Making Jesus the center of it all

Christmas means different things to different people. For some, Christmas is about spending time with family. For others, it is all about the food, shopping, cleaning, decorating and gifts. Many struggled to get into the "Christmas spirit" in December 2021; there was so much sickness, death, economic hardships and restrictions on gatherings, so they were unable to celebrate as they usually would. As a follower of Jesus who has committed my life to sharing with others how they too can be a part of the kingdom of God, Christmas provides a great opportunity to share widely about the significance of God coming to earth in the form of a human, so that we can be brought back into relationship with Him.

I had the added bonus of spending Christmas
Day with these two bundles of joy

The first outreach activity was scheduled for the day after I returned from my trip to the US, and the target group was the Bible Club children. I had bought the gifts for them since November, and my neighbour's daughter wrapped them for me while I was abroad, so everything was in place for the execution on the day. It was interesting for me to hear some of the children's responses to questions I asked about the details surrounding Jesus' birth: some thought it was the angel who put Jesus inside of Mary, others that the wise men were the first to hear about Jesus' birth. I shared about how God chose ordinary shepherds, the ones not considered important by society, to be the first persons invited to see Jesus following His birth. The children were encouraged to have the same response as the shepherds did: after they encounter Jesus for themselves, to share the good news about His coming with others.

Sharing the biblical account of Jesus' birth

Playing a game with candy canes

Happy to receive their gifts and snack boxes

From as early as November, persons who had received hampers from ITNAC throughout 2021 began contacting me to find out if we would be distributing hampers for Christmas, because they were still in need. Thanks to some timely financial blessings in December, I was able to purchase hampers worth $300 to bless 10 of these families. A few days later I received some additional funds from an unexpected source, which facilitated the purchase of 5 more hampers. I told a friend that I felt as though, as fast as I was disbursing the blessings which had been channeled through me, it seemed like more was being given. By early January, I had the privilege of delivering 19 hampers to families who had been experiencing economic hardships. Thanks to some sacrificial givers, the children in these families received toys as well!

We also included some goodies in the hampers to
make them extra special :)

What sets ITNAC apart from other organizations that distribute hampers around this time of year is that our motivation for doing so is not just because it is a "season for giving". In addition to meeting the need for sustenance, we also seek to meet persons' spiritual needs. Christmas provides a great opening for sharing about why God chose to come to earth in the form of a human, and after sharing the gospel with the families, two children prayed to invite Jesus to forgive them of their sins and take control of their lives! We pray that the seeds of God's word which were planted in the hearts of all who heard the Good News would grow and result in much fruit.

One of the children who is now a part of the Kingdom of God!

It is hard to put into words what it feels like to be an answer to someone's prayer... I had asked our ITNAC Administrator for the names of 3 persons in need of hampers close to where I lived, so I could distribute them easily. She included the name of someone who lived in Central, and I called this person by 'mistake' to tell them that I would be delivering it the next day. It was only the following morning that I realized my 'mistake' when I entered her address. When I met her and heard her story, it turned out that God had orchestrated that connection. She had been praying the night before and God told her that He would provide for her, as the main breadwinner in the family had been laid off and they had a 3 year old son to take care of. When she received my message, she was greatly encouraged. To her it was a confirmation that God was indeed providing, and she felt confident that He would also restore the brokenness of her past. She is a new believer, so it was a tremendous boost to her faith to see how God literally answered her prayer.

Getting to see smiles like these are an added bonus!

There is one family that I have been in touch with since meeting them earlier this year; I really wanted to do something special for the mother, since she has recently been sharing how overwhelmed and stressed she had been feeling due to the challenges they were experiencing. I contacted my friend from high school who has a store selling perfumes and brand name creams, told her my budget, and she let me know what I could get for that price range. When I got to her store and she started asking me about the person so she could match the fragrance appropriately, on hearing the mother's story, she decided to give me, not just what was in my budget, but 4 extra items ALL FREE OF CHARGE! In addition to this, she also gave a cash donation which I was able to use to bless more families in need, and I got a personal sweet treat as well. Talk about God providing exceeding and abundantly above all we could think or imagine!

