Hello everyone! It's Monday again! Time flew these past two weeks, but I had quite a few learning experiences. One of them was my first Christmas in the mission field. Let me get into it.
The World Cup - soccer, or football, is huge here, so last week was the final game of the World Cup between Argentina and France. Sadly, Ghana lost in the second or third round, but everyone was still stoked to watch the game. Not many people have their own TV here, so to watch the games, people gather in these rickety shacks they call football clubs. There are usually two or three TVs mounted on the wall where everyone can watch. The building is quite small but has tons of wooden benches to accommodate the multitudes of footballers. On the day of the final game, my companion and I went to watch the game. It was about 1 cedi or about 10 cents to watch the game, but we entered into this club, chock full of middle-aged men who don't know how to wear deodorant and were extremely excited to watch the game! Watching the game in this manner was amazing! Every time either team scored, the entire place erupted with yelling, and dust usually started to pour from the ceiling because people would stand on the benches and hit the rafters. It was crazy. But honestly, such a great time.
Christmas was the most interesting and humble experience I have yet to have. Because the majority of people here are Muslim, Christmas is just another day. Walking the streets to get to church shocked me. Everyone was just working like it was another day. People were opening their shops, some selling coconuts, and construction workers were welding. It's almost like they had no idea Christ was born. But the handful of Christians that are in Tamale knew what day it was. So we kind of silently worshiped and celebrated in our hearts. And honestly, it was a good change from a normal Christmas. There wasn't a single present given or received. No commercials. No companies trying to promote a product in the name of Christmas. I believe that this is how Christmas is supposed to be celebrated: humbly and quietly. Christ wasn't born in a mansion; he was born in a stable. That's about as humble as a birth can get. So that's how it should be celebrated: humbly. It was also an opportunity to really focus on what Christmas is about. So all in all, not a bad experience, but I sure did miss my family.
Also, for the Christmas season, I took the opportunity to try and read some kids the story of the birth of Christ. After that, I read some inspired words from Dr. Seuss. I don't know if they understood or not, but I think they enjoyed it.
For my scripture thought this week, it would be strange if it were not focused on the birth of Christ. However, instead of the actual birth of Christ, I would like to talk about Mary and how she accepted being the mother of Christ. In Luke 1:38, it says, "And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her."
Earlier in the chapter, an angel came to Mary and told her that she would be the mother of Jesus Christ. Of course, she was shocked, but in the end, she said, "be it unto me according to thy word." That's an incredible amount of faith. And it's amazing to me that Mary didn't murmur in the slightest. There were no ifs, ands, or buts. She just accepted what the Lord had in store for her.
All the time, I see people, including myself, struggling to accept what the Lord has in store for us. I see it in so many ways, but the most common is complaining or murmuring. The Lord knows what's best for us. If we can be like Mary and just accept His will and try our best to do what He would have us do, our lives will only get easier. It's not an easy task, but it wasn't an easy task to bear the only begotten son of God either.
Photos!!!!!!!!!!!!
