Homesick for the Holidays

This was our home before we left for Australia.  We lived in a quaint little cabin in the woods.  It was our favorite home, and we lived just a mile from my family so that was an extra bonus.  Fall/Autumn is my favorite time of the year.  So much so that we named our daughter Autumn. 

I will admit, when I start seeing all my friends post their photos of fall leaves, corn mazes, and pumpkins, I get a bit homesick.  Please don't misunderstand, I'm quite content where God has placed me but there is just something about crisp, cool, hoodie-wearing, pumpkin-everything weather.  I live in an area where we have two seasons - dry and wet (which means very hot).  Right now our temps are averaging over 100F every. single. day.  I don't own any long sleeve shirts, let alone a hoodie.  I wear thongs (ahem, flip flops for all you Yanks) every day. 

When your fall weather changes and snow begins to fall, and it's 110F here, all I want to do is lay in snow until I have frostbite.  Alas, I can't, so what do I do to make it through the holidays?

I plan new traditions on the field! 

Last year we hosted our first (now annual) Thanksgiving dinner.  We call it "Come give thanks with the Yanks".  (Yanks is what Australians call Americans no matter what state you're from.)  We have had so many people ask us if we're going to do it again, how can we say no?!!  Last year we had almost 50 people attend.  This year we are expecting 80.  My wonderful dad sent me plates, serviettes (napkins), cups, some other decorations, and canned pumpkin.  I went onto Pinterest and found lots of projects to add to the décor.  Everyone had a wonderful time as we celebrated and gave thanks to God for His blessings. 

(Just in case you are interested, turkeys costs roughly $10-$15/kg, which is about $5-$10/lb.)

Although, technically it's spring in Australia (but really, it's our wet season), we still decorate the house for fall, or Thanksgiving.  I'm so glad we brought our decorations along.  This really makes our house feel like home to us.

I find Christmas is a bit harder here because Christmas tends to be the hottest time of year here.  But we've made some wonderful traditions that we've come to look forward to.

Close to Christmas, we will drive around our town looking at Christmas lights, we've even driven to the next town (3 hours north) to look at their Christmas lights.  There aren't many, but it helps put us in the Christmas mood.  We just pretend it's freezing out.  :)  Last year we also decorated our house with lights, we plan to make it bigger every year.  What an opportunity to use our house to point others to Christ!

Last year we put on a Christmas play at our church, this took a lot of effort on my part and kept me very busy, but it was so worth it!

The largest attendance we had up to this point.

Who doesn't love cute little sheep?!

We also decorate our home.  I was once told it looked like Christmas threw up in my living room.  I think I'm okay with that.

We still build a snowman every year.

We just have to be creative!

 

One of the other traditions we have started is baking cookies for our local firemen.  Police officers are not allowed to accept cookies, what a shame.  As a thank you, the chief fireman gave us a ride in his firetruck!

Another fun thing here, is everyone has their Christmas party at the local pool.

And I also try to make a special Christmas dinner.



 

So, although we are not "home" for the holidays, we have found a way to not just survive, but thrive at our "home away from home".   I believe it was Jim Elliot who said, "Wherever you are be all there."  I am human, I do get homesick, I do miss my family, I still cry when I hear the song "I'll be home for Christmas", but I also don't want to miss the memories that we are making here.   I want to be in the moment. 

I once read where someone described our job title as "Someone who leaves their family, so others can spend eternity with theirs." 

"It will be worth it all."



I'm curious, how do you celebrate the holidays away from family and friends?

 

 



A BMW Thanksgiving

I have to admit...

I didn't really celebrate Thanksgiving in the States.

Oh, sure... our family got together. We ate turkey and banana pudding and pumpkin pies until we could barely move. On a few occasions we even took a few minutes to say we were thankful for things. Once we even made a "thankful tree," and hung leaves with words written on them of what we were thankful for.

But in the comfort of America... in the luxuries and abundance... I never really understood true thankfulness for little things. Our "thankful tree" would look very different if we made it today.

Coming to the field has been such a blessing in my spiritual growth. I am sad that the Lord had to take me to the other side of the world to teach me true, heartfelt, deep gratitude.

And I am not alone. Several BMWs took the time to share with us things that seemed so insignificant to them in their passport country, but now on the field they are true treasures.

If the BMWs got together and made a "thankful tree," what would their leaves say?

Have you every gotten on your knees and thanked the Lord for your turkey... with tears in your eyes? When 12 pound turkeys cost $70-$120, It's a tough thing to swallow. Yes, many BMWs substitute chicken. So when that turkey unexpectedly goes on sale... or someone sends a check specifically for a turkey??? I promise you will fall to your knees and thank the Lord.

Sending an email, using Skype, and Facebook posts? Have you ever poured your heart out to the Lord about how precious these things are? When your child or grand babies are thousands of miles away on Thanksgiving, your gratitude for these modern conveniences will flourish.

Creative Skype with Grandparents

Do you take birthday gatherings for granted? BMWs have learned to treasure getting together with friends for a birthday cake.

