when RIGHT through the house
Not a creature was LEFT stirring, not even a mouse—"
"...Twas the night RIGHT before Christmas when RIGHT through the house Not a creature was LEFT stirring, not even a mouse—" There was close to 50 people seated in a circle holding packages wrapped in Christmas paper and listening very closely. The fourth word of the story started a chain reaction of people passing the gift in their hands to the person on their right. As the story went on, with the words RIGHT and LEFT emphasized, people passed the gifts, laughed when RIGHT and LEFT got confused and the gifts were jumbled, and anticipated the gift they would recieve. By the end of the story, even those who may not have known what right and left meant at the beginning of the game knew well which way was right and which was left! Adults from over 25 different countries gathered to practice English and to learn more about Christmas in America from Christians. What an amazing time to share the hope of Jesus after months of displaying His love to them! I'm so thankful to be able to participate in teaching English to internationals who live in the Dayton area! Gingerbread and ConversationMy mom invited our class from our ESL ministry at church to join us for a Christmas activity the Wednesday before Christmas. My brother arrived from Scotland just in time to help us get everything ready to decorate gingerbread houses with our guests. After living in another culture, one of my favorite questions is what cultral differences come up when living in a new country. I like to hear how things most of us would consider to be normal are so very different for those from other countries! We had guests from Iran, Panama, South Korea, Brazil, Columbia, Moldova, and Japan. My family joked that we also had representatives from Bulgaria, Scotland, and the Czech Republic! It was a fun evening of talking about cultural differences and decorating gingerbread houses. Speaking of different cultures, I think the idea of ugly Christmas sweaters is a strange tradition to a lot of people. We had an ugly sweater decorating kit, but most of the sweaters were decorated to be beautiful and not ugly!
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When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken. Affliction will slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned. The LORD redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned. Psalm 34:17-22 This promise has been fulfilled! Our God became man in Jesus Christ. Jesus came to answer the cry of the righteous for help. He delivers us from our slavery to sin and death. He became God-with-us--a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering and grief. He is the Way and His burden is light for those who come to Him. Yes, afflictions follow the righteous, but Jesus bore afflictions for us so that we could have peace with God. He not only understands the afflictions we face, but has also suffered under them. Christmas is for sinners who have been redeemed. Oh, take refuge in Him, because there is no other place by which we may be saved. Taste and see that the Lord is good! Come and see what the Lord will do! Our soul waits for the LORD;
he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in you. Psalm 33:20-22 Tuesday evening was blustery and wet. It was the kind of evening that makes you want to huddle under snuggly blankets with hot cocoa, reading by the glow of Christmas lights. It was not the type of evening that inspired going out to listen to some girl you didn't know talk about teaching English in some far off country that you vaguely remembered was somewhere in eastern Europe. And yet, in a beautiful church a group of people gathered to do just that. Instead of blankets, there were tables and chairs. Instead of reading by Christmas light glow, there was an unknown woman asking tables of people to talk about what they knew about that far of eastern European country.
A lot of people have asked me what I'm doing while I'm in the US. Let me share with you: I am seeing God move strangers to generosity. I am hearing God's people praise Him for His calling on my life and their chance to partner with me. I am experiencing God's trustworthiness: His work isn't disrupted by fear, worry, or unexpected events. I am learning that in all parts of my life, my calling is to love God and love the people He brings into my life. God is bringing me into new communities through unexpected means. I had the privilege of speaking with Grace United Methodist Church in Piqua on Tuesday, a connection made through the teacher I did my student teaching with in Dayton. Her sister attends Grace Church and she was looking for a speaker for a women's event in December. In God's plan, her pastor suggested/requested the evening be open to the whole church, even providing childcare should it be needed. Many people who could have snuggled under those cozy blankets chose to face the wet bluster of a December day in Ohio to come show love to this unknown-to-them child of God. It was the kind of evening that makes you want to sing praises and jump for joy at the way God gives His children new friends on this walk of faith. |
Elisabeth CarySharing the love of Christ to make known the hope of Christ in Bulgaria. Archives
November 2018
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