Second Christmas and Be Encouraged

"Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for my soul." Ps 66:16

So here in Germany, we celebrate Second Christmas on Dec 26th. It's the day where people go out and celebrate Christmas with extended family and friends - you know, the people that you're NOT supposed to ditch your family for on the 25th. :)

Well Jo and I, along with another friend and student leader, were invited to spend Second Christmas with the family of another friend, J, a student that we've gotten to know through SFC this semester. He comes from a family of eight children and is very sweet-spirited with a quiet and calm personality; although he'd proven on a number of occasions that he has no problem getting LOUD or silly when the time calls for it. Given that, we were a little surprised by the invite to spend Second Christmas with his family, but also deeply honored.
His family, namely his siblings, went above and beyond to get us there and home again (they live up in the mountains), making accommodations for us to sleep comfortably, the dinner that was prepared was fabulous, they took us bowling (!!), and they even left the cat outside when they heard that I was allergic. They were wonderful in every sense of the word. 
But it wasn't just the things that they did for us that made this family wonderful. In my opinion, inviting complete strangers into your home, or better yet...allowing your brother to invite complete strangers into your home during Christmas holiday is enough to color me impressed. But no. That's not all it was. From the time that we met the siblings, walked into the house or sat down to chat, there was not a moment of feeling out of place, unwelcome or different. My German is rough and most of them spoke some English but few were comfortable using it. But that didn't stop us from sharing. Whether it was playing games, worshiping our Father together as a Body, or sharing the passion that God has placed on our hearts with each other, there was a tangible sense of the Spirit at work in this meeting and in this family. 

This Christmas season has been a tad challenging for me. It felt weird: a little strange, even a little lonely, and it's easy for me to start thinking too hard when I can't figure out why I feel a certain way. My brain started churning towards all the different unknowns and options that 2016 presents and, to be honest, and can be overwhelming if I don't keep myself in check and surrender it all to my Father. But Second Christmas was a blessing in disguise. I thought it would be a fun way to experience Christmas holidays the way Germans do it. Get a little immersed. Get out of my comfort zone. And maybe, if I was lucky, make some new friends or at least strengthen the ones I had.

It was so much more.

"The life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us - that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ." 1 John 1:2-3

One of the oldest siblings cut straight to the meat of conversation (already a plus for me because we skipped right over small talk) and asked Jo and I why we came to Germany. He had already pointed out that he knew that we were missionaries, so it was a pointed and slightly challenging question. But as we began to share the message that God gave us to share with German[s]y, as I listened to his hearts desire for Germans to come to an experiential knowledge of our Lord but his struggle to see it in real life, as I was able to share testimony of how we've already witnessed this movement taking place just in the six months that we've been here, I began to be encouraged and heartened. I hadn't realized it at the time, but some days later I realized that I needed to be reminded of my purpose and calling here in Germany. I needed to see the hope that fills the hearts and eyes of young students who here the message of the Father for them. And I needed to see that faithful obedience produces fruit - in this case, it was going, speaking and seeing the encouragement and empowerment that came just in sharing testimonies, in bearing witness of each other's lives.

"And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." Heb 10:24-26

I am convinced that we, as a Body, are losing the significance of Christ in our daily lives here on earth, because we're forgetting WHO our God is. And the reason for this is that we don't share testimonies. We pass off His work in our lives as trivial or even convenient, but it's the constant awareness of God's presence and working in our lives that brings Him closer to each of us. It's when we are reminded of His work in the lives of those around us, as well as in our own lives, that we are able to 1) encourage our brothers and sisters in the faith, 2) become more aware of His working around us, and 3) live our lives as testimonies to believers and unbelievers alike - how else will they come to know this God??

What is God doing in your life? What are you trusting Him for this year? Share it. Tell it. Brag on God a bit, He deserves it. And watch the world catch fire with the Light of the World. 

Happy New Year friends! God bless.