The Merriest of Christmases

There is a calm about the campus, and my days are like the aftermath of a great hurricane-quiet, too quiet, with the passing of the anticipation and preparation and my company gone, leaving me wondering what happened.

The stories in my New Yorker Christmas book are hilarious and entertaining and some leave me in awe of the talent of the authors. But if I could write a story of Christmas, of the best Christmas I can imagine, it couldn’t compare to the sweetness of the Christmas I had with my parents and Stephen Windsor-all the more sweet because my Christmas story actually happened! What astonishes me the most is that I see God’s hand in my life continually, and in the littlest details He constantly reminds me of his tender care. God so clearly coordinated this Christmas which was supported by prayers of those in Macon and my friends in Lilongwe.

Stephen and my parents arrived on December 23rd with all 13 bags-a miracle considering another missionary family on campus had their son arriving the same day and his lesser number of bags didn’t make it. The Lilongwe airport is built in 50’s fashion with an observation deck to view passengers deboarding the plane. I spied my mother descending the stairs of the plane to the runway with her blond hair shining in the sun, wearing a turquoise blouse in her traditional fashion. But waiting for them as they passed through customs was all the more excruciating for having seen them finally set foot on African soil. At least the meeting was all the more heartfelt and our joy more complete for having all the bags.

Our trip was a dream from there. Safari in South Luangwa Park was beyond belief. So many missionaries praised the game park there, but I was still unprepared for the shock that comes in being in the environment of wild lion, leopard, and so many other animals. After arriving in Mfui, the area of the game park, we were immediately ushered onto an open Land Cruiser safari truck. The truck is strangely shaped with the driver seat close to the ground and two long benches elevated behind the driver covered in heavy water proof canvas. We took a 3 hour drive that night through the park which was like driving into the garden of Eden at dusk. There were huge fields of elephant, puku, and birds grazing peacefully, intermingling with one another as the evening sun lit the vast Zambian horizon.

The Robin Pope house, otherwise known as the Luangwa house, our home for three nights, was something out of a Jules Verne novel or something Robinson Crusoe would envision. With it’s thatch roof, four rooms designed with a natural element in mind (glass, copper, iron, and stone), and open living room looking onto an enormous dry river bed filled with elephants, giraffes, baboons, monkeys, and other animals, we felt we’d been delivered into something one doesn’t believe exists except in movies where everything is coordinated to look natural and yet perfectly placed, arranged. We enjoyed each other’s company by candle light each night as George, our new Zambian friend and employee of the house, delivered dinner from the kitchen, a separate little hobit house built mostly under ground, just a few yards from us.

Victoria Falls was equally amazing and just as awe inspiring. One afternoon, we took a little dingy boat out to an island by the falls to have high tea. However, we were completely taken aback when we realized we weren’t on an island really, but a patch of ground at the very edge of the falls. The “island” stays dry during June, July, and the early months of the rainy season, until the rains flood the Zambeze river which pours over the edge of the precipice to create one of the seven wonders of the world. Before tea, our guide, Jonah, took us by the hand and led each one of us individually to the very edge of the cliff, as close as one can physically get without falling over into a roar of mist and water and rock. Looking back we are still astonished that no one has died yet from that little tour! Dad was considerably uncomfortable about being that close to the edge, with good reason. The rocks were slippery with the mist and rain and some of us hadn’t worn proper shoes with good traction as we weren’t aware of the nature of the tour. But after being soaked there, I made sure to take yet another bath-one of the greatest pleasures of our two nights in Livingstone at Victoria Falls for me was the bathroom and its gorgeous bathtub. I took as many baths there as I possibly could! As great as my little duplex is on the ABC campus, there isn’t a bathtub and I do love baths.

As wonderful as the 5 nights in Zambia with Stephen and my parents were, having them on campus with me at the site of my four months of teaching, was the highlight. They stayed in an unoccupied house near the foot of the campus where I decorated with a tree covered in African ornaments and one funny little string of lights. Soon after their arrival, presents surrounded the tree, and we enjoyed sitting around it listening to Christmas music while sipping the delicious tea the Logos Sunday School class at FPC sent. Christmas day we swam in the pool and enjoyed a pot luck dinner with many of the campus members of my missionary family, for that is what the body of Christ is and how the missionaries have embraced me here-as a family. Altogether, I am blown away by the kindness of my family, Stephen, and those who sent things with them reminding me that I am in their thoughts and prayers before God. As a friend said and I am now experiencing: you can’t outgive God!

Now that they’re gone (or at present, in the air on the way home and have been for the past 18 hours), I reflect back on the past 4 ½ months: adjusting to teaching, living in Lilongwe, living with a housemate, being a missionary, being so far away from home, etc. There’s no way I could’ve predicted all the adventures and experiences I’ve had or the ways in which God has revealed my sin and his glory to me. January 8, the academy starts the second sememster of the academic year and I begin teaching 6th grade literature, 7th grade grammar and literature, 8th grade grammar, and 10th grade literature. The constant adjustments keep me learning and the time flying. So with that in mind, I’m looking forward to all God has planned for 2007! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!