlier packages to give the kids some American treats.

 

 

 

 

 

I was on call Christmas Eve and was receiving quite a few pages so I ended up spending most of the night on the couch.  The bright side of this was that it gave me the chance to finish watching Lord of the Rings.  When the boys woke up, we read the Christmas story and Noah placed baby Jesus in the advent manger scene the boys have been making.  We then started opening the presents that we bought for one another.  When we were done with that, we used Facetime to connect with Steph’s parents as the boys opened the gifts they had mailed.  While the gifts we received we somewhat different from what we normally would have in the states, we remain incredibly blessed by the surprises that we had for one another.  Our morning wrapped up with our tradition of having Jesus’ birthday cake complete with His candle and one for each of us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We decided that this year we would lay low and not venture out much.  We purchased a ham (due to the cost, this was the first time we have had ham since arriving here) and Steph made an amazing lunch for us.

 

 

 

 

 

After lunch, we received a call that one of our fellow missionary families received a package that included instant snow.  What followed was what seemed like endless laughter, squeals, and fun.  Never thought I would be in Kenya watching a bunch of shirtless kids sliding down a hill sprinkled with snow!

 

After that excitement we returned home for a lazy afternoon.    Thank you to everyone who has been praying for us.  Christmas was hard, yet wonderful.  We appreciate the cards, messages, and gifts that we have received.  Although we are on the other side of the world, we feel so loved.  (Levi was so excited about the snacks we received that he kept saying “Food!  Food!  I got food!”)  So from all of us here in Kenya, thank you for your support and Merry Christmas!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prayer requests:

1.  Be praying for the family of Laney Brown, a young girl who just lost her battle with cancer.  https://m.facebook.com/teamlaney7

2.  Pray for my father-in-law who is half way done with his radiation treatments.

3.  Pray for my mom and step-dad as they prepare to visit us in a couple weeks.  Pray for uneventful travel and that all luggage would arrive with them and pass through customs without incident.

4.  Pray for the staff of Tenwek and other mission hospitals.  There is talk that the strike is over but as of yet other hospitals remain closed and we remain well over 100% capacity.

5.  Pray for our patients, that as they are in our hospital they would see Jesus through our actions and come to know Him as Lord!

6.  Pray for the ongoing unrest in South Sudan.  Many missionaries have been evacuated

Luke 2:8-20 (Msg)

8-12 There were sheepherders camping in the neighborhood. They had set night watches over their sheep. Suddenly, God’s angel stood among them and God’s glory blazed around them. They were terrified. The angel said, “Don’t be afraid. I’m here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David’s town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. This is what you’re to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger.”

13-14 At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God’s praises:

15-18 As the angel choir withdrew into heaven, the sheepherders talked it over. “Let’s get over to Bethlehem as fast as we can and see for ourselves what God has revealed to us.” They left, running, and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. Seeing was believing. They told everyone they met what the angels had said about this child. All who heard the sheepherders were impressed.

19-20 Mary kept all these things to herself, holding them dear, deep within herself. The sheepherders returned and let loose, glorifying and praising God for everything they had heard and seen. It turned out exactly the way they’d been told!