The festivities started “Christmas Eve” when I was told it was our “Christmas in July” a day early due to ministry, but it turned out to be my SURPISE half birthday – cake, friends, fellowship, presents and so much more! Balloons, banners and love! Amazing. 
Appreciated. Unexpected! Lots of laughs.
The next day, July 25, the GW’s celebrated Christmas in July. We did a secret Santa gift exchange – which really turned out to be “you buy for this person and they buy for you” as we all bought for the person who bought for us…it was a “random” draw out of a hat, weeks before! God was already at work, preparing in His humorous ways each and every gift. We ate popcorn, sang christmas carols and had a bonfire. What more could we ask for…friends, food and fellowship…
We were soon joined around the fire by a group of guys that “randomly” came to the Cowshed that night. They overheard us singing Christmas songs and wondered in amazement as to WHY we were singing Christmas songs – in JULY – and laughing, praying and having a good time!
One of the men asked me where I was from, which progressed into a conversation about his son living in Manitoba as a Dr. We proceeded to talk about the World Race and what brought us to Swaziland! I told him about our ATL month, heading to Lesotho, into the unknown, yet trusting God in and through all things. He seemed captivated by us. Our hearts, our desire for Christ and the love we had!
I had no sooner turned around and this man asked me if we could all gather around…unsure of what to expect, we obeyed. He began to tell us how inspired he was by our journey and passion for God, and how he loved that we are trusting in God – for everything from food to transportation to accommodation! He felt like he couldn’t just leave without doing something, so he talked to one of his friends, and together, they blessed us with R1000 (approx. $125 USD). We were touched and amazed. He shared that they were Christians. The simplest conversation we had with them touched their lives!
Without hesitation, we asked if we could pray for them! What a blessing to be able to gather around as a body of Christ and give praise to God – in the middle of our Christmas celebration. Christmas is about giving and blessing others, and that is exactly what happened! Not only did we have the opportunity to pray for them, but this man prayed for us! How humbling!
God spoke in many ways! We did not ask for this blessing, yet it was given to us. We knew that with our tight budget, that God was going to do mighty things…yet we also knew that this money was given to us so that we could bless someone else!
In turn, we handed this gift over to a new teacher at Remar that has inspired and loved all of us! Her name is Thembi. She is passionate about God and loves the kids at Remar. We met her our first day at Remar, as when we showed up, the grade 5 teacher had quit and they were in need of another teacher…so in walked Thembi…and through prayer, determination, faith and obedience, she is now full-time at Remar teaching. It’s not a paid position, but she knew that God was calling her their and that he would provide. For us to be apart of her life was a blessing. She challenged us to new heights – and to be able to bless someone so dear to our hearts was a gift from God in so many ways!
Our Christmas was not as expected, but was so much more than we could have imagined! It wasn’t about us, what we gave, what we got or all the other things that comes with “Christmas” (no matter what time of the year). It was about God, and blessing others and being blessed in return. Often, it’s through the little, simple things that can make a bigger difference and impact than we’ll ever know!
