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Dear Friends,
Please join us today as we pray with and for Victor Zizer, a leader from Sierra Leone, currently completing his PhD at Akrofi Christaller Institute in Ghana. Victor and his wife, Marvel, have three children.
A Different Christmas 2014 in Sierra Leone: A Reflection on Mk. 1:30
A TYPICAL CELEBRATION - Christmas is first and foremost, always a family time - a reunion of close relatives. Because Christmas falls at rice harvest, the day is celebrated with a special feast – usually, rice meals served with chicken stew, beef or goat soup. Most people do their cooking very early in the morning so they can send dishes for loved ones and neighbors, as a symbol of sharing and thanksgiving for God’s blessings. The early catering also helps them to be ready to receive guests who may visit. Families, especially children, dress in new clothes, footwear, and Christmas make-ups; all these constitute their special Christmas gift. For many in typical rural settings, this much anticipated day marks the New Year when they buy or are provided with new outfits. The next stage in the celebration picks up in the afternoon with various masquerades, traditional dance performances and sometimes parties. Children also go around during this time visiting relatives and close family friends receiving little presents.
AN ATYPICAL COMMEMORATION – Christmas in Sierra Leone will be very different this year. The ravaging effect of the Ebola outbreak has created a very unfriendly and unwelcoming environment. Whole areas have been quarantined to limit peoples’ movement. Friends and relatives outside of Sierra Leone who plan their annual visits around this period have all been scared off. As the Ebola disease continues to rear its deadly head in defiance to all efforts to mitigate it, claiming lives, with the rate of new infection soaring over 500 per week, we see a murky picture of Christmas in 2014. The only consolation comes as Sierra Leoneans reflect on what Christ’s birth, and His coming into the world – (to Africa especially) means for us even in our kind of scenario. In the context of Mk. 1:30, we see Jesus visiting the home of one of His disciples, Simon Peter, where he was told of Peter’s sick mother in-law. Finding the woman, he healed her and she “began to wait on [serve] them.” His healing of her also became an occasion for many more healing and deliverance miracles to be performed in the lives of other sick and oppressed people; thus, His visit to Peter’s family became a blessing to many more.
As we approach Christmas, it is significant that we invite Jesus to meet with the sick conditions in our homes and hearts. We must tell him our hopeless situations and wait in anticipation for His divine intervention. As He moves on our behalf, to heal our people, to cleanse our land and alleviate our suffering condition, we must NOT forget but to serve Him fully. It is in our submission and service to Him, both as individuals and as a nation, that He will make our experience an occasion to bless many others.
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PRAYER REQUESTS
Containment of the Ebola disease in Sierra Leone before December elapses; protection of uninfected people and complete eradication of ebola.
Rapid economic revival in Ebola-stricken countries and for our governments to put priority on improving health, agriculture and education sectors.
A halt to insurgencies in West Africa.
A successful young couples’ retreat we are organizing on Dec. 13th.
Good health for my family; mental alertness as I continue to work on my thesis, and for the health and availability of my supervisors – especially my primary supervisor.
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If you would like to send a message to Victor, please respond to this e-mail.
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