A Welcoming Christmas in Québec

This year I spent the holidays here in Québec. I had the wonderful blessing of being able to go home for Christmas last year, but this year I did not quite have that privilege. I had been given the opportunity to go home, several people offered to pay for my flight, but I made it my choice to stay here. Some of my plans with friends here had fallen through and it was starting to look like a sad Christmas, but God turned things around in answer to several prayers.

I ended up being invited to spend a long weekend with a friend with her family in Toronto. She was leaving that Saturday and this idea came forward Thursday. It was a little bit of a risk taking this last minute trip, but I had no concrete plans for the days leading up to Christmas Eve, so I said yes. We left Saturday morning around 10:30am and arrived in Toronto 12 hours later. We did make a long stop to have lunch with some friends before we ended up driving through a snow storm. It was a pretty good storm where we couldn't see anything in front of us. We made it safely after waiting the storm out at a McDonald's. We were wonderfully welcomed by her parents and a cup of tea around the fireplace. It was a lovely way to end the long day. On Sunday I went to church with her and her parents, and then we went to her sister's house to celebrate their extended family Christmas. It was a decent sized gathering of 20 people including two toddlers and two babies. It was overall so warm and a fun time with their family. The guitar got pulled out as we sung Christmas carols in the living  room. I felt very welcomed into their family, and it was such a blessing to take part in their Christmas celebration.

My friend Lindsay and her parents.

The rest of my time there was spent doing some touring around the city and visiting some friends and seeing the new Star Wars, which was really good. It was very sad for me to leave because I hadn't felt so much at home with another family in such a long time. I was very thankful for them.

My friend Lindsay and I.

Christmas Eve brought me to the church for their service. The church had a nice program where the kids put on a small play of the birth of Jesus and the pastor reminded us all about the true meaning of Christmas. Afterward, many people stayed for a pot luck supper. It was really good to see so many people in the church come together for Christmas. Many of the people that were there don't have families nearby and so the church does this bring these small families together to create a large family. And it became a large family gathering with people mingling and group games happening later in the evening. It was a blessing to be there. 

Christmas morning was quiet for me, but it gave me time to reflect on the season and make myself pancakes for breakfast while I called my family. My friend Edîth from my English Conversation group had invited me to join her and her family for their Christmas Day supper. So I joined her that evening and spent the night with her as well because we didn't leave her parents' house until after midnight. It was a good experience to see a Québecois Christmas dinner with meat pies and soup for dinner and a traditional yule log for dessert. I enjoyed getting to know her family and play games with them and watch them exchange gifts. It was a little different type of Christmas than I am used to because they are not Christians, but I still felt very welcomed by them. Please pray for my friend and her family, that they will know the Lord.

My friend Edîth and her son. 

The next day I was again welcomed into a smaller family, a couple and their baby. We spent the afternoon together and had a second Christmas dinner together, it was more traditional with turkey and stuffing and cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes. We ended the evening with A Charlie Brown Christmas. It was a calm evening with them, but I am always thankful for the way this family from the church has welcomed me into their lives.

The following week was busy because we had a wedding at our church two days later, and two days after that was a  New Year's Eve party. The wedding was on a beautiful day when the sun was shining and it wasn't too cold, it had snowed a lot the day before and then it snowed even more the day after. Both her family from Québec and his family from France were there as well as many of their friends. And of course it ended in a fun dance party. Then two days later I saw a lot of the same people at a New Year's Eve party where we talked and played games all evening. It was a great gathering and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.

My time here in Québec has been short and it will be short, two years is a short period in our lifetime. I am only in the lives of these people here for two years, I hope to keep connections with them but for now I am only living in their community for two short years. But what surprises me is how welcoming they have been. I could have been held apart at a distance because they knew I wouldn't be here for very long, but instead so many of them have welcomed me with open arms. The young adults here have invited me to so many of their events and parties, and I have been welcomed into several different homes of the church. This church that has welcomed so many different immigrants and families who don't have large families here, has welcomed me into their family, and for that I will be forever grateful.

This Christmas season might have been lonely and depressing if I had concentrated on the fact that I was not with my family in California. But God showed me that I have a family here in His church. I will be forever thankful for the small community of Christians that have welcomed me here in Québec.

Light

A lot of things have been happening recently. The weather has definitely changed to winter, the days are shorter and colder, and we finally got snow at the beginning of the week.  I had my last kid’s Day event of the season last week, and am taking my English Conversation group on a small field trip to see the city and Christmas lights tonight. Christmas lights have been up for a while and Christmas day is in one week. One theme that seems to keep coming to me through all of this is light.

Here in December, the sun starts setting around 3:30pm and it is dark by 4pm. It can be somewhat depressing, especially for me when I come from a place where is it sunny almost all the time. And with the snow here, it is very cloudy and mostly overcast. It has been 5 days since I last saw blue skies. So when the sun shines here, I have learned to enjoy it, even though those days are colder than sunny days. (Go figure..) So I have learned not to take the sun for granted, and it makes me smile when I see the sun.

