I think the thing that I missed the most during this Christmas Season was not having a Christmas Eve service. Contrary to popular belief my favorite day is Christmas Eve not Christmas Morning. I know, I know craziness. I think I love it so much because my family always goes to the Petra Christmas Eve service. At the very end of the service we light candles or glow sticks and sing a Christmas Song. Then my family and some of my extended family come back to our house and we have amazing snacks (thanks Mom!). After that we open presents by the fireplace. So as the time was drawing near for Christmas Eve I was getting a little down because I thought that this Christmas Eve wouldn’t be as special. Boy was I wrong. God blessed me with one of the most amazing Christmas Eve’s I have ever had.
We found out that our Family Church was going to have a water baptism on Christmas Eve! Three of our friends were going to get baptized and we were very excited to go and see them. Well when we arrived at the apartment we noticed that there was a ton of people there. We thought it was just going to be a few people but it turns out that 20 people were getting baptized that night! It was so amazing. I took lots of video so I will have to show you all when I get back to America. It was so wonderful to see people’s lives that were transformed by the power of God’s word. To watch them get baptized (in a bathtub!) and then come back up was such a vivid symbol of the reason why God sent his Son to earth. It was such a powerful time. After the baptism we got to hear the testimonies of those who got baptized. It is incredible to see God’s love and how it transforms lives.
After that wonderful service my team came back to my apartment for some grilled cheese and tomato and basil soup and some deviled eggs. Not your typical Christmas Eve meal but let me tell you after being in Asia for 4 months that is one of the most amazing meals ever. Then we played some Rook (yes I am introducing that game to my friends. I think it will become an international game someday 🙂 ). At exactly midnight we exchanged gifts and opened our stockings. All in All it was a very special day.
God is so good and faithful. I still can’t get over that fact that 20 people got baptized! It was a wonderful Christmas Eve.
Christmas Season in Asia has been one of the busiest Christmas’ I have ever had. We had a total of about 4 parties. It was crazy doing the planning and inviting our friends. We even got to do the Lifehouse skit which was pretty spectacular if I do say so myself. We got to share with all of our friends the Christmas story and we had one of our Asian friends share his testimony. It was a powerful time. Many seeds were planted and it seems like our friends are coming closer to accepting God. It was a wonderful Christmas even though I missed home and all of the decorations in America.