A 6-hour Christmas outreach

What do you do when you are far from home and displaced from many years of traditions?

And you still want to celebrate the good news of a Savior and His father’s boundless love with those around you?

And did I forget to mention that your heart language is a different one from the ones being spoken all around you?

Introducing our new Christmas tradition…

Blessing those who work at our favorite local hawker center

Who?

  • the veggie lady
  • the two Mandarin-speaking beauticians who cut our hair for $ 6 and $ 8 (I guess it is universal that women’s haircuts cost more than men’s, regardless of the length of hair?)
  • the kway teow goreng putih family
  • the tea halia kurang manis and kopi c siew dai man
  • the pastry lady (coffee bun, winter melon, and red bean/pandan are our favorites)
  • the curry rice man
  • the ban mien man
  • the Asian carrot cake (a meal, not a dessert) lady
  • the Western carrot cake (a dessert, not a meal) family
  • the masala dosai family

Why?

  • we have a family tradition of baking goodies to give away to our mechanic, our postal carrier, and our neighbors
  • it is good to bless those who are in our daily lives but we rarely take time to pause and say, “thank you.”

How?

  • prepare Christmas cards with a photo and insert a favorite, simple verse that proclaims the good news of the Christmas message
  • gather ingredients at least one day early
  • Day 1: triple the recipe
  • Day 2: bake the recipe
  • Day 3: package the baked goods and deliver them individually and in-person

What?

  • home-made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies
  • a hand-crafted ornament
  • a photo Christmas card with this message,

Mary will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. Matthew 1:21

Results?

  • The surprised stare of “Is this for me? Really?”
  • “Would you like a free sample,” from the Western carrot cake store. And when I explained it was “oatmeal chocolate chip cookies”, she told me, “I’ll let you know how it is,” with a smile of appreciation from a fellow baker.
  • An eager shouting across the shop in Vietnamese, “Come and see what I just got!”
  • A perplexed, puzzled look from some who have no concept of exchanging gifts at Christmas
  • But what brought me the biggest satisfaction, was a grin that grew bigger right before my eyes, as his eyes began to twinkle, and then a hearty laugh of joy and delight

Will you pray with us that our outreach would have blessings unexpected? That some would read and ponder the scripture shared? That one might seek to know the love that would cause a foreigner to reach out with a gift? And that ultimately, God would get all the glory!

Merry Christmas!

Enjoy the 4-minute video below that tells the historical basis for the holiday we call Christmas.

https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/gospel-luke-1/

 

 

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