Christmas is a time of laughter, awe and hope. This is especially true around CSC. This year has been no exception. It is a time of many emotions, from the joy of giving and receiving gifts, to the awe of seeing the Christmas story portrayed with a manger scene that included live animals.
This has been an especially emotional Christmas season. We have already had two weddings, and tomorrow Marlys and I and other staff will attend a funeral. Two of our workers, Vanging and Jocelyn were married in the past few days, and it was fun to celebrate with them and their families. Another worker gave birth on the Christmas Eve. Another worker, Delia, received word on Christmas Eve day, shortly after coming home from her duty at CSC, that her husband was in the hospital after having a massive heart attack on his way home from work. He died a few hours later. So its been a time of laughs, tears, shock, joy and devastation, all in the past few days. And on a national scene, the Philippines celebrates Christmas with the backdrop of a huge volcano getting ready to blow and an equally volatile political situation in Mindanao.
As Christians, and as leaders of this ministry, we are called on to recoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. That often means riding an emotional roller coaster. Our workers are important to our ministry and their lives and families touch us in significant ways. So we dress up in our best clothes to attend two weddings and we go to the wake of a dear man whose death was a total shock to everyone, and try to offer comfort and support to a woman whose life has been turned upside down.
And God is there with us in all of these situations. He is Immanuel.
