Hey mom, it’s your baby girl! Merry Christmas ?? Oh if I could see you now, that would be a great Christmas indeed. Right now I live about 3 hours from Addis Ababa and an hour and a half from WiFi. The setup here is very different than Kampot- no bug nets or mice, but it can get rather cold. Each morning I bundle up in long pants and a sweater to keep warm, then I have to wear sunscreen in the afternoon (due to the high altitude and clear area) while still being bundled up because the wind is always blowing. The key to surviving Ethiopia is layers.
Luckily I have a variety of clothes to choose from, thanks to the generosity of my teammates. We took an extra bunk and made it into our “community closet”- a place where everyone keeps their clothes together. As long as the owner has something to wear, any article is free game (excluding socks and under garments). It’s been so freeing to share with them and I treasure that every day.
Christmas wasn’t a simple holiday this year, it was full of highs and lows and company and loneliness. I have missed you so much, especially since I haven’t been able to call. This really is our special time, and I miss the things we did together.
However, I am currently on the most extra team ever. When we celebrate holidays we go hard, no matter where we are or what supplies we have. My team became the self designated Christmas Committee, and we planned out the 12 days of Christmas for the whole squad. It looked something like this:
1. Wreath hanging ceremony: we hung a tiny wreath Paige found in Siem Reap, wore Christmas colors, announced that we were the Christmas committee and sang a modified version of the 12 days of Christmas.
2. Snow: we made a snowflake for each person on the squad and wrote on them things that we loved about that person.
3. Bling bling bling: we snuck out in the middle of the night and decorated our squad’s hang out area for Christmas.
4. Ding dong ding dong: we did a live lip singing performance of Pentatonix’s “Carol of the Bells”
5. Ugly sweater competition: this turned into a costume competition where we judged the ugliest sweater, most creative costume, and the most Christmas Spirit. They went all out for this! (I was Rudolf)
6. Christmas riff off: remember the rift off in Pitch Perfect? Yea, we did that too
7. Christmas tradition: we made and decorated a Christmas tree
8. Socks: everyone on the squad gave our committee one sock. We then hung them on a string in a row as stockings and the whole squad was encouraged to write each other affirmation and send little presents and whatnot.
9. SANTA I KNOW HIM!!: we watched Elf with the local kids and had popcorn
10. Chestnuts roasting on an open fire: this one fell through (we were gonna do fireside worship but that already happened) so we made bracelets for the local kids instead and had another amazing worship session in which we all danced with the local kids for Jesus in the moonlight
11. Dinner and a show: wow Christmas Eve was great. We decorated the tables, did a skit of the Christmas Story (I was the narrator, and they gave me ten minutes to prepare), at dinner, hung out, and then went to the Christmas Eve service in the Training center. Obviously it was my first one, and I really loved it. In a dusty building on a dirty floor we all sat on sleeping bags and blankets, and we were dressed to impress. I watched as my squad mates read scripture and led us in song in the candle light. Then we all lighted a candle as we were lead in Silent Night, and I cried. It was the most humble Christmas scene I had ever seen mom, the closest I had been to where Jesus was born, and the most special moment. Then when service was done, we went outside and encountered the most glorious stars I had ever seen. Just the day before we had a FULL MOON, and now it was COMPLETELY GONE to display the stars in their glory!! It was so beautiful, and we all sang little random songs under the light of the stars. Shooting stars ran by, but I didn’t dare to wish for anything more. Now, Christmas Eve wasn’t over yet. My teammate surprised us all with S letter gifts (to celebrate Christmas like I do) with socks and soda. They were matching socks to give people Christmas pajamas, and we moved our mattresses on the floor to all sleep together like another teammate’s tradition. I read your letter that night (because our Christmas is on Christmas Eve) and felt so loved in that moment. Then, we all woke up at midnight and made our squad Christmas treats. We made minty chocolate bark, chocolate chip cookies, no bake cookies, and apple pie filling. (Don’t worry, I haven’t used my cinnamon for anything because I still smell it sometimes). TheN we did the dishes, redecorate the table, and moved everyone’s stockings (some dirty socks) onto the table with the cookies wrapped in tin foil. I went to bed around a quarter to four but it was well worth it.
12. Wowza, here we go. I woke up around a quarter to seven and sat with Jesus for awhile. Then everyone came together for a cinnamon roll breakfast (thanks cooks) and our cookies (they were so excited!!). After that I opened my stocking and was thoroughly overwhelmed by the love my squad poured over me, enough notes to make me tear up. Then my team snuck off to do their Christmas. I gave a loving note in the form of a fortune teller to my teammate Hannah Jo, and my teammate Jaci gave me a series of notes that said “you are deeply loved”, “you are known, seen, wanted, and needed”, and “you are both bold and gentle at once”. Her last note was a poem to me that deceived who I was and ended by saying how great you must be (I guess it was noticeable that I miss you). The poem ended by saying “I don’t actually know Renea (they didn’t know spelling) but if she were here I think she’d say ‘Cindy, I’m incredibly proud of you and all that you do. I love you, it’s impossible not to.’” Yea, I cried. ThenPaige surprised me with a necklace (like the locals cause I want to be a local) and more sweets. Then my teammate Emma surprised me with socks and sweets. After that we had a sweet worship session to Jesus, ate lunch, I napped, watched “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”, watched the sun set, and ate dinner. Then, while everyone was waiting to watch a movie, the Christmas committee had one last surprise: we made our squad cocoa. I flipped out when I heard it was “White Christmas”, and I watched it just for you. It was a sweet moment to hear my squad mates sing along and laugh (and become incredibly excited for cocoa).
So yea, that was my Christmas. I was thoroughly overwhelmed and loved by everyone. You would have been so proud of them. My team loves like no other, and I am beyond blessed to be living life with these people. Now it’s December 26th, the magic isn’t gone but work resumes at HopEthiopia. We have kids to love and people to serve. I wish I could call you but I won’t have WiFi for another 3 weeks. Right now only the treasurers and logistics people have WiFi in order to send in reports, it just so happens that two of my teammates could post some things for me. I might try to call you soon but I have to get some minutes to use a phone. It’s hard living in the middle of nowhere, but I’m surrounded by loving people and a great ministry. I should have WiFi in three weeks, and then Nicaragua will be here before you know it?? I love you more than words can say and calls can reach. Send a thank you to my teammates Sara and Jaci, they posted this message for me. God bless you and keep you safe mom, I’ll see you soon!!
~CLS
