Jan
4th
Nicaraguan culture has odd quirks, the most obvious being the acceptance and encouragement of littering. So what happens to the trash? It gets swept into the gutter and then into the sewer system. This morning was particularly filthy because of all the fireworks. It makes me very afraid to think where all of this is going.
Location: Calle Santa Lucia. Granada, Nicaragua.
Taken: December 25, 2009
Dec
25th
Christmas Eve here is a little rowdier than in the States. Fireworks are the main attraction, and everyone dresses up and walks from house to house to celebrate with friends and family. We stopped at a friend’s house after the candlelight service and joined in the festivities. Merry Christmas from Nicaragua!
Dec
21st
It’s Sunday afternoon. I’m sitting on my couch listening to Christmas music and looking up lyrics, planning a Christmas Eve candlelight service for our missionary group. We’ll be listening to music, and reading some from the Bible. Each day, I look at the calendar and remind myself that Christmas is in …. days. Every team member that is staying in Granada has been doing the same.
It does not feel like the holidays, and not just because our temperature highs are still in the 90’s. I’ve spent too many Christmases in Tampa to think that cold weather means the holidays. Our family moved around so much that weather never really held meaning to me. Some holidays were spent with three feet of snow on the ground, others were spent watching rain smear the lights of Christmas through my windshield. It’s also not the physical presence of my family. Sometimes all of my immediate family is there, sometimes only half of us are. Nor is it gifts or the time spent opening them. Sometimes I have a lot of presents, sometimes I have one. Sometimes we open them the week before, sometimes the morning of.
I have yet to define Christmas as a married person. This year, is the perfect time to do so. Before we have a family of our own, I’d like to establish what Christmas means. We have no tree. No Christmas decorations hung. No presents wrapped. No travel plans. This is a bare bones Christmas. And yet I feel excited about the possibility of starting new traditions, of redefining Christmas for our family. So what is my definition of Christmas? It’s a celebration of relationships that matter to me, a celebration of my relationship with Christ and a time to give to those in need. I’m excited to gather with friends and listen to music and read about the prophecies of Christ on Christmas Eve, to bake on Christmas Day, as we celebrate with seven team members in their late teens and early 20’s who have never missed a Christmas at home. I’m excited to celebrate by listening to music that adores God and our relationship with him. I’m excited to put together baggies as gifts to our friends who work in the city dump.
I’ll spend the day thinking of my family and friends, sending them prayers and thoughts over the ocean, and reflecting on Christ and the gift he has given me. I hope your holiday week is full of love and good cheer, and has time to reflect on the many blessings you have been given.
