The Annual Christmas Pageant was a smashing success! The kids performed for two neighboring villages and despite distractions (a few talkative audience members, a couple friendly dogs, and a handful of roaming village chickens, to name a few), the show went on without a hitch! The children sang from the heart and lines were recited with gusto.
Robert and I enjoyed being part of the pageant this year. The kids' excitement was contagious, and even in hot, muggy conditions, it really started to feel like Christmas.
Walking hand-in-hand with one of the group's slowpokes, I ended up at the end of the pageant caravan. As we walked from one village to the next, I could look in front of me and see every child and adult involved. I began to think about the word "rescue." When someone asks Robert or me what my parents are doing in Liberia, we rarely use the word "orphanage." Instead, we say, "They are working with an organization that rescues orphans in Liberia." We have learned to word it this way because the word "orphanage" seems to conjur up pictures of hundreds of kids packed into sleeping quarters together. "Orphanage" does not really explain that the organization that Dad and Mom are working with is committed to true rescue. These are children pulled from the depths of horrible situations and then given love. Their needs are met with a loving home environment, health care, nutrition, education, and the good news that Jesus loves them and is their ultimate security.
As the little slowpoke and I made our way at the end of the line, it struck me that these rescued children would be performing the first act of the most incredible rescue ever staged in history. These kids, dressed as Mary, Joseph, shepherds, wise men, and the heavenly host were going to perform the Christmas story for a group of people who had perhaps never heard this true tale of rescue. God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to rescue us---to pull of from the depths and show us love like we had never known. How undeserved and how amazing!
From Liberia, Merry (belated) Christmas, and Happy New Year!
(Kari---Dave & Babs' daughter)
