Celebrating Christmas Overseas
By Pat Palau
Five days before Christmas 1963, we arrived in Costa Rica with little more than the Christmas stockings my mother had made to decorate our apartment. We found no Christmas trees. No snow. Instead, volcano Irazu daily spewed gritty ash over everything. Several years later, weeks before another Christmas, I gave birth to Stephen, our fourth child, in Mexico City. My mom couldn’t be with me. It was one of my loneliest moments.
My roommate in the hospital was a Mexican woman who also had given birth. Her whole family camped in overnight and celebrated. I felt sorry for myself, longing for a private room to sulk in.
Walking in the hall one morning, I looked out the window. Right up against this modern hospital were squatters building lean-tos. I thought, If my mom could see this...
Then my mind jumped to Christmas. Jesus came into our world and didn’t feel sorry for Himself, though the "cultural" adjustments were unimaginable. The song "Out of the Ivory Palaces" came to mind:
“Out of the ivory palaces
Into a world of woe
Only His great eternal love
Made my Savior go.”
Remembering those lonely Christmases, our family Christmases back in the States have included our friends who serve the Lord around the world. Every missionary knows the pain of sacrificing cultural familiarity for the Gospel. The Lord reassures us that He knows the loneliness and isolation. But at Christmas, it helps if friends back home remember, too.
How can we encourage missionary families?
Here are a few practical suggestions for this coming Christmas season:
· Adopt a missionary family for Christmas. If you aren’t already writing to and praying for a family, ask your church to help you find one overseas similar to yours.
· Send a letter and photos. If you’re already acquainted, tell them how your family is doing. The letters I always liked on the mission field related everyday events; they "sounded" like a conversation between two friends at the kitchen table.
· Remember that mail is very slow. Expect your letter to take two, even three weeks to arrive. Take advantage of email! Most missionaries these days are online.
Ideas of things to include in letters and packages:
· Holiday articles from newspapers and magazines.
· A favorite family holiday recipe. Make sure all ingredients are easily available in that country, or send non-perishable ingredients.
· Good quality wrapping paper, along with accessories such as holiday napkins.
Large padded envelopes are easy to mail. Sending larger packages overseas is risky. And beware of duty taxes! Some countries impose duty taxes of 100 percent or more. I once paid twice the regular cost to receive a box of Pampers to keep from hurting the sender’s feelings. Check with mission boards to find the best method for getting packages to your missionaries.
Give gifts of the same quality that you give to members of your family.
The stories about missionaries receiving used tea bags "because you can use them twice" are true—don’t be the one sending such "gifts!" Find out from your missionary family what they miss most from "back home." Some gift ideas:
· Every woman enjoys beauty, so send Hallmark.
· Books are usually excluded from duty if the package is clearly marked. Find out what kind of books they like, or offer to send the latest book you read and enjoyed.
· Most families appreciate receiving general interest magazines like National Geographic or Christianity Today. Consider a gift subscription.
We once received a check with a note saying, "This is to be used in the next two months for a weekend at Salishan Resort. If you don’t use it as directed, give it back!" Missionaries can be "super spiritual" and feel only the ministry has value. But we followed directions and spent a weekend at the resort. It did us good! Though missionaries might feel guilty buying an overpriced box of Sun-Maid raisins, they can’t argue if a friend sends a Christmas check specifically for favorite foods.
Financial gifts should be sent two months ahead of time through the family’s mission board. Checks sent directly to missionaries risk being stolen. Clearly mark it "Christmas gift." Mission boards vary in their policies on cash gifts, but most allow their missionaries to receive gifts for Christmas and birthdays. (Never send cash overseas.)
Missionaries joyfully serve God where He leads them; they wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. But sometimes God uses human hands to bless his servants. We can be part of that blessing, serving to glorify God.
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Pat Palau has ministered in evangelistic campaigns and Christian conferences throughout the world with her husband, evangelist Luis Palau. The Palaus have four sons and live in Portland, Oregon, near the Luis Palau Association international headquarters.
