Christmas, New Years, New Perspective

Our Christmas Card with Santa!!!! 

“I am poor, my family is poor. I don’t have anything to give. Like money or presents, I can’t give people that. I would like to be able to, but it just isn’t possible. It’s already hard to make enough money to afford our part of the house and enough food and necessities for Patty (wife) and Jeffries (son). But what I can give is my time and my commitment. I can give people my knowledge of therapies and medicine. I can help people better their health. I can take care of people’s family members who are sick or suffering. I can give my dedication to my work, my friends, and my family members. I am always here if anything bad happens to them or someone they know. I can always give that.” – Cesar, a friend and one of my Hospice co-workers

       Cesar and I were working together one morning, walking from one patient’s home to the other, and talking about Christmas celebrations and traditions. We were discussing the tradition of giving gifts and the meaning of Christmas being so commercialized now. I said that in the USA it is so much worse than here, all about gifts and toys and presents. Cesar, coming from a very poor family, then proceeded to say the above quote. It really struck me when he said it…. Obviously it struck me enough that I took note of it in my head and decided to share it here….

I’m not sure why it was so profound to me. Maybe in part because he said it with so much pride. Of course he is sad he can’t provide gifts for his 3 year old son, Jeffries (who is sooo cute, by the way, picture of Cesar and Jeffries below), but it’s apparent that he does not feel like his lack of funds to provide material gifts to others impedes on his ability to show his love and care. Maybe because it really made me think about my own ways of showing my affection and appreciation for others, which often times does show itself in giving rather than doing (“I don’t have time to talk on the phone for 2 hours to catch up, but I sent you something in the mail you should get in a couple of weeks!!”). Or maybe I was just really impressed by his selflessness and willingness to self-sacrifice at any time for the needs of others (after all, medical care and therapy is a gift that you give all year, not just on special occasions). Whatever the reason, it was my first interaction this holiday season that really got me thinking about the true meaning of Christmas – love, family, unselfishness, friends, letting go, and of course, Jesus.

Cesar and Jeffries, so cute!! So much father-son love!!

I have always loved Christmas, but this year I LOVED Christmas. It was my last Christmas here in Chimbote and I wanted to embrace all of the traditions as strongly as I could; building a Peruvian nativity, attending chocolotadas (big hot chocolate parties for local kids), eating a ton of Paneton (Christmas fruit bread), fireworks on Christmas eve, and even dancing in a customary Peruvian Christmas dance (called the "Huayno") wearing the traditional Sierran clothing at our Hospice Christmas Dinner (such a cool experience, photos to follow!!!!).

Kyle, me, and Clare at the Hospice Christmas dinner!!!! That is my traditional dress for our Huayno dance

Ready to dance!!!!

Right before we filed out for our Huayno dance, the dancers include: Naida, Cesar, Mary, Tito, Wilder, Edward, Me, Johany, Clrodina, Johana, Erika, and Sonia

Group photo

The other group at the Christmas dinner, did a traditional dance from the Jungle, soooo cool!!!! 

Lots of paneton for the Hospice Chocolotada!!

Me with the granddaughters of my patient Felicita (who I have written about before, she has a severe cancer on her face and there are pictures of her and I in past blogs). Love them!!!! From left to right: My co-worker Erica, Kiara, Juliana, Ali, and Damaris

Ok so to be totally honest I forgot the name of this tree tradition, but we do it every year in Hospice. There is a bare tree and each person is responsible for a day in which they do the daily reading, a prayer, and a short lecture on the reading and its relation to advent. Then make a homemade ornament reflecting the lesson of the passage and put it on the tree!!!! My passage was on Abraham wandering through the desert, and my ornament is in the middle, it is round with a camel, a night sky, and a tent.

Clare and I with our nativity!!!! The nativities here are built on piles of boxes  which are covered in this special nativity crepe paper and then it is covered in little figurines of animals and people, with Jesus, Mary and Joseph on the top center. I definitely bought paper and figurines to take back home and continue the tradition!!

