The Reason for the Season! … (December 2017 Update)
Christmas has always been my favorite time of the year since I became a follower of Christ. I know that December 25th is not the day of His birth and I know that modern Christmas celebrations have become so commercial that it is often hard to find Jesus in them. But I enjoy remembering and celebrating the fact that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten of the Father.” I also enjoy the lights that remind us that He is “the light of the world” and that “the light shines in the darkness and the darkness can never conquer it.” So, for me, Christmas is a time to remember – and to celebrate. Jesus is the reason for the season! He became a man so that He could go to the cross and die for my sins. And He arose from the dead and will come again someday! That is worth celebrating – but none of it would have ever happened without that one night in Bethlehem. “For unto you is born, this day in the city of David, a Savior who is Christ the Lord!”
Teaching Church History …
Last month, I taught Church History 1 (From the Early Church to the Renaissance) at Kiev theological Seminary. I had 25 students in class. Two of those students were from Kazakhstan, another was from Turkmenistan, and another was from Belarus. The rest were from Ukraine. One of the projects was to read about persecution in the early church and compare it to what it would be like to live through persecution today. Most of the papers were very interesting but those students from Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan had some very specific examples of the persecution they experience today in Moslem dominated countries like theirs. They and their families understand what it means to proclaim the gospel in lands where Christianity is not dominate.
During the class, we were also able to discuss how theology developed and why there was a need for the Reformation. It was especially interesting to talk about the development of dogma during the Middle Ages and the development of the sacraments and their impact on people’s views of salvation. Mystical ideas began to dominate theology and the Word of God was nearly forgotten. Fortunately, the Reformation brought people back to the Word of God, and knowledge of the Word of God brought a restoration of a biblical salvation.
We can never underestimate the importance of staying close to God’s Word. William Gurnall wrote: “A pilot without his chart, a student without his book, a soldier without his sword – all are ridiculous. But above these, it is absurd to think of being a Christian without knowledge of God’s Word and some skill to use this weapon.” Hopefully our class on Church History not only helped students to become acquainted with the people and events of the history of the church, but also deepened their understanding of the importance of God’s Word for their lives and for their churches today.
Thanksgiving in Ukraine …
At the end of the November, we celebrated Thanksgiving with Katya’s grandmother and mother. We had all the normal Thanksgiving dishes including stuffing, cranberry sauce and pumpkin and apple pies. We had to be creative since the ingredients for many of these dishes are hard to find in Ukraine. We made our own pumpkin pie filling and cranberry sauce from scratch. We had a great time cooking, eating and relaxing. We also talked about why the Pilgrim’s celebrated Thanksgiving – to give thanks to God for His protection and care for them in a new world. We are grateful for His care for us here as well!
Christmas in Ukraine …
We will be spending Christmas this year in Ukraine. Things are very different here at Christmas time. Christmas is officially January 7 so most people don’t put up decorations until January 1st. Prior to the Bolshevik Revolution in October of 1917, Christmas was widely celebrated in the Russian Empire. But after the Revolution, the communists tried to stamp out all religion and establish an atheist state. By 1929, the any celebration of Christmas was banned. By 1935, they had banned “Christmas trees” (you could have a “New Year’s tree”) and New Year’s Day became the holiday for giving gifts. Those who wanted to celebrate Christmas had to do so in secret with their families.
They even created their own Christmas Santa called “Ded Moroz” or Grandfather Frost” who brought gifts to children. Actually, they reinvented him from an old Slavic character called Ded Moroz who was a “snow demon” that would kidnap children and return them to their parents only when given gifts! Under Josef Stalin, the communists turned him into a kindly grandfather who came and gave gifts to children on New Years. But he did not only bring gifts. He also lectured children on the importance of hard work and good communist behavior. He usually ended his talk with the question “to whom do we have all the good things in our socialist society?” To which the children would respond, ‘Stalin.’
Fortunately, such Soviet conceptions of Christmas died with the end of the Soviet Union. But many Christmas ideas still remain. However, more and more people are adding Western style Christmas celebrations (some good; some bad). Even many businesses are decorating and playing Christmas music starting at the end of November. But most of this is simply an attempt to become more “Western” rather than any real celebration of the birth of Christ.
The biggest difference we see in Christmas here compared to the states is the atmosphere. Christmas is America creates a general atmosphere of joy and kindness toward everyone. You don’t usually experience that here in Ukraine. So we decorated our house at Thanksgiving and we are playing Christmas songs every day. We are also using an Advent candle and devotions to symbolically remind our children (and ourselves) of the real meaning of Christmas. We know that the date of December 25th is probably not the date of the birth of Jesus, but it is a wonderful time for us to remember and to celebrate the incarnation of Jesus each year!
Rejoicing with family in Ukraine …
Our girls continue to grow and be a real joy to us. They are extremely creative. Kristina has been using toothbrushes as characters to re-create various fairy tales that she plays. Both Nadia and Kristina love many of the traditional tales like Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Rapunzel and Cinderella (I think they especially love the idea of the prince rescuing the girl!). They have watched these in Russian and in English. Sometimes Kristina will say, “I want to watch Snow White like momma says it” (in Russian). Sometimes she wants to hear the story “like papa says it” (in English). Both girls have become multi-lingual without any effort! Oh, I wish language was that easy for me!
Kristina and Nadia love playing and being silly. They are enjoying whenever it snows (they are outside building snowmen right now as I work on this update!).
We continue to be blessed to have this house to live in. Right now, we are in a break from building. The weather is too cold to finish so we put off the final tasks of putting the façade on and painting until warmer weather (probably March/April). So we are just working on small details inside the house.
Even though it is often cold outside, we have a nice warm house. Outside, we built a fire pit where we can enjoy having a fire whenever we want – in summer or in winter. Inside, we have a nice woodstove that keeps us warm on colder days or just provides a nice fireplace atmosphere when we want it. We are also enjoying the radiant heat floors that we installed as the main heating for our house. It is not only economical but it feels great to be able to walk on warm floors without needing any slippers!
Rejoicing with Partners in America …
As we look forward to this Christmas season, we are especially thankful for each of you who have ministered together with us in Ukraine by being our partners in ministry. Please continue to pray with us about our monthly support. We really need to add 3-4 more families to our financial support team. If you would like to help us at any monthly amount, we would greatly appreciate it! Let us know if you would like to help by becoming a regular supporter.
Thank you for your prayers and for your support! What a blessing to be able to tell others about the babe in the manger who became the man on the cross – for us! That’s what really makes Christmas – Merry! May you too rejoice in this season as we celebrate His birth!
By His Grace,
Jim and Katya
Kristina and Nadia
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