Not Just Any Other Christmas

December Reflection

Christmas time is my favorite time of the year. Usually school takes a bit of a break, you have an excuse to stay inside on the extremely cold days, and you find a reason to do absolutely nothing and everything you wish with your closest family and friends. If you know me, you know that I am obsessed with Christmas music and start listening to it the day after Thanksgiving, and I am such a fan of watching Christmas movies on ABC family’s 25 days of Christmas. Also, I love all of the Christmas traditions – it gives me something hopeful to look forward to in the middle of a cold December. I love finding the family Christmas tree out in the snowy mountains, decorating the tree with the family and some hot chocolate, baking and decorating piles and piles of Christmas cookies, Christmas Eve church service and singing harmony with my sister to all our favorite carols, my own family traditions on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning including the food and watching Ralphie’s 24 hour marathon of the Christmas story all throughout the day. All in all, Christmas has become all these things and imagining a Christmas without it seemed impossible.

Well, this Christmas was not just any other Christmas: this Christmas was my first Christmas away from home, the United States, the Northern Hemisphere, but a Christmas in sunny, warm, South Africa. I always wondered what this would be like- and now that I have experienced it for the first time, I’d like to share some of my memories with you!

In South Africa, or more specifically the people I have come into contact with in Bloemfontein, Christmas is surrounded by schools’ and business’ summer holidays. So many people associate Christmastime as a time of vacation to the sea and many don’t have yearly traditions. This came as a surprise to me since Christmas is all about traditions! Many people at home, or at least in Pennsylvania, associate a ‘White Christmas’ with the season, and it just felt so strange to me when the whole week before Christmas was over 90 degrees. I rarely saw Christmas lights, Christmas trees, Christmas music or Christmas movies– and at first, I was rather distraught. I only heard Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is you” and saw a pine Christmas tree while I was walking through a mall. I felt I could only find Christmas in certain places and these places were scarce. What is Christmas without these things that I have relied to mean Christmas for me each and every year?

Unfortunately this year, I was quite under the weather for the holiday. After a wonderful Christmas Eve spent on friends’ family farm, I became extremely sick with severe stomach pains on Christmas day and the day after, and I was taken to the hospital on the evening of the 26th. Afraid that I might have appendicitis or some other stomach infection/virus, the doctors at the hospital decided to admit me into the hospital. I would have been scared and nervous to hear this in my own country, let alone a foreign country, but subconsciously I knew it was the best decision for my health and I knew that I would be in good, safe hands. Nevertheless, it is always a bit frightening being sick, away from home, and alone.

But the truth is, I was not alone at all. I had a wonderful group of people surrounding me here from Bloemfontein to support, uplift and encourage me all along the way. During my two day stay at the hospital, I had many visitors that came every day to see how I was feeling and to see if I was doing better. I can’t express my gratitude and appreciation for all the visitors and how much their presence meant and continues to mean to me. I have really been blessed by the people that I have gotten to meet here so far, and I am so thankful for their love and their friendship. And although my family and friends at home and my coordinators could not be physically here to be with me, very encouraging words, thoughts and prayers were supporting my family and me. I don’t think I could have gotten through this experience without ALL OF YOU - And to me, this is what Christmas is all about. Christmas reminds us that Christ came to earth to live with us, to love us, and to be one of us. Each one of these special people, and all of those who have been kind to me, extended their homes and their lives to me, or has kept me in their thoughts and prayers have been Christ in my life.

Throughout this time, I could only think and hum one of my favorite Christmas songs sung by Point of Grace. The lyrics are as followed: “Oh Immanuel, God with us, Spirit revealed in us, so we may show your hope to the world.” Whether the people of Bloemfontein or those back home know it, I can see Christ within each and every one of them. They have given me hope that through their friendship, love, and support I can survive in a world beyond Johnstown, Pennsylvania, the United States or even the northern hemisphere. Christmas isn’t about the weather, the music, or the gifts – it’s about remembering what we inspire to be because of the birth, life and the death of Christ. It is my hope that this will serve as a reminder to me throughout the rest of my time here and when I return to the United States to extend the vision of hope to all who I encounter because of Christ in me yesterday, today, and forever.

