Christmas! My favorite holiday!
I think it’s the Philippines' favorite holiday too! Our contact here told us that they start celebrating around September. The mall's are decorated and are selling Christmas decorations and accessories. Children go caroling in the Philippines much like kids go trick-or-treating in the States. Although, it isn't just one night: it's every night leading up to Christmas. And they aren't expecting candy, they are expecting money.
I read articles from news around that world that the island of Mindanao was still devastated from Typhoon Pablo that had plowed through earlier this month. Some even said that Christmas was going unnoticed, as it was just another day to survive in the post-typhoon mess. Well, I was on Mindanao for Christmas and it did not go unnoticed. I was not in the worst of it, but the media should not paint with such broad strokes in saying that an entire island went without Christmas. I do not mean to downplay any of the devastation that is still a reality in much of Mindanao, but in Malaybalay City, Christmas happened.
Earlier in the month, our contact had asked us if we had any money we could donate to him to buy presents for all the children he does Bible studies with on the streets every week. After explaining we did not have any money we could give, Ed sent a message to a few people back home asking if any of them would be able to donate $100 for the cause. We had a hit, so we passed the message on to our contact and Operation Christmas was underway!
On the morning of the 22nd, we picked up our contact from his house along with the bags of goodies he had bought to hand out. Each bag had a toy truck, a toothbrush, toothpaste, candy, a juice box, and a few other small toys. He had saved part of the money we gave him to buy school supplies for the older children once school starts so the younger siblings wouldn't ruin them before class started. On our way, we had picked up several loaves of bread to hand out with the goodie bags.
We ended up going to three different barangays in the city to hand out the goodie bags. We put on a rather rough performance of the Christmas story before handing out the gifts. [The cast included: Michelle Close as Mary, Christopher Courtney as Joseph, Erin Beekhuis as Gabriel/Angels, Michelle Close as the shepherds, Ed Olivett as the wise men, Laura Johnson as the narrator, and any child that wouldn't cry when we picked them up as baby Jesus]. It was very entertaining for us as well as the kids.
The next day, our group was invited to the Dumpsite's Christmas Dinner. I woke up sick, so did not get to join in on the fun, but this is what I've been told happened: We were told that there would be 300 people there and we could bring food if we wanted. We decided to bring 300 rolls. When they got there, there were indeed close to 300 people, but there was barely food enough for 50. And to make matters worse, they were asked to eat first. The hospitality of the Filipinos is fantastic, but it must have been tough to have to eat out of respect when you know that most of the people watching you eat haven't eaten a real, healthy meal in days, if not weeks. The meal was followed by a dancing competition in which Erin, Michelle, and Michelle served as judges.
The day before, we had asked our contact what his plans were for Christmas. He told us that he did not have any money, so there were no plans. Him and his children would just stay at home and pray together as a family. When I heard this my heart sunk! What?! No Christmas?! For a 4-, 6-, and 10-year-old?? We had to do something for them!
We decided to give Pastor JoJo $100 to spend on Christmas gifts for his children. We also decided to take him and his family out to lunch on Christmas and help them Skype with their mom, who is working a two-year contract in Hong Kong. We told Pastor JoJo on Sunday before Christmas and he was overjoyed! He was literally speechless. But once he mustered up some words to thank us, he knew exactly what he wanted to get his kids. We drove him to the mall and helped him pick out a red back pack for Charles [the oldest] to take to school and three remote control cars, one for each of them.
So, Christmas Day was finally upon us! We drove to Pine Hills Hotel in town and had a Christmas breakfast while we Skyped our families/friends back home on what was their Christmas Eve. We stayed their all morning, Skyping, blogging, emailing, uploading pictures, and chatting. At noon, Ed and Erin drove over to Pastor JoJo's house to pick up him, his three kids, and his niece. We had a present for each of them sitting at the table for them when they arrived [a button up shirt for Pastor JoJo, a stuffed panda for Cherifer, a coloring book and crayons for Cliford, a notebook for Charles, and a bracelet for his niece].
We told them to order anything on the menu. It was the first time any of them had ever been to this place. Pastor JoJo told us he never would have dreamed of ever eating there. After ordering our food, Ed helped them set up Skype to talk with their mom. They talked until their mom had to leave. The children sang with their mom over Skype as well. It was the sweetest thing! It was very evident that the kids don't usually get to Skype with their mom, only dad does. It was such a privilege to help this family enjoy the true meaning of Christmas and to reunite their family, even if it was only for less than an hour.
As for our team, we celebrated Christmas with a little bit of everyone's traditions. I decorated a branch/tree that we found in the Nutrition Center with garland, balls and ribbon to look like Christmas tree.
We each bought a stocking [or something to resemble a stocking] and then bought each other small, light, and/or edible gifts to stuff them with. We had a few debates on whether to wrap them or not [it was left up to the giver's discretion].
Then, we had a white elephant gift exchange. I ended up getting some Ferrero Rocher chocolates, red Ray Ban sunglasses, and a large bottle of Coke. Other gifts included a bottle of sparkling grape juice, an inflatable globe, a bag of 250 Mentos, and a "box of junk" (i.e. whitening soap, toothbrush, food, and a few other things I can't remember).
It was really tough being away from home for Christmas, but it was still a great Christmas with the family I did have around me! It was a Christmas like never before, a once in a lifetime Christmas!
Oh, and I still got to watch White Christmas and sing "Sisters" with Michelle Close! 😀