Christmas lights go up early around here. The malls and a lot of stores already had their lights and decorations up by the end of October. One nice thing about the lights here is that they stay up for a long time. A lot of stores have a public display of lights that face the main street, and they keep it up for most of the winter. It certainly brings a little more cheer and light to the short days and long evenings.

With the shorter days and lack of sunshine, depression can be a common thing around here. Even I can sometimes feel depressed or lazy because of the lack of sunshine. But I was again reminded of light this week. What came to my mind was a song:

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet,
and a light unto my path.”
(based on Psalm 119:105)

How often do we forget that? Light is used so often as a word to describe God’s ways, His word, and even God himself. For the past Kid’s Days events, we have been going through different stories in Judges. Last week we discussed Ruth, and ended up concentrating on the light in that story. We had talked about how Ruth’s faith in God had been a light of hope to her, and how later her son became a light for her family. That son became the grandfather of King David, who was a light for Israel in their dark days. And David became an ancestor of Jesus who was the true light that God sent. How amazing is that! That tiny light of hope for Israel, during their dark days of the judges, grew and became the greatest light that would be a light for all mankind.

“The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shined.”
(Isaiah 9:2)

Jesus is that light. I love how God used light to proclaim the birth of his Son. When the shepherds in the fields were told of Jesus’ birth, “the glory of the Lord shone around them.” (Luke 2:9) God’s glory “shone,” it shined on them. What else shines besides light? Not a lot of things shine without light of some sort, be it natural or man-made. I think that God’s glory had to be one of the brightest lights that shone on the shepherds that night. God again used light when he created a star to guide the wise men to Bethlehem. (Matthew 2:1-12) Stars are already very bright. They are millions of miles away and yet we can still see their light in the evening. This star had to be big and brighter than all the others for these men to take notice of it. God had something special to share with the world, and they knew it because of that star.

We take stars for granted today, just like we do our sun (which is a star!). We consider stars to be a romantic thing, we make wishes on stars, we have picnics under the stars, and we predict our futures by the stars. But what are stars? They are technically great balls of gas, but they are a source of light. Where does that light come from? From God!

“And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness, he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.”
(Genesis 1:3-5)

The first thing God created was light! God showed himself to Moses and Israel as forms of light; to Moses as a burning bush (Ex 3:2), and to Israel as a pillar of fire to lead their way (Ex 13:21-22). When the Son of God was born, light was used to proclaim his birth (Matt 2:1-12, Luke 2:9). Jesus called himself a light: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12) When Jesus was transfigured, “his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.” (Matt 17:2) God is light. There is no question about that.

I just hope that brings you comfort and joy this Christmas season. May we always be thankful for the light and not take it for granted. May it remind us that God is with us and that He has overcome the world.

“For the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.”
(John 1:5)

Merry Christmas!!!

Thanksgiving

Over a week ago was American Thanksgiving. This has not been my first Thanksgiving away from home, but it has been one of the harder ones. I think that many things made it a little hard for me this year: 1) I knew that I wouldn't be coming home in a few months for Christmas, like I have every other time I am away for Thanksgiving, 2) The people here don't celebrate it, there is no feeling of Thanksgiving at all because they have already moved on to Christmas, and 3) I have no family here or traditions here.

From that depressing list, you might think that I had an awful Thanksgiving, but I didn't! My good friend Jacquelyn suggested that we have our own American Thanksgiving together with our friends here, since we are both American. So we did! The week was full of buying groceries ahead of time, and prepping food the day before. I even had the important job of stuffing and cooking the turkey! (It is actually a very easy thing to do!) Thursday itself was a long day of waiting for me, because I waited in my apartment all day until guests came for dinner around 6pm. I put in the pies, the yams, and the turkey all before my friend arrived to help finish with everything else. But while I was waiting, I was able to call my family back home and talk with them about anything while they were waiting for their food to be ready.

After I had finished that call, it was time to get the food and table ready. Jacquelyn and her husband and two kids came, and another couple from our church came with their baby. It was a full table and we all had a good time. We had so much food leftover! (Isn't that a must with Thanksgiving though?!) Everyone took home several containers home. Later that evening after I had cleaned everything up, I was able to relax with another phone call to my family and eat my dessert at the same time. (I had to let Grandma know how the turkey turned out, that everyone loved it.) It was a good day.

I have had my moments since then when I get sad knowing that I am not there to spend time with my family, or that I won't be home for Christmas. But the Lord keeps reminding me of the many blessings He has given me here in Quebec City. I have been blessed to call these people my friends and also my family. Even if I am not home in California, God has given me a home here in Quebec for the time being. And I am very thankful for that.

Jacquelyn and Jennifer

With A Smile

I want to dedicate this poem to the many hard working wives and mothers that I know, especially the missionary wives that have made an impact on my life. I have learned a lot over the last few months of what it means to be working behind the scenes, and I want to thank them for the examples they have been to me.

With A Smile 

by Jennifer Nelson

A servant I am,

And a servant's heart I hope to have.

