a collection of news & stories from
rosedale mennonite missions
12 | 15
Letters, Calls,
Peanut Butter, and
Ruined Candy:
RMM Workers Recall Their Favorite
Christmas Gifts Abroad
The holidays can be a difficult time for cross-cultural workers. Living far away from family and home communities and missing
out on familiar celebrations and traditions,
often make
make workers
workers feel
feel lonely
lonely and
and disconnected.
disconnected. Long-term
Long-term workers
workers go
go through
through this
this
traditions often
cycle every year, and even short-term workers often deal with homesickness and sadness as they spend Christmas apart from their
families for the first time.
To get a taste of what it’s like to spend the holidays far from home and the difference a gift or letter can make, we asked a few of
our past and present workers to describe the best gift they received while working abroad. We’ve collected their responses,
below.
responses below.
Claire, age 12, Thailand
When I was little, I remember receiving a Christmas box from the
kids at church. There were handmade cards and photo albums of
the kids in Sunday School. I was
thrilled with the Zhu Zhu pet they sent me! I
loved it! I also remember my Grandma sending chewy peppermint Christmas candy with
tiny trees on them.
Candice, Thailand
My favorite gift was a visit from
my parents! We had our traditional Chinese food for Christmas Eve
at the top of the tallest building in
Bangkok (Baiyoke tower). It was so
special to have them here to celebrate and to
keep old traditions alive in a new place!
Anna, Thailand
My first year in Thailand, my family sent me an advent calendar in
the form of small boxes with gifts.
I would open one each day leading up to Christmas. It was such a
wonderful way to ease the loneliness of my
first Christmas away from family.
Paula, Middle East
Sometimes the most inspiring
thing was just a regular letter
and a family photo; after many
years we started to feel so out of
touch with people, their grow-
ing children, grandchildren, etc. I often read
those updates a few times. Also, having
someone actually call or Skype was a real
treat. Our Christmas activities were usually
very limited, so we felt blessed by the gift of
the time and effort friends or family took to
be in touch.
the Starbucks Via was possibly the best...
maybe tied with peanut butter. We had good
coffee in Spain, but it was espresso and just
very different. It was good to have something
quick, easy, delicious, and a reminder of coffee from home. It might have helped that it
came from my future wife ;)
Colleen, Thailand
Courtney, REACH team Madagascar
I think the best gifts I received
in Thailand were packages with
holiday decorations and special
foods for Thanksgiving and Easter.
Those Christian/American holidays aren’t celebrated at all, and it’s difficult
to find anything that reminds one of traditional celebrations at home. Those packages
gave me a tangible connection to traditions,
home, and family that are very special to me.
I would definitely say peanut
butter. My church also wrote little
encouragement notes to open on
days I missed home. They sent the
notes in an Altoids mint box, so it
didn’t take much room, and it was super fun
for me to pull out and read every once in a
while.
Liz, Costa Rica
Last Christmas my family was
able to come to Costa Rica to
spend Christmas and New Year’s
together. The time that we were
able to spend together in those
days is the best gift I’ve received while on
the field.
Brian, REACH team Spain, 2009
The gifts that I remember most
from Spain is
arepeanut
peanutbutter,
butter,
Starbucks Via coffee, and encouragement notes from my youth
group back home accompanied
by lots of candy and treats. Of all of those,
2008, South Asia 2010
Matt, Middle East
One of the most meaningful gifts
that we received had nothing to
do with the content of the package. A good friend of ours sent
us a package unexpectedly. We
weren’t planning to get anything, and then all
of a sudden a slip of paper showed up at our
door, saying that I should come down to the
post office. When I got there, I was handed a
cardboard box that was falling apart. A friend
from our church back home had bought a
six-pack of Mountain Dew and a big bag of
M&M’s and sent them to us. In transit, three
of the cans of Mountain Dew had burst,
saturating everything else in the box. The
bag of M&M’s had also burst open and the
Gifts continued...
Spirit Advent
By Candice
Editor’s Note: Candice, an RMM worker in Thailand, wrote this poem as a reflection on what
advent means to her, and what it means to those still searching and longing for the light
of Christ’s coming. Please join us in praying for encouragement and perseverance for our
workers as they carry the light of Christ’s love to places where darkness is powerful.
(A ghost story: As the Thai legend goes, two hundred years ago a man in love went off to war
and was wounded. Meanwhile, his beloved Mae Nak and her unborn child lost their lives in
childbirth. Because of her great love for him, her ghost remained. When he returned home, he
lived with his new bride and baby unaware that she was a spirit. After catching her in a ghostly
act, he ran away, terrified. Today, in Bangkok, true believers visit a shrine to her angel/ghost to
ask for favor in childbirth, love, war, and other matters of heart and luck.)
Spirit Advent
At the shrine of Mae Nak
Devotees come to kneel in somber
supplication
To lady ghost and babe
Offer her image a garden of flowers
Layer her fingers with flakes of gold
Fill her closets with silk.
Dark spirits are thick
Where her sober portraits line the walls.
Where people ask favor, luck
From two souls long flown.
Advent has come but
The infant savior has no place here
Today in the smoky shadows,
With the fortune tellers, caged birds,
magic trees, gilded gods.
Come, Oh Come Emmanuel
To these dark corners of our world,
our hearts.
Come quietly at night, as you did before
Ransom us captives
Lift us from our bending
Free us from our
Hopeless bargains
Endless tears
Longing sighs.
Here they light the yellow candles
On an altar thick with wax,
Wishes rise and hang in smoke
Suspended.
Come, Oh Come Emmanuel
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Keep watch in darkness,
Our Savior, our Comforter, is near.
read more news & updates at news.rmmweb.org
25-28, 2016
Jon, Ecuador/North Africa
There’s nothing quite like
getting a package in the
mail. In addition to whatever is inside, the package
bears the unspoken messages: “We
were thinking about you, and we care
about you enough to pack this box
and send it to you.” And that’s perhaps
the most important part. I still remember one of the first packages Dawn
and I got in Guayaquil. I waited in line
at the post office and then waited
in line on the sidewalk to get the
requisite customs form typed. When I
finally retrieved the box of cookies, we
discovered that a rodent had chewed
through the box and partially devoured the cookies. But all the implied
messages that came with the box were
completely intact! We were grateful,
and we still remember who sent it!
Letters, calls and gifts are a powerful way to encourage workers, and
remind them that they are not alone.
We encourage you to support the
work of the kingdom this holiday
season by sending a letter or package
to someone serving Jesus overseas.
For contact information for RMM
workers call 614-258-4780 or
email [email protected].
ridefl.rmmweb.org
FEBRUARY
M&M’s were disintegrating due to the
spilled soda. There wasn’t much left to
salvage. In fact, very little on the box
was even legible except for the large
amount of postage that had been paid
for the box to be sent. I remember
being shocked that someone we knew
would care about us enough to spend
that kind of money to send us something as trivial as candy. We felt loved,
and all it took was the unexpected
gesture of a friend who cared enough
about us to send us a reminder of
their thoughts and prayers for us.
To receive the Mosaic as an e-mail contact, us at [email protected]
Rosedale Mennonite Missions: 2120 E 5th Ave • Columbus OH 43219 • 614-258-4780