Have you spent time in prayer thanking the Lord you got at least one thing done today? I can promise some BMWs have.

Have you ever turned on the shower and broke out in praise and thanksgiving because there was hot water? Or even that there was water at all?

If you have ever seen a woman holding a box of cranberries and crying? Or maybe it was cream cheese or blueberries or butterscotch morsels or chocolate chips or Pepsi Cola or CHEDDAR CHEESE... To many people, these things are nothing. They walk into a store, grab a bag of brown sugar, pay, and leave. But a BMW? She realizes just how precious these items are. You are likely to find her praying over a pumpkin... thanking the Lord for loving her that much. And if she gets a CAN of pumpkin, she may just have a running spell. Do I need to even explain what happens when butter goes on sale?

Have you ever put clothes in your washing machine, pressed the button to start it up, and started singing a song of God's grace? If you ever have to wash your clothes by hand for a lengthy period of time, it will put a song in your heart and thanksgiving in your mouth to have such a wonderful contraption. And for a BMW, having a dryer can bring you to singing three part harmony all by yourself. Yes, we are thankful for appliances.

By the way, did I mention gratitude for OXY Clean? It's real.

Have you ever been humbled in prayer over thirty minutes of quiet time? If you ever have to take care of a children's home with twenty children, you will find yourself shedding tears of gratitude to the Lord.

We have all walked into a doctor's office, seen the wait, and grumbled. If you are a BMW, you are more likely to walk in, see the line, find a place to sit or stand... and then praise the Lord for affordable, quality care. It is rare on many fields.

And lines??? There is something precious about learning to give thanks because you are in the top 150 for the petrol line. When your children sit around the dinner table and pray, thanking the Lord for diesel fuel and bacon... you realize the Lord has truly done a work in the hearts of the whole family.

Are you a Sunday school teacher or women's ministry leader? When is the last time you have praised the Lord for your Sunday school curriculum or Bible study helps? There are BMWs all over the world on their knees regularly thanking the Lord for materials like that. They have learned their value because many of them have had to labor for a long time to translate materials, write materials... or even just collect the materials over time.

Peanut butter... I could have added it to the grocery store scene above, but peanut butter deserves a section all to itself. I am convinced more prayers of thanksgiving have gone up for the gift of peanut butter than for any other grocery item.

Easy access to clean public toilets? Yes, you learn to appreciate those things. How many times have you thanked the Lord for them?

Encouraging emails, letters, and packages? It was sweet to get those things in the States, but they never gripped my heart the way they do on the field.

Smooth roads... Oh, I could park on this topic for hours! (Excuse the pun... I couldn't resist.) When a road gets paved here, my whole family bursts into praises!

I remember complaining in the States when it rained. It ruined my plans. But on the field? Water is life. It fills the cisterns. It keeps the electricity on for extra hours. Rain? Yes, BMWs have spent many hours thanking God for rain.

Speaking of electricity... You will never understand true gratitude for electricity until you begin thanking the Lord for an extra hour of electricity.

So many BMWs do not get to experience the changing of the leaves in Fall. They long for it and have learned how to spot the slightest change of color from a great distance. Oh, they truly have learned to appreciate the autumn leaves.

Have you thanked the Lord lately for your past? BMWs do it regularly. They have seen the Lord's fingerprints in their past preparing them for what they are doing now... and they are truly thankful.

Have you praised the Lord today for Pinterest and for "from scratch" recipes? When you don't have access to marshmallows and saltines... you will grow in gratitude for these things.

How thankful are you for your warm clothes and your heater and your boots in winter? These things have produced mountains of praise on many fields... and for other fields, a cold spell of 70 degrees makes choruses of thanksgiving gush forth.

Have you ever sat in a church service and thanked the Lord that it was in your own language? Have you ever sat in a Christmas cantata/Easter pageant/teen singspiration/Awana or Masters Club meeting/ladies meeting and couldn't control your praise that you even have access to these things?  What about church fellowships like simple hay rides and camping trips? Go without those for a while... your gratitude will swell like the tide. It does for us.

Do you want to see thankfulness ooze from every pore of a BMW? Hoist the Stars and Stripes high and start playing the national anthem.

You see, Thanksgiving isn't the turkey and dressing. It isn't getting together with family (though we sure do love the rare opportunity!) It isn't football games and parades. If it were these things, many BMWs couldn't celebrate. But the heart of Thanksgiving is... well... giving thanks!

We may be spending Thanksgiving thousands of miles away from our families. We may be eating giblets and refried beans with nationals or other missionaries. We may have to substitute a chicken for the turkey. But praise the Lord that He is teaching us the true meaning of Thanksgiving! We BMWs are blessed beyond measure. His grace is sufficient today... and every day.

And for that... we give thanks.

Happy Thanksgiving from

Baptist Missionary Women

around the world!

(Thank you, ladies, for sharing your hearts and thanking the Lord for His goodness... even in the little things.)