I hope you had a merry and blessed Christmas this year. It is my hope that this New Year would provide you with blessings of hope and that you would be always reminded of Christ’s love in your life.

Undomestic Goddess

November Reflection

Although I have not always had time for it, reading has always been a passion and hobby of mine. A few summers ago, I finished an easy-read by one of my favorite authors, Sophie Kinsella, called The Undomestic Goddess. (Sorry if I ruin the story by explaining the plot). This romantic comedy of a book tells the story of a high-profile London professional that has a nervous breakdown due to her hectic and stressful lifestyle and unexpectedly flees the city life to enjoy the calmness of the countryside. While keeping her identity and whereabouts a secret, she disguises herself by acting the role of a housekeeper, although she has no clue, in fact, how to be a housekeeper. Throughout the book, Kinsella tells the hilarious tale of how the main character figures out how to become a respectable housekeeper, even though simple household tasks were way out of her comfort zone to start. The reader also sees how the main character finds fulfillment in these tasks and how she grows in ways she never thought she could throughout the process. A few years later- I look back at the book and realize this is now my life.

Chores like cooking and cleaning have never been my strong point, and I normally try to avoid doing these things as much as humanly possible. At home, I rush, rush, and rush and I NEVER make time to clean or cook. They are usually placed in the last lines of any to-do list that I make; so you could say it was never one of my top priorities. What I have found that during my time in South Africa thus far, is that God has put me in positions where I have been doing these things- a lot. I have become the master of doing dishes, perfected the art of folding clothes, and even been acting as lunch lady: cooking, baking and serving food for others. It is funny the way God works; to see what ways he chooses to humble us. He is definitely working through my imperfections and frustrations and has allowed me to learn from others while making special relationships with those who have been able to teach me. So in this reflection, I want to share a few recent stories that have highlighted the ‘undomestic goddess’ in me and how I am growing through attempting very tiny things like dishes or cooking.

Baking at the Sunflower House:

On a normal Monday, a few weeks back, I went to the local children’s hospice where I volunteer every Monday. I was doing the morning dishes like I always do and Michelle asked to talk to Anne and I (another volunteer from Germany) in her office. When we went in, she handed us this magazine filled with recipes and she told us that she wanted us to bake muffins that day for the kid’s afternoon snack. Great, I thought. I like to bake – but then again, I am used to baking things from a Betty Crocker box. Anne and I looked at each other, said we would do it, and off we went. This is where the trouble began.

First, the recipe was completely in Afrikaans. Granted I am trying to learn the language, but there was no way I was going to be able to decipher the entire recipe. We luckily got someone to translate the recipe for us into English, but I have come to find that when you translate something from one language to another, things tend to get ‘lost in translation’. So there we were with a sort-of recipe and we went off to find our ingredients. We were then told that we didn’t have the exact ingredients from the recipe to make the muffins (including the main ingredient), but that we should use what we had in the kitchen and improvise. Oh great, I thought - if there is one thing that scares me the most when cooking or baking, it is improvising or tweaking the recipe.

Next, I find that it is completely frustrating that the United States uses its own measuring system while the rest of the world uses the same metric system. This recipe called for milliliters instead of ounces and cups – so again I had no concept of how much of the ingredients to put in – and then we had to multiply that by 4 (to make enough). Improvising due to the lack of measuring utensils, we improved and worked with what we had and used small medicine cups to measure out milliliters out of all the ingredients. When we finally had all the ingredients together and measured, we put the mixture together, but something did not look right. It looked all too runny and the consistency did not seem right so we added and added things to it until it looked right and finally said- “hey, let’s just try it!”

