I almost didn't even do a post about this... mostly because this season has felt nothing like Christmas. I found that I associate Christmas with a few key things:
- my family
- Christmas lights
- relaxing
- Christmas Eve candlelight service
- tree in the living room
- Home Alone (1 & 2 but not 3 or 4)
- stockings
- cold weather
- Christmas music
- turkey and mashed potatoes
Unfortunately, none of these were a part of my Christmas this year, but, thankfully, it made me appreciate even more all of the things I have back home. It also made me focus more on the "real meaning of Christmas." That phrase has become so cliché that it hurts me to use it, but I must. What I have discovered is that when I think about Christmas, I make a mental list like the one above... but where does Christ fit in? Now, I'm not saying that any of these things on my list are bad. But what happens if I dont have any of these things at Christmastime? Well, that is exactly what I experienced, and after some sulking and feeling sorry for myself, I actually learned something. This whole thing of Christ being born has been very prettied up in our society. In our eyes, it is a time of comfort, indulging, and beautiful lights. I doubt that Mary, Joseph, and the others involved had the same view as we do. Jesus was born in a manger, probably filthy and very uncomfortable. There probably wasn't a huge spread of turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberries, candied yams, glazed ham, and all of the other delicacies we enjoy. And, probably the only lights that were available were the stars, the moon, and maybe a candle. So yeah, maybe I was a little uncomfortable and didn't get everything I expected to get on Christmas, but I was able to enjoy the best gift of all - the opportunity to have an intimate and personal day with my Lord.
Love Feast
Like I said in my last post, we had a Love Feast here at our base. It was an awesome time of fellowship with friends and family who help make this place run. We also had everyone here from the other YWAM base and a bunch of people from the community.
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| My Christmas meal: Jerked chicken, macaroni salad, regular salad, sweet potato, and Sorrel |
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| Carol May |
Negril
Now, this day was fun. A few of us foreigners decided to head to Negril for a day. Negril is a very touristy town with a beautiful beach. If I ever were to come back to Jamaica as a tourist, this is where I would stay.
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| I call this one Hats Negril Beach |
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| Ricks Café. Quite possibly the coolest place I have ever been to. It is a cafe built on the cliffs around a crystal clear 25ft. deep pool of ocean. Legit. |
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| where I cut my foot on a sea urchin XD |
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| Beautiful sunset to end a wonderful day. |
Dolphin Cove
I spent the break at my roommate William's house and we got hooked up. William's brother works at a place called Dolphin Cove... an expensive tourist attraction in Ocho Rios. The pictures and video speak louder than any words can :) Very fun, though. And the best part was that it was free!
sorry about the bad quality... the footage was pretty low key.
watch in higher quality for better sound :)
Christmas Day
Like I said... it wasn't too bad. I definitely missed hanging out with my family though. Leaving for Africa in 3 days! Pray that I get all of my college apps in and stuff before then. I will be doing one more post before I leave :)
Very different but sounds very fun. Negril looks amazing!
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