A Tropical Christmas

The poorly dressed children lined up, youngest to oldest, each staring wide-eyed at the boxes of nicely wrapped gifts in front of the sanctuary, the sanctuary being a dirt floored, bamboo built, tin roofed, partially enclosed, native structure that served as a place for worship.  One by one, each child, with a big smile on their face and outstretched arms, received their gift.  For some, it was the only gift they received for Christmas.  In all, www.Blessings.ph gave out nearly 200 gifts during December to needy children through the cooperation of our local Southern Baptist Churches. 

Christmas in the Philippines is always warm and humid.  The malls are decorated with colorful lights and ornamented trees while holiday music is heard throughout the stores.  The image of a bearded Santa Clause wearing a thick coat and sliding down chimneys doesn’t translate well in the tropics, so he’s rarely seen.  As in the U.S., churches struggle to remind busy shoppers of the true meaning of Christmas.  My Christmas was spent skyping with my children and enjoying a slide show I put together last year https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJtyAsAX4hs now posted on Sara’s YouTube page.

Christmas Day was disastrous for our churches on the north end of our island where the eye of a late-season typhoon passed during the morning hours tearing off roofs and flooding homes.  Our pastor in Roxas City organized relief efforts to those most affected by the storm.  The day after Christmas gave us a 10 second ride as a 4.7 earthquake centered just north of Iloilo City swayed our houses and shook our furnitures. 

A couple of days after Christmas I drove 4 hours to a neighboring province where several of our churches gathered for an annual fellowship.  Early that morning, my American friend and fellow servant, TJ, and I drove our vehicles to pick up about 40 people who had walked for an hour down the mountain to the highway.  My vehicle was designed to comfortably seat 7 passengers.  But comfortable is a relative term as 20 of them crammed into every available space, grateful that they didn’t have to walk further or wait and pay dearly to ride a bus.  That morning, the seaside gathering place hosted about 120 church members as they fellowshipped, sang, played games, and endured a sermon from me. 

Now it’s New Year’s Eve.  The Philippines has a reputation of being the noisiest place on earth when the clock nears midnight as this video clip proves  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKbTn_J7zoE  Tons of fireworks light the night sky as giant sized firecrackers and blaring horns signal the start of a new year.  But for those of us who do the Lord’s work, it’s a reminder of the urgency we have to proclaim the gospel, knowing the day is nearing when those opportunities will be gone and the time of our Lord’s return will come.  On that night, the sky will be lit with a different light, one eagerly welcomed by those of us who wait expectantly for the return of our Prince of Peace.