Christmas here in Wau was pretty great! We had mass in the morning and later went around to each of the religious communities and to say merry Christmas! We also had the chance to visit the hospital here to say merry Christmas to some of the patients who could not make it out for Christmas! It was a very blessed day!
Here is a fun little movie quote:
Ricky: Dear Lord Baby Jesus, or as our brothers to the south call you, Jesús, we thank you so much for this bountiful harvest of Domino’s, KFC, and the always delicious Taco Bell. I just want to take time to say thank you for my family, my two beautiful, beautiful, handsome, striking sons, Walker and Texas Ranger, or T.R. as we call him…
Ricky: Dear Lord Baby Jesus, we also thank you for my wife’s father, Chip. We hope that you can use your Baby Jesus powers to heal him and his horrible leg. And it smells terrible and the dogs are always bothering with it. Dear tiny, infant Jesus, we….
Carley: Hey, you know, sweetie, Jesus did grow up. You don’t always have to call him “baby.” It’s a bit odd and off-putting to pray to a baby.
Ricky: Well, I like the Christmas Jesus best and I’m saying grace. When you say grace you can say it to grownup Jesus, or teenage Jesus, or bearded Jesus or whoever you want.
Carley: You know what I want? I want you to do this grace good so that God will let us win tomorrow.
Ricky: Dear tiny Jesus, in your golden-fleece diapers, with your tiny, little, fat, balled-up fists….
Chip: He was a man! He had a beard!
Ricky: Look, I like the baby version the best, do you hear me? I win the races and I get the money.
Cal: I like to picture Jesus in a tuxedo T shirt, cause it says, like, “I wanna be formal, but I’m here to party, too.” Cause I like to party, so I like my Jesus to party…
Ricky: Okay. Dear 8 pound, 6 ounce newborn infant Jesus, don’t even know a word yet, just a little infant and so cuddly, but still omnipotent, we just thank you for all the races I’ve won and the 21.2 million dollars – woo! (the rest of the family says “woo” too) – love that money, that I have accrued over this past season. Also, due to a binding endorsement contract that stipulates I mention Powerade at each grace, I just want to say that Powerade is delicious and it cools you off on a hot summer day. And we look forward to Powerade’s release of Mystic Mountain Blueberry. Thank you for all your power and your grace, dear baby God. Amen.
Although I do love the movie Talledega nights, that scene did not have anything to do with Christmas. I just got a good laugh when I thought of it the other day.
Unfortunately, I did not have KFC, Taco Bell and Dominos. One thing that made this Christmas unique was the food prepared by the community members! We had a few great dishes prepared by some of the Indian volunteers here! We were talking about what Christmas usually includes in the different countries people are from and the one common thread was food! So, to share the Christmas meal with the community was a blessed time!
One thing that has had more of an impact on my Christmas here in South Sudan is the quote from the Gospel of John:
"In the beginning was the WordJohn 1:1-5
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God
He was in the beginning with God
All things came to be through Him,
and without Him nothing came to be.
What came to be through Him was life
and this life was The Light of the human race.
The Light shines in the darkness and
the darkness has not overcome it."
I used this for a Christmas card I made for sister during our Secret Santa here in the community, and I was thinking about it a good amount during Advent.
Jesus is the light of our life. Let Him be born in your hearts and no darkness can ever overcome you. Let Him be born in your heart and no amount of suffering can overcome the graces he pours upon you.
Think and pray about it for a few days and think about what it means in your life! :)
Sorry this was delayed, it is actually boxing day now… but that’s okay!
Peace and Love during this Christmas season!! :)
~Dan
ps. Boxing Day is a holiday in England, the day after Christmas.
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