Dear far flung friends and family,
Greetings from cool and cloudy coffee country!
We fondly remember December 2017 as if it was just last week! December here in Coffee Country was full of activities and ministry opportunities as every end of year period is here. The children were released from school for the end of the school year vacation period starting in November. And we started off the month busy as ever – if not more so. The first of December we had a Thanksgiving/Christmas/End of Year dinner with the English Conversation Club. We had turkey, ham and all the trimmings and several of the participants in the Conversation Club came, as well as other friends who enjoy US type cuisine, but have few or no other opportunities to enjoy the same. We had around two dozen participants.
The next week was graduation from the college level course I’ve been participating in over the past two years. We presented our “graduation projects” in groups, each focusing on a different area in which we hope to have an impact in changing the world view of the people around us. My group presented a project on education. I thank God for the chance to participate in this study group and to get to know others who are eager to bring change to this hurting world through bringing a Christian worldview to bear.
Much like mid-year in the US, families take this end of year period as a chance to travel and enjoy family time in different ways. Many people take this as their vacation time as far flung families and friends gather to celebrate the “Fiestas Decembrinas” (December Festivities) starting usually with the celebration of “The Feast Of The Immaculate Conception” – which is celebrated more on December 7 “La Noche De Las Velitas” (the night of the little candles) much like Christmas Eve here is of greater importance to the culture than Christmas Day itself. On the night of December 7th people gather to light candles, often on the sidewalk in front of their home and usually with some kind of elaborate windscreen to keep them from being blown out. When asked WHY the candles are being lit, most Colombians today do not have a clue – other than tradition. Quite often the home chosen for the festivities will be the home of the familial matriarch and children look forward to the candles and family activities.
The next major celebration in the December festivities calendar is the beginning of “La Novena” – a time in which families gather in the evenings to say the rosary, have special snacks and give presents to the children during the nine days prior to Christmas day. Christmas Eve is the culmination of this activity and is celebrated often with a “Cena de Medianoche” (midnight banquet). And the month’s festivities end of course on New Year’s Eve.
With so much tradition tied to these celebrations, including far too often the tradition of excessive drinking and carousing, this time can be a difficult one for Christians. We do our best to give them options and to help them establish new and healthier traditions. Over the past years we’ve opened our home on the two main celebration evenings, December 24 and 31, so people who are far from family or who have families that make it difficult to have a healthy celebration, can come and join with others in celebrating the real meaning behind these dates. This year we did the same, with 18 people joining us on Christmas Eve and 26 people on New Year’s Eve. Some of them are not yet Christians, but are seeking to know more of the Lord and His Ways. On New Year’s Eve, leading up to the final countdown for the end of the year, we took turns sharing blessings and giving thanks for what the Lord has done in 2017. Several people voiced thanksgiving for the ministry of the Church here and for the opportunity to learn more of Christ and the New Life that He gives to us.
We thank each of you for being a part of our ministry in 2017. Thank you for lifting us before the Throne of God in prayer. Thank you for providing us with the means to continue to live here and to impact lives with God’s Word – lived out and not just proclaimed by voice. Thank you for being a vital part in our ministry here.
As we enter 2018 we look forward to what the Lord will be doing in and through us. We look forward to being able to visit many of you later this year and sharing with you in person about what has been going on in our ministry since our last reporting trip three years ago. We plan to be in the U.S. this fall.
In Christ,
Paul and Sheri Moreland
