Party like it’s Christmastime!

Last Friday night we had a Christmas party for our students.  We don’t have snow in Thailand (most Thai people have never seen snow) so we substituted crumpled up paper and divided into teams for a snowball fight:

What’s a Christmas party without gingerbread houses?  Scott and Julie, our teachers, made gingerbread for the students to build and decorate houses, something else they’d never done before.

What to do with all these pieces?

many hands make light work… I think.

the girls’ team had a knack for decorating… structural integrity was questionable.

a few mechanical engineering majors could make the house stand firm

we liked the “TLC” logo on the roof

The highlight of the evening for me was being able to share the meaning of Christmas with our students.  We started in Genesis and ended with Jesus’ ascension, to give the full context of why we celebrate the coming of our Savior.  In Thailand, people do not understand sin, and so a Savior is unnecessary.  To share the Gospel clearly, you have to start with creation and give background for the pain and suffering of the human condition without God.  We know that sharing the story of Christmas is just one more step in bringing Jesus to our students, leading them and loving them towards a relationship with God.

Have a merry Christmas, remembering and celebrating our Immanuel!  God is WITH you, wherever you are, in whatever trials or joys you find yourself in this season.