Tropical rain falls steadily.
The Christmas lights twinkle.
The Night Blooming Jasmine pours it's delicious heavy scent into the darkness.
The kids practice songs for the upcoming pageant.
Mangos come in season.
We wrap gifts while familiar carols play.
December is funny on the equator. :)
Taylor was given the privilege to visit the jungle community of Tiweno for the Waorani Bible Conference this year. Although "city Ecuadorians" make a big ta-do for Christmas, many of the indigenous do not. As I was packing his gear for the trip I stepped back and looked at my livingroom; the walls decorated for Christmas, the floor piled with an assortment of tee shirts, mud boots, and camping gear. I had to laugh at the seeming disparity. But then the kids' cardboard nativity scene caught my eye, and I realized that on that FIRST Christmas, mud boots and camping gear would have been entirely appropriate. It WAS a make-shift camp in a barn after all. The Wao believers that Taylor was blessed to meet may not have any use for holiday decorations, but they most definitely celebrate the Gift of Jesus. The 25th of December may not have too much significance for them, but the fact that God Himself was born into our muck to struggle through 30 years of life in a sin-cursed world, all for the purpose of showing His Father's glory and kindness by rescuing all that own his Lordship and leading us back to the Father - THIS they celebrate daily. And for this kind of "Christmas" perhaps mud boots ARE quite reasonable accessories.
Love because HE loved us first,
the Hollingsworths<><
