Being away from home during the holidays has been very hard. However, we've had the opportunity to learn more about how the Thai church celebrates Christmas, and how the rest of Thailand views the holiday. Here's what the last few weeks have looked like:
On December the 19th a few members from our church went caroling around town. It was a whole night event. We left the church around 7pm and it lasted until about 3am. I confess I only made it to 11. It had been a long day, and I couldn't stay awake anymore.We visited different churches in the area, pastors, and church members.
We sang songs in Thai and English. I have to admit the Thais were better
at singing the songs in English than we were in Thai! :-)
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| A few friends from church |
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| We sang to Lily, who didn't hear us because she was watching a movie. haha |
On Christmas Eve Day (got that?) students from Chantra Elementary and different church members and pastors from the area went caroling to other schools and business. We sang at different government buildings, the police station, and even in the market during the evening. It was a lot of fun! At the smaller schools we handed out a Thai comic book that told the story of Jesus!
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| Merry Christmas Nakhon Thai High School |
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| Mandy and Me with some students and their comic books :-) | | | |
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Christmas Day was spent mostly at the church. The four of us (Zeke, Mandy, Terri, and myself) sang "Joy to the World." Pastor Han, the pastor we were originally going to work with, was the guest pastor. After he preached we all ate lunch together and then we witnessed the profession of faith by the act of baptism of our dear sisters and brothers.
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| So precious! |
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Later on in the evening there was a free event at the school. Different churches provided food and there was a raffle throughout the event. Students danced to Christmas songs and Pastor Han was able to present the gospel. Over 500 people attended the event, and several people decided to follow Jesus!
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| Ming, Me, Lily, and Ice |
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| My cute little students |
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| so pretty! |
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On the 26th Chantra had their Christmas and New Years show for the students. Zeke, Mandy, Terri, Ming, and I were in charge of putting on the Nativity story in a play for the students. We had less than two weeks to put the show together. It was a little stressful, and it was far from perfect, but despite only having one dress rehearsal, I am really proud of the students! After the Nativity
"musical" the Kindergarteners did their shows followed by the Primary students. The Primary show was a take on America's Got Talent. Two teachers we supposed to be judges and comment after each performance. We were not exempt. We sang and acted out "The 12 Days of Christmas". Let's just say we left the judges speechless.
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| These two students were lambs for the play and we gave them a stamp set as a thank you gift. |
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| The judges for Chantra's got talent. |
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We also learned that most Thai people don't really know what Christmas is truly about. Thais traditionally give gifts to each other for New Years. So they have assumed that Christmas is when Westerners celebrate New Years. However there are 700 children in Nakhon Thai that now know that Christmas is about Christ, and that is something to be merry about!
