One of my all-time favourite Christmas tunes is “My Grown Up
Christmas List” by Amy Grant, for so many reasons (if you don’t know it, you
have to listen: http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=JFC9MFNU). The song brings me be back to the time of tape
cassettes and puffy sleeve church dresses, where the miracle of Jesus’ birth
and Santa’s worldwide travel astounded me alike. With the beginning of the Advent season, came
the time to decorate the tree and make our Christmas lists. For years and years in a row the top two
items on my list were the Polly Pocket Mansion (which I eventually received)
and my favourite doll Big Baby to be fixed (I’m still waiting on this one mom
;). But in all the years of my
childhood, I don’t recall ever asking for “no more lives torn apart,” because
my naïve mind could not fathom a place where the holiday season did not bring around
the warm feelings I had always felt.
And here I sit, with my beautiful innocent boy on my lap,
wondering what will be on his list someday.
Will our choice to sacrifice the comfort of home, to confront the uncomfortably
of poverty and pain, affect him someday?
I can only pray that it will; that God’s plan in bringing us to Uganda
was to not only open our eyes, but for Theo to grow up with a greater
understanding of the world’s great sufferings and celebrations. My prayer for all of you is that as you
partake in the joys of the Christmas season, that you take a moment to be
thankful for the vast gifts you have been given and perhaps teach your children
a little something about how other cultures celebrate the season.
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| Us with two HIV orphans that our church will be sponsoring |
Love,
Andrew, Melissa and Theo
Merry Christmas to your beautiful family Melissa! Love you guys.
ReplyDeleteWe pray the blessings of the Christ child's birth to reach your community in Uganda Andrew and Melissa. I'm sure you are diligent to share the story and hear how they tell it as well. Excited to hear more about the orphans that the church will be sponsoring! Love getting these posts! You are doing such a great job at keeping us connected.
ReplyDeleteHey you two, great to see you and Andrew are making the most of what you got, making it feel like the holiday season, with a little Ugandan style. Send my seasons greeting to the whole family over there and a happy new years of course. You both are doing great stuff over there and I can't say it enough, truly an experience impacting everyone around you, including the people back home. The pictures and messages you guys leave on the blog and facebook are inspirational and informative helping to paint a picture of a beautiful country most people may think was just another war torn African country. We all have been missing you guys back home during the holiday season and can’t wait to see and hear all the great stories you have when you guys get back home. Keep up the great work and I hope the best for you all during this time of the year as I am grateful to have such remarkable friends like you guys.
ReplyDeletePeace and Love,
Mitch Dwyer
Thank you, as always, for your uplifting words...we really appreciate them, they help us feel like we are not alone in this journey and that what we are doing really is making a difference. And you should start a blog dude, you sure can write beautifully;) I hope your holiday was filled with fun and laughter and can't wait to spend next year with you guys!!!
DeleteLove Andrew, Melissa & Theo
My holiday was great but much to short. As for the blog I have always thought about it but I write enough during school and just I havn't found the time to start one. Thanks for the compliment and I think I will take the suggestion and maybe start one in the near future.
DeleteMuch appreciated,
Mitch