A True Gift

There are so many times in the past few days that we have mentioned how it just 'doesn't feel like Christmas' here.  We are missing steamy windows, sparkling trees and white laden ground, warm cups of eggnog lattes picked up from drive thrus (while children are lulled to sleep in the backseat of the van by the strains of Christmas music softly playing from the radio) and enjoyed snuggled in a warm house by the light of a pine/spruce looking tree, familiar decorations pulled from dusty boxes, each with its own story, Christmas concerts held in cozy familiar places and shared with people we know and love (with kids doing cute things and dressed in homemade Christmas glory, all sparkles and shine), baking together with easy- to- find- gluten-free flour in attempts to replicate the goodies and memories of childhood celebrations, planning trips to see beloved family with days off and a break in the work/school routine, eating and games and laughter and giving and hugs and quiet times of solitude......

Yes, it just doesn't FEEL like Christmas and yet, we are celebrating this year in a place that is maybe most like that first Christmas than we have ever experienced before!  It is noisy and crowded (although maybe a few more honking horns mixed in with the braying donkeys)  and the air is heavy with political strife.  The masses are tired and weary and not expecting any miracles.  This year should, of all years, feel the most like Christmas.

I heard a sermon recently where the pastor mentioned a story of a little boy.  Like many other young kids, this boy was so interested in the box a certain Christmas present came in that he neglected to play with the precious, expensive, well-researched, from-the-heart gift his parents had so carefully picked out inside.  The point of the story was that we so often get caught up in the packaging of Christmas that we forget what is inside the pretty packaging, the true Gift to mankind.  I have realized that in this season I grieve because much of what I celebrate at Christmas is tied up with the nostalgia of Christmases past.  I have for many years really enjoyed the wonderful feel-good warm and fuzzy wrapping that has enveloped the most wonderful gift.

He moved into our neighbourhood, in the most humble way, celebrated and worshipped with joy by lowly shepherds in a difficult time.  It is difficult and painful to have the wrapper removed and I know it is okay and even necessary to grieve this as we miss family and friends and all things familiar and yet I am also so thankful that, in that vulnerability, we have the privilege to focus, contemplate and celebrate this wonderful gift....Emmanuel, God with us!  May you all experience Him too!

New Christmas duds!

Stinkerbelle

Ava with friends on a field trip

Ava made her own skates (they even have socks attached to the bottom so they slide better).  Her dad refused to let her put ice cubes or water on the floor.

Sisters in the Christmas jammies Grandma made last year.

Christmas Skype with the D side of the family.

The time difference is brutal for this one....not even Grandpa and Grandma are engaging enough when you are so tired!

Merry Christmas everyone!

We Three Kings

We have been here three and a half months now.  Definitely not a long time in the whole scheme of things, but as we approach our first Christmas here, we are beginning to feel a little nostalgic for Christmases past.  It is easy to bemoan all of the activities and festivities that we are missing (mostly involving our loved ones now afar), but we have been able to see some of the unique things that we will be adding to our list of family traditions....like camels in the church Christmas pageant!  Here is a peak into what we saw last week....

Ava was sitting with her friends a few feet from where the camels walked through.

She looked like this pretty much the entire show!

One of our language helpers played the part of Joseph.  

I really need to go study, but speaking of studying, last week we went on a field trip with one of language helpers.  We climbed the minaret of a very old mosque.  We had some pretty sore thighs the next day, but we got some great views of our city!

It was really steep and dark....we were more nervous than we look.

Refugee School Fundraiser

As I have mentioned before our Ava goes to an international school.  Her school has a sister school for refugees.  Most of the students in that school have escaped civil war and related problems.  The staff and students come from North and South Sudan, Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Burundi, Uganda and Angola and most of the students have lost at least one of their parents (often through trauma and war).  It has been estimated that two million refugees from other parts of Africa live in the slums of this city.  It is estimated that 600,000 of these are school aged children and only 10,000 of them go to school.

This weekend this sister school had a fundraiser.  It was a wonderful 'penny carnival' type event.  The girls especially loved the nail painting booth (although they refused the hair braiding and henna tattoos!).  I enjoyed an Eritrean coffee.  There were crafts and games and yummy food for purchase as well.  The really exciting thing was seeing all the students excitedly involved in raising money for their school.  Their enthusiasm was contagious.  Despite the obstacles they have had to overcome, they have HOPE for the future!

