Carter was interested in doing an east African country close to where our Compassion International sponsored child lives. We chose Ethiopia. I didn't really know what to expect, but what we discovered was fascinating. This country has a lot of Coptic Christians whose faith dates back to John Mark (author of the Bible's "Mark"). This region was evangelized just a few years after Christ's crucifixion and resurrection. Their worship and traditions are so simple, pure, and heartfelt. After thousands make the pilgrimage to one of the ancient underground churches, they prepare with fasting and prayer. Then they stay up all night (standing) as they are led in candlelight service by the priests. As the sun rises on Christmas morning the celebration and singing peak and the fast is broken.
As we watched the slideshow together, I couldn't help but marvel at the power of their worship for each individual even in a crowd of tens of thousands. It is a deeply personal experience. Then we enjoyed watching a video of a worship song. Then the kids made a poster to share. Carter listed all the important parts of the celebration and Julia made the map, flag, and dates.
As we talked about what all these different worship practices mean, it was really striking how much of the world celebrates Christmas refraining from things of the world and spending time in prayer, while the western world uses the holidays to indulge in the things of the world, while frantically trying to find moments for prayer. It really makes you think.
Each family brought a craft from their country. We didn't have much to choose from in the way of crafts and activities, but when we saw this image, we knew it was the one. The picture of three crosses has the name "Jesus" written in Amharic- the native language of Ethiopia. It was the perfect symbol of their worship.
The other countries presented were Sweden, Mexico, and Romania. The kids were so cute presenting to the group. you could tell they were all really excited about what they had learned. It is something we will definitely look forward to doing again!
Here are some of the fun crafts we made...
Then it was time to taste :) Each family prepared a holiday food from their country. We feasted on Mexican hot chocolate, Romanian coznac, Swedish pepparkakor, and Ethiopian doro wat and injera. All the food was delicious as we crossed 3 continents on one plate! I was really interested to try our recipe. It is a traditional stew eaten in many African countries and I have never tried anything even close. It is served with a flatbread called injera. In their culture the injera is used as a plate and a spoon also. Both were delicious and it is definitely something we will make again.
I love learning something I never knew before. I hope this will be a part of our advent preparations for many years to come!
1 comment:
Can we join your co-op? Looks like so much fun! I hope you all have a blessed Christmas!
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