January 8, 2007

Dear Friends,

It seems as that even though I am in China, a country that doesn't celebrate Christmas much, the insanity of the holiday season still comes creeping in. I haven't been involved in holiday parties, choir practices, setting up the church building, or decorating my home. Here, the whirlwind has been grading speeches, attending student performances for the school's anniversary, and listing to recitations. Personally, I have always appreciated the message of Advent more than the message, especially the commercialized message, of Christmas. The hope, faith, joy, and peace that Advent calls us to remember in the four candles have meant more to me than the stress that inevitably accompanies Christmas. However, I had been feeling rather low the first weeks of December, and even the Advent wreath that I had in my flat did little to lift me up. It seemed like I would never get anything done when it was supposed to get done, and all of my hope, faith, love, and peace (especially peace) seemed to be flying away. All that changed the day it snowed in Lanzhou.

I had been feeling in limbo with my Chinese colleagues. They were always polite to me, but I didn't feel I was part of the college's life. I understand that they see me as a transient. Still, I wanted them to know that I want to be part of the community. Lanzhou has a mostly arid climate, so to my incredible surprise and my joy, a snowstorm dropped four inches on our school one Tuesday morning. After my afternoon class, I headed outside to build a snowman, have a snowball fight, or do something to celebrate this magnificent gift. I discovered my colleagues shoveling snow. Call me crazy if you like, but I actually like shoveling snow. I grabbed a shovel and started to work. I found out later that some of my colleagues were impressed that I stuck for an hour. I found a kernel of hope: that I might one day be become truly a part of this college's community, and I was grateful that I had seized the opportunity to work.

To my classes, I explained the different aspects of Christmas in order to counterbalance the commercialized Christmas of the media. My students love to sing, so I taught them Christmas carols. They were fascinated by the idea of caroling, so I invited them to go caroling with me on the week of December 11. I had no idea what a gift they would give me. Over the course of three evenings, each class created a special memory for me to treasure.

The night after the snowfall, I went with classes C and B. With Class C, we visited the front gate. We were about the last thing the gatemen expected at 7:00 p.m.! After a brief snowball fight on the way to the back gate, we sang for the gatemen and the school nurse there. We then slipped and skidded across the black ice to the cafeteria and performed for the cooks and servers. The best moment, however, was walking back to the classroom, when my student Sally asked, “Is this what Christmas is like in America?” “Sometimes, “ I said. She said, “I liked this, I like Christmas.” Later, I had the raucous class B setting each other’s hair on fire with candles (by accident), throwing snowballs at each other and their teacher (on purpose), and singing at the top of their lungs, only slightly off key. We had a riotous time at both gates and the Muslim cafeteria.

My entire adult English class showed up to sing Christmas carols the next night, and while we were singing at the front gate, I received a Christmas package from my grandmother, and a Christmas card from a woman at my home church. When I opened the card, the students all wanted to see it, and so another message about Christmas and love got passed around. My students have been eager to express their love and concern for me, and they have done so in many ways. A few have even said to me that because I am so far from my home, they want to be my “family” here. I was reminded of the third verse of “Joy to the World”: Christ rules the world with truth and grace/ And makes the nations prove/ The glories of God’s righteousness/ And wonders of God's Love!

I can think of no better way to celebrate the love of Christmas than to receive a card that from home with love, and share it with people I have come to love. Christ truly does make the nations prove the wonders of God’s Love!

My last class of carolers was class A. We went to the front gate, the back gate, and the Muslim cafeteria, and then we decided to sing outside of my teaching partner's flat. The students visiting Gunnel and Permartin seemed quite surprised to see fifty students belting out songs in English on the stairwell, but everyone had such joy on their faces by the end. I felt such peace that night as I headed back to my flat. My students and colleagues truly had given me the best kinds of Christmas gifts. My colleagues had given me hope that I would one day find a more permanent place in the college community, and my students had given me love, peace, and renewed my faith that I was exactly where God wanted me to be. The people in my life had been Advent for me, and it truly was a blessed gift to receive. May your holiday seasons be as full of hope, faith, love, peace, and all of God’s blessings.

In His grace,

Rae

The 2007 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 244