Dear Gap L

Dear Gap L, 

I’ve been wearing boots and beanies on a consistent basis for the last few weeks. I’ve gone to see a terrible version of the Nutcracker ballet and I saw an awesome version of The Christmas Carol play. I’ve played in snow and I’ve bought gifts for my family. I traveled home today to spend the holidays with them. It’s cold and rainy. I’ve eaten a million pounds of sugar already and we haven’t even made cookies for Santa yet. 

All of this is wonderful. I am so, so glad that I get to partake in the family traditions again after the two years away. 

I can’t help but think, though, about you. How you are in Chile and how you don’t get to be with your families and friends doing all of the traditions that you have. Instead of boots and jackets you are wearing shorts and Chacos. 

My advice? 

Be sad that you aren’t with your family and friends but don’t let it take away the joy of the season. You have permission to “feel all the feels” but you also have permission to not only enjoy the day in Chile but to make it one of the greatest. It’s the season of Advent. The one where we are always waiting for the final coming of Jesus but what I have been learning in church the last few weeks is that Jesus is constantly coming. Every single day of our lives, He shows up in huge, unexpected ways and small, subtle moments. Lean into Christmas in a foreign country. Let the holiday be what it is meant to be. About Who you are celebrating. 

He came for you. He came for the people that you are passing by on the street. He came for the people around you that don’t speak English. He came for the beggars and the rich. He came for the host you are living with and the ones you are ministering to. 

He came. 

And that, my friends, is all that matters. We can have all the gifts and traditions in the world but if we aren’t grasping the gravity of what this season is then we are missing it. And that’s what this Christmas in Chile is for you. It’s a perspective change. It’s one where you are going to live the rest of your life differently because of how you get to celebrate this year. A year without all the gifts and deals and trees and food. 

Incorporate your traditions from home in the best way that you can but also be ready to create some new ones with your team. This is a year that you will never, ever get back. It’s a year that you are going to reflect on and either say “ugh, I hated everything about that” or “that was the best Christmas I ever had!” 

It will be very easy over the next few days and weeks to sit in that victim circle we teach you about where you are feeling sorry for yourself and having everyone at home feeling sorry for you being away for Christmas or you can grab hold of all that Jesus has for you. 

Make it incredible. 

Here are some pictures from the last two Christmases I spent in Ecuador and Botswana! 

In Ecuador we spent the day at an orphanage where we had an obstacle course, scavenger hunt, cookie decorating, Christmas movie watching and we shared a table with the kiddos eating a Christmas dinner. 

 

In Botswana my friend Malorie and I went with our host’s daughter to cut down a tree from the bush on Christmas day. Then, we made homemade ornaments from other weird plants in the bush. Our host cooked us a meal and we sang Christmas carols and had a bonfire. It is hands down one of my favorite Christmas memories. 

Merry Christmas Gap L!