Special thanks to Natika Singh-Chadee from Signature
Collection for her generosity :)

On my way to deliver the last hamper before I left for a mini-getaway to Tobago, I observed that there was a car parked on the road in the space where I would normally turn. I made a mental note to keep that in mind when I was leaving, however I totally forgot about it. When I was reversing to leave, I kept my eyes on my back end and it was only when I realized my car was no longer moving that I looked to the front and saw that I had collided with the parked car. I panicked and continued reversing, which made the damage even worse. The owner was not around when I made enquiries, and when the residents realized that I was waiting for the the owner to be located, they commented that I could have just left the scene. I thank God for the conviction not to do that, as it would have tainted my reputation in that community where we do outreach. Thankfully when the owner was located, he was very sympathetic and was more concerned that no one was hurt than the damage to his car.

If you think this looks bad you should see
the other guy...

At the beginning of the Christmas holidays, I was talking with my 8 year old goddaughter about things she could do since she was 'bored' and had 'nothing to do'. I suggested that she could clean our her toy box and sort it into 3 piles - toys she wanted to keep, toys which were in good condition that she could give away to a less fortunate child, and toys which were damaged and needed to be thrown away. She then informed me that none of the toys were suitable to give away as they were all damaged in some way. We had no further discussion about it, so imagine my surprise when, 3 weeks later, her parents took her to a toy store to pick out something for herself, and she insisted on getting something for a less fortunate child instead! I had no idea that our conversation affected her so deeply, and it reminded me of the value of passing on our responsibility to care for the less fortunate to the next generation, so as to develop in them hearts of compassion for others.

Her mother subsequently bought this stash so all
 the siblings in the needy family could get something nice

Our church got creative as once more, we were not able to gather in person for our Christmas outreach and fellowship. The choir put together a musical entitled "Night of miracles" in which my niece made her debut as one of the angels. Although we would have loved to present it in person, the online show has massed over 1,100 views to date, so we thank God for the reach that social media platforms afford, and pray that those who listened to the challenge at the end would have been brought one step closer to Jesus. I helped in the planning and execution of another online time of fellowship for our church family, where we spent time learning about Christmas traditions in other countries, and also sharing what it means to us to have "God with us" in our daily lives. All who attended were encouraged by our time of sharing together.

Singing "Glory to God in the highest"

On Christmas Day itself, my brother invited Mummy and me to spend Christmas Day with him and his family. It was our first Christmas without Daddy, and both Mummy and I independently had the same idea: to introduce a tradition that we had in our family when we were younger - to have the children dress up and act out the biblical account of Jesus' birth. Joseph wanted to pull off his headpiece halfway through, and Jael only agreed to be Mary if she could deliver baby Jesus while wearing her rollerskates, but we trust God that it served as a reminder of what our focus should be on that day and everyday - celebrating God with us, and God sending His only Son to be the Saviour of the world.

The angel Joseph announcing that Jesus is born

 Two days after Christmas, my niece celebrated her 5th birthday. Since August she observed her friends' birthday cakes reflecting characters that they loved, and initially she indicated that she would like a unicorn cake for her birthday. A few weeks later she had a change of heart, and declared that she wanted a Jesus cake instead. She also requested a Jesus pinata that was filled with craft that would tell her friends about Jesus, rather than sweets and toys. After much research and discussions with the cake decorator, her mother was able to come up with a design for a cake that portrayed Jesus' life on earth, from His birth to His death and resurrection. This was used as an evangelistic tool to share with Jael's friends about the significance of His coming to earth and the fact that He is now alive.

Shout out to Karina's Yummy Cakes for
this awesome creation which was totally delicious!

We thank God for the opportunities provided during this time of year to share the Good News of salvation with persons who are not usually in our sphere of influence, as well as those who are. We trust that the seeds of the Word which were planted would be watered, and that God would bring the increase. We also trust that others would be encouraged to find creative ways of keeping Christ at the center of all our celebrations.