I struggle and toil all the day long.

Be it dishes, organizing, running errands, or dishes galore,

I do it with a smile. 

I support the man I work for,

I follow his will and call.

"Somebody has to do it."

Why not let that "somebody" be me.

So I do it with a smile. 

Some people say I work too hard,

"What would we do without you?" they say. 

Others hardly see my work at all.

But I do it nonetheless,

And I do it with a smile.

I may not be praised

Or remembered for what I have done,

But I hope my work brings Him glory and praise.

Perhaps, one day, when I see His face,

He will greet me with a smile. 

Anxiety and Rest

Over the last two weeks the words "stress, anxiety, worry, busyness, and need a break" have been surrounding me. It has been coming not only from my life, but from other lives around me.

A friend of mine here has been dealing with stress and anxiety attacks. She does not know when they will happen, but she is always living in fear that they will come back soon. Her situation in general seems to be improving, but her "bad days" are coming closer and closer together. Thankfully she has called out for help and many of us here are trying to help, but it is difficult for us when we don't know exactly how to help.

I had a large week last week. The church I am working for hosted a NAPARC conference. I don't remember what the letters stand for, but I know that it was a conference where 13 presbyterian or reformed churches from North America were represented. They meet every year and this year they met in Quebec City. I was doing  a lot of work a head of time organizing the men and trying to get their meetings scheduled. The week of the conference itself went well, I was just running around doing errands, giving tours, cleaning and setting up the church. So it was very busy and a bit stressful for me. I also had another Kids Day event two days after the conference ended. The whole week was successful and went smoothly, maybe not for me but at least for everyone else.

With my work and busy schedules keeping me occupied, and with this situation with my friend, the idea of stress and anxiety has really been on my mind recently. But it has also made me think of the words "rest" and "trust." When we are anxious or worry about something, we are not trusting God. A lot of us say we "know" what the Bible says. But do we really? We read the Bible, and  we say we trust God, but do we really? Has not God kept his promises? After the flood, He promised to never flood the entire earth again (Gen. 9:8-17), He promised to make Abraham a great nation (Gen. 12:1-3; 15:5, 13-16), and He has kept those promises. God said to Abraham, "Fear not, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great." (Gen 15:1) If God is for us who can be against us? God  still keeps these promises with us, why do we have such trouble seeing it?

"Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gently and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30

"Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." Matthew 6:34

"He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord." Psalm 112:7

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones." Proverbs 3:5-8

I have been slowly learning what is it to find rest and refreshment in the Lord. I know I do not seek Him and his word as often as I should, but when I do, it is a great relief. Let us look to the Lord in our struggles, when we worry and are anxious, for He will be our deliverer.

I have been reminded of how important water is so that we can survive (I watched a movie set in the desert) and I have also been reminded in a book that the word of God is(or should be) water to our souls (When Crickets Cry by Charles Martin). I was reminded of how Jesus presented his words to the Samaritan woman as water, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:13-14) We need that water. We need the promises of God. We need His gospel and His word to live. If we really study God's word diligently, we will find the rest and peace that he promises to those who come to him.

This is my prayer: that we will truly put our trust in the Lord and not be anxious about anything and that we will find refreshment in Him and in his word.

Fall Colors

My week has been extremely busy with organizing lots of things that are coming up and also trying to keep myself  sane and healthy by trying to go out and socialize and take breaks from working on a computer for hours on end. This week has also been pretty grey and rainy all week, but that doesn't stop me from enjoying the fall colors. So I thought I would share with you a few photos of the fall colors here. A couple weeks ago a friend and I drove out of the city to just enjoy the fall colors for a day. I hope you enjoy them as well.

My Friend Ashley

For the beauty of the earth,

 

For the glory of the skies,

 

For the love which from our birth, over and around us lies.

Lord of all to thee we raise, 

This our hymn of grateful praise.

One year, already!

Exactly one year ago today, I arrived in Québec City for the first time. October 16, 2014 was the day I flew into Québec. So much has happened since then. I remember being so overwhelmed with everything, the city, the language, the people, the work, the weather already turning into winter, living with complete strangers. It was all so new, so foreign and so intimidating at the same time. I remember thinking that I could never be really close with some of the people here because I was struggling so much with the language barrier that connections were difficult to make. But praise be to God that I can now say that some of those same people are my closest friends here! The couple that I was living with have become family in so many ways and I am still being invited into other people's homes. The Lord has blessed me with so many new friendships here that continue to grow. And I am so thankful that I am at such a higher level of French than I ever thought possible. (And hopefully that will grow to be better as well!)

The Lord has indeed been good to me this past year. It can be easy to forget the small blessings He gives us, but I am thankful that He has brought me to a place where I am almost daily reminded of them. This year has been full of high points and low points, struggles and advances, losses and achievements, twists and turns and it has all been a humbling, rewarding, and difficult experience all together. I cannot wait to see what the Lord has in store for me here in Québec this next year.

(Me in Québec a year ago)