Siloam.....Over the Horizon: Festival of Lights

So..in between my tree and the actual Christmas holday celebration, there has been a lot of activity preparing for the celebration! It's crazy how something that lasts such a short amount of time requires a huge amount of time to prepare beforehand! Anyway, we weren't originally planning to decorate the church palapa this year for the Christmas service, but about a week before Christmas, Pastor Goyo asked me if I'd be willing. Last year, when I came down here with a group from my church for our Christmas Outreach trip, we brought with us all of my white Christmas lights. Then last spring another group brought some down and left them when they were done using them. So, all in all, we probably have about 2000 white Christmas lights!

So, after spending a rediculous amount of time testing them and making them work, which basically consisted of mixing and matching bulbs since we can't just go out and buy replacements around here, I was finally able to get to the decorating part. Mili and Sandy came and spent the night before with me and then the Saturday before Christmas, we spent half the day putting up lights all in the church. It was quite a job! Duct tape and masking tape don't stick very well to brink and columns painted with a metal paint! So, it was interesting trying to get the lights to stay up, and trust me, between Christmas and New Years, I had to re-tape the strands numerous times. But the church looked COOL!

It didn't get truly dark until just after the service ended, but it was so amazing to turn out the lights in the church and just have the Christmas lights on as people were fellowshiping and leaving. I honestly don't know what it is, but there's just something about the twinkle of those lights that leaves me in awe. Just one is nothing special. But all those twinkles together is a powerful thing to behold. I think that's what amazes me about the body of Christ as well. We're just like those lights. Alone we are nothing and we can do nothing, but together functioning as ONE body in unity and fluidity in the Spirit, no force natural or spiritual or otherwise can stop us, and it is quite a thing to behold and experience! Merry Christmas!