So with our eyes closed and fingers crossed, we put the first batch of muffin batter in the oven. Forty-five minutes later, we pulled out fresh muffins that still seemed a little wet in the middle. When we finally decided that the muffins were done, about an hour later, we pulled them out and took the first taste. They were actually good! So, we made the rest of the muffins. The muffins were all finished and cooled when we gave the kids them for their snack, and they seemed to really enjoy them. It is such a great feeling when you know you are a part of creating a smile on a child’s face even though they have no idea you made them. I was just overjoyed the next day when I found out that none of my babies got sick after eating them – We had fun creating the muffins, the kids enjoyed eating them, and no one got sick: Success!

Kitchen at APD:

Unlike many of the other South African YAGMs, I have and will continue to rotate volunteer worksites about every two months to expose myself to many different organizations in Bloemfontein. At the beginning of November, my primary worksite became a center working with persons with disabilities. I have to admit I was a bit discouraged at the beginning since I had started to make deep relationships at my previous worksites, but I saw this as a new opportunity to try something different and meet different people so I remained optimistic. So on my first day I came in with an eager volunteer’s heart and a big smile and was handed a broom and a dust bin. You could only imagine what was going through my head, but if that’s where they needed me – then that was what I would do. At the end of the day, I ended up in the kitchen where I have stayed the past few weeks.

I have to admit the first week wasn’t pretty – I think I peeled and cut up to 3 huge bags of carrots, my fingers were permanently orange, and I always got embarrassment and frustration when I flung carrots around the kitchen when cutting them into small pieces. Cutting peppers, lettuce, pumpkin, and onions was even a chore for me, but I was persistent in trying my best and the ladies were kind in showing me how they cut the various vegetables for the different dishes. I can’t count the number of times I cut my hands cutting things – I seem to wear permanent band-aids on my hands. But as the weeks have gone by, the two pairs of women have increasingly given me bigger and bigger tasks to do – which to some might be very simple and novice tasks, but for me, felt like a personal victory in kitchenland. The ladies began to trust me more and appreciated my hard efforts. Now, they allow me to flour and fry chicken by myself (even though I burnt myself on the first piece I put in the frying pan) and they let me make my own salad creations. They are teaching me Sesotho along the way, I have had the opportunity to read the Bible to them during tea time and we are starting to give each other hugs when I leave volunteering. Last month, the thought of working in the kitchen would not have been a comfortable idea for me- at all, given how I feel so incompetent to do anything. Now that I have tried it, I have put those insecurities behind me and instead, I feel a sense of worth knowing that I am preparing and serving meals for the special people that I have come to get to know at the center.

I think the best part of my ‘undomestic goddess’ experience is that, like the main character of the book, I am finding such fulfillment in what I am doing and I am growing so much in the process. I continuously put myself outside my comfort zone and make myself do things that I feel uncomfortable doing. Even though it is only making muffins or cutting vegetables, throwing myself into these situations has allowed me to make myself say ‘yes, I can do this’ instead of feeling inadequate, looking at situations from the outside and being afraid to jump in. In addition, I am learning to laugh at myself more. As I continue to fling carrots around the room, get soaked while doing the dishes and drop things on the floor, I have learned that I cannot be prideful of such silly things. I have faults and imperfections and I am trying to learn how to let go of my constant quest for perfection. Last, I am really learning to become interdependent with the people I work alongside. Learning the metric system from my German counterpart or learning how to cut vegetables from my fellow kitchen workers has really allowed me to depend on others’ skills in order for my success. While these are small examples, I am thinking of them as baby steps as I continue to throw myself into other situations. I want to maintain the ‘yes I can’ attitude, continue to laugh at myself, and depend on others to teach me things that I do not know. I am just so thankful for these humbling God-given experiences as I continue to learn and grow every day, and I just encourage all of you to throw yourself out of your comfort zone more often and try something new, laugh at yourself a little more and let go of your imperfections, and continue to open your ears to others and listen to what they have to teach you. Trust this ‘undomestic goddess’ – as you do these things, you’ll find the fulfillment in the small things of life and you’ll never ever be the same.