Decades of memories make it rather easy to imagine Christmas in Denver.  While the fine red dust blown in by the Harmattan wind swirls about our feet, our thoughts turn to the windblown eddies of fine snow that spin along the ground as winter evenings settle in Colorado.  The growing glow flowing from neighborhood homes chases the nipping chill as padded footsteps hurry home.  Aromatic evergreens laden with cheerful memories greet guests gusting in with the chill wind and fleeing flakes.  Warm aromas rise to melt the frost from frozen noses.

Here in Burkina Faso friends and neighbors bundle against the early morning chill as temperatures fall into the 60s.  One can even see the occasional young child in a full snow suit.  The afternoon winds whip the desiccated dust into a fine fog that makes the sun resemble a suspended glass ornament.  Baobab trees stand like leafless guardians of the 9-month dry season as everything inside and out fades under a growing layer of muted red dust.  The memories of Christmases past fade as the incongruity of humming carols while wearing a ruddy, sweat-stained shirt under the scorching sun relights reality. 

The past year has seen even more changes than we ever could have expected.  We have taken on more hungry, underweight babies in dire need of supplemental nutrition.  We have begun experimenting with the incredible Moringa tree that we hope will provide a sustainable alternative to packaged baby formula by increasing babies’ birth weights and improving nursing mothers’ lactation.  We also began distributing bars of soap along with hand washing instructions and reminders to neighborhood children to wash their hands before eating, after visiting the toilet, and throughout the day.

We are also unashamedly changing the local culture.  We hired a neighbor’s ten-year-old daughter (for the equivalent of $2.00 a month) to be the keeper of soccer balls, Frisbees, and jump ropes.  It’s a culture changer because women, especially young women have a low status in traditional cultures.  Now in our part of town the older teenage boys must politely ask a much younger girl to use some of the sports equipment.  We are also changing the local culture by teaching cooperation, sharing, and how to earn small treats by doing things like filling small sacs with trash from the streets which we then dispose of. 

Close enough to Christmas to truly be a gift was the opportunity to share in the celebration at the SIL center of the completion of the typesetting phase of the Kaansa New Testament.  Stuart and Cathie Showalter have worked for almost 28-years on this translation project.  It was a stunning moment when we got to hear one of their team read the Scriptures in his heart language.  Because of Stuart and Cathie’s dedication to the spreading of God’s word, the Kaansa language group will have the word of God in their heart language.  This is why Janet and I are honored and humbled to be working here for Wycliffe Associates—to help and to see Bible translation accelerated so that all may hear.

We have also come to view Christmas with greater wonder and thankfulness.  Most people in Burkina Faso are Muslim.  Most of the minority Christians are Catholic.  The remaining “evangelical” Christians are tainted with varying degrees of animism and superstition.  Christ is known of, but not truly known.  A small minority in this country have the assuredness of an eternal relationship with a loving God through His Son Jesus.  We wage a constant, loving guerilla action to inject Christ into all of our interactions with our Burkinabé friends and neighbors while we work at the SIL bible translation center for Wycliffe Associates.

As Christmas draws near memories of loved ones in the US and in many countries around the world fill the nooks and crannies of our hearts and minds.  We drift in and out of thoughts of you all as we hear (or hum) a carol, decorate our diminutive tree, plan for the staff Christmas party, or soak in the Scriptures as we savor the day when God became man to deliver his own Christmas presence.  We are also very aware of the countless number of people who do not know our Gracious Lord and who have not eternal life in His presence.  Among all the wrappings and trappings of this Christmas season, how wonderful it would be to share the presence of Him to which we owe all that we are and hope to be. 

This holiday season, why not give Christ for Christmas? 

Share the Gospel and share the joy.