African Christmas - different but the same.

Belated Christmas greetings to you all!!!
I kept meaning to blog over the last two weeks, and yes, I know,  intentions don’t amount to a hill of beans!!!
Christmas sure was different for us this year; almost no trace of commercialism in sight, no Christmas carols being played where ever you go, not one house decorated outside, no snow and sub zero temperatures : ), almost no Christmas treats, no mad dash to get the latest must have gadget, no turkey, no Santa (very thankfully!!), but praise the Lord, the true, joyful meaning of Christmas - the celebration of the birth of the Messiah, JESUS CHRIST, yes, that was as real here as it was out there!
The fact that the Father knew from eternity past that we would need a Christmas so that we could have an Easter has taken on a new deeper meaning. The ineffable love that was demonstrated by the Father and the Son when they both knew what was awaiting the Son. What perfect love!
In the weeks coming up to Christmas we were very busy, both at school and at CRIB. At school we put in many “overtime” hours getting ready for the school Christmas program. It was wonderful; Fabi wrote the play, which began with Adam and Eve and the fall of man, continued with Noah and the flood, went on to the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. You see, what’s so wonderful about this is the fact that a very large percentage of the audience were staunch Muslim/Hindus!! A large sector of students in both primary and secondary are of these faiths; reason being we’re the only English speaking school in Burundi, and English is becoming more and more common as a business language.
And so this affords us the fantastic opportunity to present the gospel of Jesus Christ to these folks. Isaiah 55:11 tells us that God’s word will not return empty, but will achieve the purpose for which it was sent. These people heard the word of God, many through their own children’s mouths. I love that!!!
At CRIB we made a huge 3D wall mural out of felt/bamboo/fabric/paper, etc. of the nativity scene, as well as assorted Christmas decorations, snowflake placemats for the Christmas dinner as well as crowns for the King’s birthday, and cards for Chrissie and Dave and Sheena.
I have much more to write, and I will soon; time just has a way of running away, just like it did out there.
I do want to leave you with a warm thought though. Tomorrow morning we’re off on a tiny little mini holiday with friends we’ve met here. We’re planning on spending one night at a very basic they-may-not-have-running-water-or-electricity-$10-per-night guest house; but here’s the warm part: it’s very close to a  pristine beach, complete with snorkelling!!  What a rough life!!! No, seriously, a little R&R will be great.
But in the mean time, we wish you a blessed new year, filled with the love, joy and peace that comes only from our Lord Jesus Christ.
In Christ,
Isaac, Rosel and Colton