When we were in Lima (we went to be present for the perpetual vows of a new Sister) and  while we were there we saw Santa again!!!! 

Above all, I tried to always remember “the reason for the season” (ok sorry for being so corny but it’s true!!). Jesus. CHRISTmas, come on people!!!! I definitely forget that sometimes. But living in Peru has taught me more than ever that Christmas is built around, well, Christ, and pretty much the whole idea of a poor family who have their sweet baby in a barn, in hay, and he grows up to be our Savior. Who needs presents?? Who even started that tradition anyway?? I’m pretty sure Jesus wouldn’t be walking around down here fighting the crowds in Toys’R’Us or impatiently waiting in a 2 hour line at Best Buy. Here in Chimbote, as is everywhere in the world, there exists a lot of poverty, like Cesar’s family and thousands of other families in the same position. Giving gifts here for Christmas isn’t common. A normal Chimbotano Christmas morning???? Sitting around the table with your family, drinking hot chocolate and eating Paneton while listening to music. How awesome if our Christmas mornings were the same. Waking up slowly, sitting with our families, talking for hours, enjoying each other’s presence and not PRESENTS!!!! (See what I did there?? Haha. Well, I felt pretty clever when I wrote it.)

Clare, Kyle and I on Christmas morning with our tree and The Grinch playing in the background

Community Christmas quality time!!!!

I don’t think it’s bad to give gifts or be excited to receive them. It’s always the best when you watch someone open a gift you know they really want, and you can see the surprise on their face. Or to open a gift from someone and you know it was picked out with love and with you specifically in mind. It’s wonderful to be thought of like that!! I do think, though, that we, myself included, need to always be aware that giving and receiving gifts is a luxury and not commonplace. What a blessing it is to have the means to give to others and graciously receive from them…. But a bigger blessing is the company of family and friends, the ability to give our time and effort to them, the opportunities to show our care and appreciation in ways of support, trust, honesty, unconditional love, and selflessness. I think Jesus was born that night in that barn in that manger to teach us that, and I’m sure he would much rather sit around a table breaking bread and laughing with Mary and Joseph on Christmas morning, than ripping open a gift containing a new iPhone Touch (…. is there even an iPhone that isn’t “touch”?? I’ve been out of the technology loop for way too long now obviously).

So now my goal is to try as hard as I can for this feeling to last into the new year and continue on. New year, new perspective, fresh start…. And all the other ways people like to view a new January 1^st coming around. I do love making resolutions though, and this year to remember the beautiful birth and life of Christ while striving to live in that same attitude of inclusiveness, love, sacrifice, thankfulness, non-violence, peacefulness, joyfulness, patience, unselfishness, kindness, respect, and general goodness are on top of the list (along with never drinking soda again, eating less animal by-products, and keeping up better with my blog, of course ;) ).

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!

Feliz Navidad y Prospero Ano Nuevo!!!!

- Katie






Some other pretty great December moments:

The Incarnate Word Sisters and the Incarnate Word Missionaries at the Perpetual Vows of Sister Lourdes in Lima on December 12, 2012 (she is in the grey in the middle front)

Clare, me, and Kyle at the vows

Dance party celebration with the Sisters after the vows!! 

Me, Clare, and Kyle at the Annual Hospice BINGO fundraiser

Me and Axel, our neighbor, at his 5th birthday party

Me, Axel, Clare, and Kyle with his bday cake

Cake in Axel's face!! He loooved it. He laughed for like 10 minutes. hahaha.

Stuffing our New Years Eve doll. Here on New Years Eve it is tradition to build a doll out of old clothes and burn it in the street to say goodbye to the old year and welcome the new.... a lot of people even dress the doll up as a politician or someone that they don't like.

Our finished doll!!

At midnight Kyle and I ran over to our neighbor, Lucha's house to celebrate with her and her family!! Last picture of 2012!!!!!!