Izzy getting her nails painted

Yummy coffee!

Ava & Daddy doing some sand art.

Just had to add this cute little cat sleeping on the car....totally unrelated to the post :).

Fuzzy Blankets

No matter how many years we live here, we will remain visitors and learners in this foreign land that will become our home, not fixing people, but walking with them, seeing what they DO have not just what they do not.  One way we feel we can walk alongside them is to respect them enough to learn their language.  Not only is it necessary for every day life, but it shows we enjoy their culture and their language and THEM enough to take the time and effort to communicate well. 

That being said, it is not easy!  We are starting to realize that even after being immersed in the language and studying full time, we will probably not be fluent after two years.  It is a difficult language.  It is still exciting though when we can start to understand even a little.  This past weekend my friend, Grace, wanted to take me to the market to get a blanket for our bed.  She was adamant that we get a warm blanket for the coming winter (in case you are wondering, winter in Arabic is 'esshitta'…no kidding).  

Grace does not speak English so I knew an outing together would be a fun challenge!  Before we left she told me that when we were in the store I should not speak because she wanted to get the best price for us and thought they would charge me too much because I am a foreigner.   We took the ‘ladies only’ car on the metro and several ladies on the train had an opinion about where we should go to buy the best and least expensive blankets.  Everyone was so animated and talking all at once that it was a little hard for me to follow.  One thing they all agreed on though was that I should not open my mouth.  One lady actually suggested I wrap my scarf around my head like a hijab and wear sunglasses so they couldn’t tell I wasn’t from around here.  We took a rickety old bus from the metro station to the market and made our way through the dark, twisty paths full of various shops in search of the blanket store.  There were stalls of kitchen supplies, scarves, fireworks, clothing, toys, sheesha pipes, incense sticks, tea, jewelry and pretty much everything ever made in China. Many of the shop keepers stood on boxes shouting to people as they passed by in hopes they would buy something from their stalls.  The place was so crowded that Grace had to hold my hand to make sure I didn’t get lost in the sea of people (which I was happy about because there were more than a few ladies dressed in flowing black abayas and matching hijabs like hers!).  We chatted and laughed and munched cobs of corn roasted by the road.  I only understood about 10% of what was being said, but I enjoyed myself 100% of the time!  After visiting several blanket stalls I purchased a fairly inexpensive, very warm and, by my taste, ugly blanket.  It actually didn’t seem so bad after I had seen so many (think roadside blanket stand type), but when I brought it home I realized, yes, it was ugly.  It doesn’t matter though.  When I look at that plush burgundy blanket and watch the girls making ‘snow angels’ on it, I will recall the wonderful outing I had with my friend, experiencing life together.

Christmas Bazaar and Other Bizarre Things

 So our internet of late has been pretty poor.  After weeks of working through it there is a slight chance we may be getting a phone line tomorrow which means we may be able to go to the internet company on Monday and just may be able to get our very own high speed internet within the next week or so (there really are a lot of 'mays' in there!).  It turns out the cord they strung outside our window and up to the roof was actually someone else's high speed internet shared by several others resulting in often no speed (although it was only $6 a month!).  All that to say, here is a blog post to keep you reading :).

Today we went to the Christmas Bazaar.  It is a wonderful event full of various charities and local vendors selling their wares.  We haven't really thought about Christmas yet, what with the balmy weather and all, but it was fun to have a little outing, activities for the girls and support some local charities while buying unique Christmas gifts.

Ava was my shopping buddy.  She dressed for the occasion.

Izzy picking out her desired design for face painting.

Eden chose to use her ticket to decorate a Christmas cookie!  Cheesy grin!

Ava picked the butterfly.

Yup, Santa was there.  He wasn't wearing boots.

It looks like Ava was crying here, but she actually got something in her eye.  Eden is grabbing all the free candy.

There was even a playground (a rarity here).

I bought my mom this clay nativity.

Christmas ornaments for our nieces and nephews.


In other news, we are really enjoying Sheldon and Shelby.  I had to include a few photos of them....

And, this is what we saw the other day on the street (right next to the fruit donkey cart, the knock off watch table, the bread stand and the fish guy).  Still wondering if I could somehow keep one of these on our balcony!