Week 6: Advent

It's beginning to look a lot like... Jamhuri Day.
As I scroll through social media feeds, I see photos of Nova Scotia, Ottawa, and other places in Canada experiencing a lot of snow. I see photos of Christmas parties and Christmas trees and other things that seem very far removed from where I am now. All the trappings of Christmas are missing from life here in Nanyuki, and at the moment I am not missing it at all. The commercialism of Christmas in North America makes me really uncomfortable. Here, in the absence of festive distractions, I feel like I can better reflect on what Christmas means.
It means that God cares.
God cares for you.
God cares for the world he made. He did not forget it. He did not forget the precious ones he made. He cares about everyone. We see the people Jesus cared for as he walked this earth: He cared for the ones who were outside of society, like the poor and the lepers and the prostitutes. He cared for women. He cared for partygoers and rich and powerful folk, too. He cared for children. He cared for those easily confused disciples.
This is what Christmas means: it means that God did not forget us.
As I reflect on this past year, I am astonished at a theme running through the year for me. The theme of my life this year has been: I am learning how much God loves me. Which seems obvious. That's the first thing they teach you in church: Jesus loves you. But to really truly deeply know that is another thing. I still think I don't really know much God loves me. I think the theme of my life will also be learning how much God loves me. Because he loves me so much, and I am always discovering in new ways how true that is.

As I am learning more about God's love, I feel really desperate for everyone else to know, too, how much God loves them. And that's Christmas. God cares for you. God wants you. God has not forgotten you. God knows you. I have developed an obsession with Mister Rogers this year, and there is this song he sings called "It's You I Like." You should look it up. I think that song could just be God singing to us. So friend, I want you to know. God loves you. That's not just a platitude. That's truth.

Looking back on my year, and thinking about Christmas coming up, I think we have such a cool opportunity at Christmas to show others how much God cares. In fact I have a few ideas of how you can use your money to show God's love to others.

This Christmas, you could show someone how much God cares by donating to help a refugee family come to Canada. More and more, I am realizing that hospitality is such a huge way to show love. Showing hospitality to strangers is really at the center of our Gospel. For we were still sinners, and Christ died for us. I am learning that hospitality is more than just welcoming someone into our home. It is welcoming someone into our life.

This Christmas, you could show a child God cares by donating to a summer camp. This summer, I got to spend some time at both Kingswood Camp and Malagash Bible Camp. Anyone who has worked at camp can tell you that the campers who come are often really desperate for love and acceptance. Camp is a place where they experience God's love.

This Christmas, you could show a family God has not forgotten about them by donating through the Chalice gift catalogue (or even sponsoring a child!). Here in Kenya, I have seen firsthand the impact of the work of Chalice in the lives of people experiencing poverty. While the financial help families receive is important, I think the most important thing for these families is knowing that someone, somewhere, cares about them. The other day we visited one of my absolute favourite people here in Kenya, a woman named Susan who runs a home for orphans and street children just outside of town. She gushed with praise for our office: "Whenever I go to that office, I come away smiling and feeling good. They listen. Other people don't listen." That is the real value of Chalice's programs. Yes, the economic development and the nutrition programs and child sponsorship and so on are vital. But I think what really counts is that people know they are cared for. They know they have someone to come to with their problems. They do not feel alone. They feel hope.

So anyway, enough preaching. Here are some photos of my past week here.

Microfinance group meeting

Nutrition training-- people were so engaged! They were answering questions from the facilitators, asking questions, and taking notes. I think they learned a lot.

On the weekend I attended a wedding of a couple I had never met (a friend had invited me to come the day of-- I was sort of obviously out of place!)

Some wedding traditions were different than at home, but some, like the throwing of the bouquet, were just the same

On Sunday a few of us went for a long walk. It was so great to be in nature, a little farther away from town. I am officially in love with Kenya.