Christmas Eve 2009

It’s Christmas Eve, not yet 0900h and the temperature is 84C. The ducks are defrosting on the verandah. Ruairidh and Gregor have gone into Livingstone to collect animal feed for the farm and the cream that we’d ordered. Earlier in the week. They spent yesterday slaughtering a pig and smoking a ham for tomorrow.. Here it is, Christmas from scratch!

Earlier the ladies from the Sewing Support Group arrived with Dorothy and raked and cleared our yard of weeds. At this time of year it is difficult to keep on top of this. This was their thank you and their present to us. Ida, Catriona and Florence are now busy rolling out dough and baking traditional Danish cookies, while Mubita is happily watching and accompanying an old schmaltzy Muppet Christmas video.

We will gather as a family at around 4 in the afternoon, read Luke’s account of the Nativity, sing some carols. We remember friends and family in different parts of the world, those in trouble or suffering or those no longer with us. This is especially poignant because Mwale, Mubita’s half-sister, has been missing from her home for over a week now.

We will then sit down to prawn cocktail, (the ingredients were bought in Lusaka 800km away earlier in the month when we picked up Catriona and Gregor) roast duck, red cabbage, sugared potatoes followed by ris a l’amande.

For our friends and colleagues here in Zambia the main celebration takes place tomorrow. Most Zambian children will receive new clothes tomorrow. This is the new outfit, or Sunday-best for the coming year. These will be worn to the Christmas Service that begins at 0830h. Later in the day the family will eat fried chicken and boiled rice with a cabbage, onion and tomato relish. Drinks would be non-alcoholic maize beer (maheu), Mazoe (Orange Squash) or a Coke or Fanta. For pudding there may be a cake or some buns.

All this description of food underscores once again how privileged we are and should remind us that God gave us the resources of the earth to meet human needs, including food and as a gift from God it is intended for sharing. It has been given to the whole human race. But Proverbs 13:23 observes that people go hungry not because of a shortage of food but from a shortage of justice. This is what lies behind the reference to this in the Magnificat - God filling the hungry at the dawn of the Messiah’s birth. If this is seen just as a future hope, then it is not a true vision. It is meant to challenge us here and now into practical action, working for justice and the elimination of hunger – marks of genuine love and faith. Here in Mwandi, 40% of households are women-headed and over one third of our children are chronically under-nourished.

As David Blanchflower prays:

Holy Child of Bethlehem,
In you the eternal was pleased to dwell
Help us, we pray, to see the divine image
In people everywhere.

Advent

With the start of Advent we begin to celebrate the coming of Jesus and his birth at Bethlehem. It is a time of hope.

This has been made especially real for Ida and me as we have experienced over the past year God’s faithfulness to us and our reliance on him. No matter what the prevailing circumstances have been and the restlessness caused by the delays we have felt while waiting for him to answer, we have learned time and time again that, in fullness, he will keep his word.

The Incarnation reminds us that God keeps his word and it is a glorious fulfillment of his promises. As a visiting friend said while waiting for the last container containing much needed medical supplies and artificial limbs to arrive, in every respect God is faithful and he’s never late. We have received two containers this year one from CART in Huddersfield and one from North Carolina. We want to thank you all for your hard work, contributions and effort with the containers. The contents will continue to bless many people now and in the near future. For example in the CART container we received made-up relief boxes containing lots of useful household articles. These we have given to flood victims and those who have suffered houses fire and lost their belongings.

Ida chaired the Mwandi Committee for World AIDS Day and is trying to encourage more community participation and make it a less hospital-driven event. The milk formula programme still continues with 40 babies at present. A Grandmother regularly comes for formula for the triplets who were born in October.

At school it is exam time so I’m trying to keep up with the marking of the Grade 8 Maths and Science papers. The pupils are tired and looking forward to their Christmas Holidays. As regards the construction work of the classroom block, after I pay the contractor for the ringbeam there will be no funds left for the roof, plastering, glazing, wiring and painting. So work will come to a standstill now until we get further clarification from Synod and the Ministry.

We as a family appreciate the furniture that was sent for us. It has made our sitting room much more comfortable and homely. We actually sit there now, before that it was just a room we used to see people in. Mubita's room too is looking wonderful. Mubita loves his bunk-bed, we have a trunk for his toys to be stored in and the chest of drawers for his clothes. It is good too that we now have enough bedding now to change the linen and not have to do the washing, drying and ironing all in one day.

We are feeling at home, even although the house is small and we will only be in it temporarily. Nick is beginning work again on our new house. We are looking forward to having Gregor and Catriona to our home and celebrating a Danish family Christmas Eve with them and Fiona and Ruairidh. Something we have not been able to do for many years.

We close by wishing you all a very happy Christmas with all good wishes for the New Year.

Keith, Ida, Gregor, Catriona & Mubita