Christmas Decorating for World Racers
Everywhere you go in Malaysia you see the signs of Christmas. As in America, the holiday is commercialized and probably even more so since a tiny percentage even claims to be Christian. Every mall, grocery store, or Starbucks shows the signs of the season just like in the U.S, but many do not celebrate the holiday. One of our tiny students kept telling us, “It’s Christmas at C-mart!” (the local grocery store), and we soon realized this was the extent of this little Muslim girl’s holiday experience.
Our first Christmas event was a party held at a host home. This was the same home where we held a 
character building class the week before. We advertised this as a Christmas party, and we had about 30 children and 20 adults come. We played Christmas-themed games and taught them carols. We even told them the Nativity story and used that as an outlet to share the Gospel. The highlight of the evening was a Christian puppeteer from India who is traveling Southeast Asia teaching children Scripture through songs, magic tricks, and puppet shows. By the end of the evening, the kids had all memorized about three verses! The next night we hosted a similar party at our house.
Malaysia is technically a closed country meaning it is illegal to evangelize to others of another religion. Our contact must be creative in sharing the Gospel, such as hosting parties or character building classes. People must also give permission before you can talk to them about your beliefs, especially in their home. We were able to share Jesus with over 50 Hindus in a Hindu home during our Christmas party! This home was the only one in its neighborhood that had no walls or gate outside. This seemed symbolic as it is being used by the Lord to tear down walls and open doors to his love.
We were able to bring holiday traditions to locals in other ways as well. On the 23rd, we loaded up in a van and drove to the local hospital. My teammate, Trent, was dressed as Santa, and we delivered bags filled with candy and snacks to the children who were spending Christmas in bed. We then drove to several Hindu homes where we sang carols in English, Malay, and Tamil, as well as presented a short Gospel message. In Malaysia, you can be arrested trying to “convert” someone to your religion. Despite this potential persecution, we were invited to all of these homes, and the families were willing listeners. For two of the homes, our visit was the first time they had invited Christians into their homes, and one was even the home of the head of a local temple!
For our personal Christmas, the twelve of us drew names for a Secret Santa exchange. Christmas Eve we went out for Pakistani food (an obvious choice for a Christmas meal, right?!) and then we came home to exchange gifts. Living simply has taught me to appreciate the small things. Never have I been so excited to receive a gift of a scarf, chocolate-covered raisins, and pens! After opening gifts, we were quite filled with the Christmas spirit and decided to trek down the street in Santa hats to buy hot Milo. (Milo is similar to Nesquik, but enriched with vitamins. It is a popular favorite throughout Asia.) We then sat around our mini Christmas tree and finished the night by watching “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
The next day we awoke early to have a worship service at 8:00 am with our pastor’s family. What better way to start off Christmas than to worship the one we celebrate on that day! We then went to their home for Christmas dinner. Since they are of Indian descent, our meal was complete with curry and rice eaten with our fingers. As we all sat with full bellies watching movies, a neighbor stopped by. This man rarely leaves his home and had recently suffered a stroke. He came over to ask for prayer for healing – another first for our pastor! We all laid hands on him, prayed for him and then shared our meal with him.
In America, so many take the celebration of Christmas for granted. They go through the motions every year without thinking of what the true meaning of the holiday is. They give and receive gifts without fully appreciating the act of giving. This Christmas showed me that though traditions are good and fun they are not what makes the holiday. As Dr. Suess said in his book “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”: “Maybe Christmas, he thought… doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps… means a little bit more!” And we know that more is the birth of Jesus! I hope everyone had as joyful of a holiday as I did and that you were able to reflect on what is truly important.
Fearless Unity on Christmas Eve
