Christmas tree oh Christmas tree- how lovely are your branches; oh wait, I’m in Malaysia..
This month has been an unusual one for me.. the first week of being in Malaysia we went on a little getaway to Langkawi beach due to them having holiday. Then we spent the last three weeks dedicated to our Christmas events. I have been severely blessed because of it though..
Going into this month I was wrestling a lot with God. What was the true meaning of Christmas? Why do we celebrate it? What’s the point in making it such a big deal? Why was I born on Christmas Eve- I always have to live in your shadow… grrrrr (these are some of the things I had told God). I also diligently prayed that I would have my why questions answered this month.. Sometimes, when you pray for something- be prepared for the answer you might receive in return..
God did indeed answer me.. He used my team to tell me that I am born on Christmas Eve because he delights in me and loves to celebrate, and what better way to do both those things than to combine them and make it my birthday? I have the ability to celebrate with Jesus- it’s not a competition of Him wanting to overshadow me. Yes, He does want me to recognize him and celebrate him, but he also loves to celebrate me as well!! He is a God that loves to celebrate things worthy of celebration- and that includes me!!! 🙂
Next- I had the awesome opportunity to narrate a Christmas program. The length of the program was one hour– good thing I majored in speech communication.. I had to share the reason we celebrated Christmas- so I had to dive in and decide for myself what that really looked like. There is more to Christmas than just the decorated trees with beautiful lights, food, and presents in every doorway.
Christmas is about the birth of Christ and I am choosing to believe that! I had the unique experience of celebrating Jesus’ birth this year by having an open door Christmas meal. People legitimately walked in to grab food, sat down, ate food and then left- it blew my mind! It was a hard concept to accept because our Christmas’ are more (invitation only and you must stay the whole time). Only “important” people in your life attend this celebration, gah :), that’s not how God intended it!!! But the joy that came from the community being brought into such a beautiful celebration was heart-warming!! Jesus calls us the body and wants everyone to celebrate and if we can share a meal on a day to celebrate him and we have the divine opportunity to bring someone else joy- how cool is that?!
It was a very eye opening event for me and I loved it!! We also did some Christmas caroling this month and honestly- that was my favorite part. We had to wear traditional Indian clothing- a Punjabi for the women and I honestly love mine and will wear mine in the states a lot I think! We went to different homes that just wanted people to surround them with love. We went to a woman’s house that had her son just die, so the thought of us around for the holidays brought her so much joy that she just welcomed us in with open arms!
This has been a heart-warming Christmas season for me, and one I will never forget. God has given me such a beautiful experience here in Malaysia it’s hard to imagine leaving! Alas, we head to the Philippines on New Year’s Eve..
If everyone could be praying for us to travel safely that would be great! I hope that everyone is having an awesome Christmas season and is finding their own truth in why they celebrate! 🙂 I love you all so much and I am thankful to be a part of what is going on over here! Thanks for your love!
As this year comes to a close it’s also a season for reflections! I have definitely come a long way since the start of the year and I’m excited to see what this year brings!!
By Jan 31st I am in need of being fully funded! Praise to God that I only have $3,600 left to go!!! You have all been so faithful and patient with me and I want to say thank you for that!!
If you have the wiggle room in your budget, or have a desire to impact a great cause, or to even bless someone differently or more this holiday season, would you consider donating to my world race trip? Every donation counts- regardless of the number. Thank you so much everyone!! Also- feel free to comment on how God has impacted your Christmas or maybe even something that you learned about! 🙂
