Life in IraqiKurdistan.Christmas

Of course celebrating Christmas looks MUCH different here. For lots of reasons. For example:

• Our first Christmas where we haven't had a "White Christmas".
• No Grandma Shileny Kolaches or Grandma Kriener Chocolate Chip cookies.
• No never-ending game nights with family. Enjoying a beer or two to go along with it!
• No falling asleep to Christmas movies on our family's couch.
• No sitting next to the warm fire, enjoying Mama Bishop's Christmas table cloth. Or Mama Kriener's "Christmas city".
• No seeing family that you haven't seen for awhile (besides on Skype :0)
• Not being surrounded by things that make you think of the season from everywhere you go and things you see (The mall, homes decorated in christmas lights, Christmas trees in the windows, etc)

However, just because we are living in a country where the majority doesn't celebrate CHRISTmas, we have tried to not forget and to make this a memorable Christmas for us even though it was much different!

We tried to make our home a little more like-back-home.

It's really incredible some of the things we found here. There's a place called Holland Market, that's about the size of a convenience store, that we go to get almost all of our groceries. They had a FULL isle that was loaded with Christmas trees, ornaments, stockings, wrapping paper, other knick-nacks too! Can you believe it! ... it was pretty sweet!

Cute little stockings, huh!? Our candle on the top was our "fireplace". Try to look around all of our books (I should have at least straightened them up before this picture but you know what, this is what it normally looks like so you get the real effect! No picture posing here!)

Crafts: We even got a chance to make some handmade cards, and send a couple things back to our family for Christmas with our teammates who were going back to America. Andy and I always make each other cards. This year we also made Zander's gift. Thanks to our previous tennants old baby gate and my oh-so-creative husband. We got to give Zander this for Christmas!

a ramp that came with a handmade car by Andy, and some cool balls for Zander to roll down!

Gifts: SGI came at the beginning of the month and brought back a few gifts from them, and from one of our sending churches. We know it's not all about gifts, but it was really nice to each be able to open a gift this Christmas.

Big thanks to Cornerstone (Sabino's connection Group), Goodriches, and Fishers!

Worship: Here's a picture of our gathering of other believers. We had a great Christmas eve service that was full of songs, Nativity Play put on by the kids, Advent candle, and of course fellowship afterwards with yummy cookies. :) Look at my cute little sheep!

We even had our version of "shoveling" here on Christmas Eve!

Zander making some Birthday cake for Jesus!

Neighbors: Christmas morning we were still in our jammies (I in my glasses, too) drinking some coffee and we had a visit from our good friends/neighbors with Christmas gifts in hand. A little awkward in this culture for people to be seeing each other in their Pj's (sweatpants style for the bishop's) but we were thankful for them and their friendship! They also came over later that day and partook in the Birthday cake. The next day, I made the "Shileny Christmas favorite" (Chili) and they came over to enjoy that with us too.

God has really been doing some sweet things here. Being able to sing Christmas songs IN SCHOOL! Seriously, in Iraq? PRAISE THE LORD!

So yeah... it was a GREAT CHRISTMAS... and a MEMORABLE CHRISTMAS...one we felt like we were able to invite people in and also being invited into celebration with those who are in our spiritual family in this city.

God does show his blessings through our small sacrifices and celebrating this Christmas was definitely an example of that.