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The Village of Darkness has seen a Great Light

Eddie Andersen, a missionary in Northern Kenya reflects on his journey of sharing the gospel through the Christmas story among the Gabbra people.

A couple of years ago, our family moved up to Dukana, a village in Northern Kenya. As we prepared for our first Christmas there we prayed about how we’d get our radio station up and running. One of our supporters, who has a lot of experience in radio, suggested we put Christmas songs on the radio to entice people to listen to our station.

As I thought about that concept, I realized, we work among an unreached people group; they may not even know what Christmas is, much less know any Christmas music.

I found myself asking these three questions as we prepared for our first Christmas in Dukana.

1.) What have others done?

I thought back to my parents who also worked among an unreached people group. How did they introduce Christmas? Well, it wasn't a celebration like we might do in the West. In the West we might invite over close family, exchange gifts, and go to a church service.

Well, they had a feast and invited over the entire town.

Looking to what others have done gave us a good starting point. We sought to learn from those who have gone before us.

“The one indispensable requirement for producing godly, mature Christians is godly, mature Christians.”― Kevin DeYoung

2.) What is Christmas really about?

Is Christmas about me? Is it about my family and how we can most enjoy our time? In Dukana, we don't really have gifts, and are gifts even the wisest way to celebrate Christmas? No, it’s much bigger than that! It’s about Christ coming to earth and transforming our lives of sin and offering us His grace. We decided that Christmas was ultimately about commemorating Christ.

“Jesus’ humility is our hope. His willingness to leave glory unleashed glory on us and guaranteed that we would live with him in glory forever.” - Paul Tripp

We were in awe over the fact that we had the opportunity to share the celebration with others, who may be hearing the Christmas story for the first time.

Celebrating happens communally.

Making disciples of all nations requires intentional communication of God’s gospel in ways people from other cultures can understand. -Anna Daub

3.) How do we share the Christmas story in a culturally relevant way?

Traditionally, among the Gabbra, when a son is born, the entire community comes out to appreciate the family which has given birth to a baby. Even at a wedding, the whole village is invited for a feast.

“I thought, how better can we rejoice over Christ among the Gabbra than to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ with a feast?”

Intentionally gathering our elders, we worked out the details together. We put together some skits, portraying the story of Christ, we prepared a sermon, and we planned out a meal. We brought songs from other tribes, wrote some of our own, and began to play them on the radio.

O Holy night! The stars are brightly shining; It is the night of our dear Savior's birth. Long lay the world in sin and error pining, 'Til He appears and the soul felt its worth. A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices... - O Holy Night

Now, years later, each Christmas we have this big celebration. It has proven to be a great outreach to our community, but it even gives us something to look forward to each year. The church has even taken ownership, they prepare the food, and the village elders prepare the message. Each year, more and more people attend.

The Village of Darkness has seen a Great Light.

He came into the mire and muck of our world. For only if we let him in, can he pull us out. ― Max Lucado

My prayer this Christmas is that more people would attend than ever before. Not only to just taste of the feast of man, but that they would come to consume the message of the gospel proclaimed during the church service, before the plates of food are even passed out. Please pray with me that many would hear and accept the message of the Gospel presented this Christmas. Immanuel, God has come to us!

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Pray.

Pray for Eddie and many other missionaries all around the world who are living in places of spiritual darkness, hoping to share the Light that is Jesus Christ this Christmas.

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About the Author: Eddie Andersen is a 3rd generation missionary who is passionate about loving the unreached. He works among the Gabbra, along with his wife Rachel, and their children. They love to share food, life, and conversation with those around them. They've started among the Gabbra: the Village of Hope, their first radio station, and a vehicle repair shop. Find him on instagram @eddie.andersen.