The last two months flew by for us, and I can hardly believe we are now into January! Before looking ahead to 2020 though, I would love to look back and share with you a bit about our first Christmas in Africa.

As you can probably guess it was a bit hard for us to get in “the Christmas spirit”  because for 95% of the people here, December 25th is just a normal day.  So to say Christmas time is low key would be an understatement. Nevertheless it was quite refreshing to celebrate Christmas from a third-world perspective.

Here in West Africa the average Christmas consists of: a hearty meal with your family, possibly a new outfit for the Christmas Day church service, and that’s pretty much it. There is no expectation of piles of presents under the tree on Christmas morning. In fact there are very few Christmas trees set up at all because artificial ones are difficult to find, and real evergreens obviously don’t grow here. As for gifts, some parents may give their kids a small gift if they are able, but if they are financially unable that’s okay too. I share this not to make anyone feel guilty, but just to share our experience. This is reality. It’s so easy to forget that people around the world celebrate Christmas differently. And in some countries it is actually illegal to celebrate Christmas! Wow, let that sink in for a minute.

Of course the thing we missed most of all this past Christmas (and Thanksgiving too) was our family and friends back in America. We would have loved to spend time hugging their necks and telling them all about life and ministry in Africa. Until then, we are so thankful for technology that allows us to do video calls and messages from across the ocean. We are also blessed with some great friends here who made sure we felt loved and included this Christmas, and for that we are truly grateful.