Tales from Taiwan # 6

Dear sisters,

I just spent my first Christmas away from my family and friends.  In another country.  I wasn't sure how it would be...I definitely missed my dear family and friends and the traditions we always had fun doing.  I knew this year would be very different.  And yet, as my aunt reminded me, "You're being showered with gifts one could never purchase anywhere!"  So true.  I treasure these moments.

My kids in small group decorated little paper ornaments Christmas Eve. We went over Christmas vocabulary. When I got to the nativity scene, I asked who was the baby in the manger. Yoyo, a bright 10-year-old with a deep voice, excitedly piped up:

"It's God!"

So simple.

And yet so profound.

Then little Kevin came running up to me after 8 AM class and gave me a big hug. He's one of three boys from an orphanage. My heart hurts for him. He's without parents and he's broken and sad inside. He needs Christ to come take those pieces and make him new, whole. I pray that our week together will be a seed planted in him that will bear fruit for eternity.

I thank God for this opportunity to see Yoyo's face break into a huge smile as he proclaimed that Jesus is God. I thank God for the opportunity to hug little orphan Kevin and ruffle his hair. I thank God for hearing Mickey, our taxi driver friend, ask why we celebrate Christmas and if it's all about Jesus.

That's a bit of what my Christmas was like.

And I begin to see anew that what my aunt said is true.  When Christmas is all about Christ, rejoicing in Him, and sharing Him with others, you are showered with precious gifts that you could never ever buy.

So when I miss my parents and siblings, when I wish I could teach Sunday school at my church in the States, when I wish I could go on adventures with dear friends, I remind myself that He's worth it.

He's always worth it!

For Him in Taiwan, 
Joanna