1 December, 2004

Dear Friends,

It won’t be easy for us immigrants from the northern part of the globe to observe Advent or to catch the Christmas spirit in South Africa. Already there are Christmas lights mounted to the lampposts along the esplanade, but it does not get dark until after 8:00 p.m. There are sheep (even in the road!), but you rarely see shepherds. The magazine in the doctor’s office recommends plenty of candles as seasonal decorations, but the temperature often reaches the mid 90s and above.

If the inhabitants of the Southern Hemisphere could have picked the month for their Christmas celebration independently, they certainly would not have chosen December. The experience of “light shining into darkness” parallels June’s short winter days much better than it fits into the height of the summer season.

The date for Christmas arrived here as part and parcel of the message preached by Scottish and German and Moravian missionaries. As an event on the liturgical calendar, the holiday never reached the significance of Good Friday and Easter, which are observed here over several days. Christians all over the world are meant to be Easter-people, not Christmas-people, so this is theologically very appropriate.

Can you imagine his nappies (= diapers) flying from a clothesline in Nompumelelo?

Immanuel, God With Us, is most visible among the poor and oppressed.

We encounter Immanuel in our visits with Sister Rosemary, who as a volunteer heads a group of 16 other volunteers in caring for AIDS victims at a hospice here in East London. From January to September 2004, 21 of the patients at Samaritan House have died, 18 of them with Sister Rosemary by their side. Every morning at 10 she leads a devotion to ground the day in the knowledge of God’s loving presence—for her own sake as well as for that of the persons in her care.

Pule looked slightly mischievous and whispered back, “ninety-six.” That, as she admitted later, was a joke. The true number is “only” thirty-two. Many of them were present at the celebration. One of them was baptized during the special worship service marking the anniversary. For 40 years, Vela’s and Pule’s home has been a place of refuge and care for children in need. Not only did these youngsters receive a place to sleep and food and education, but they and their offspring also became full members of the Tshangela family.

We sense that Immanuel is present and at work in these and many other circumstances in South Africa.

We trust that Immanuel is also present and at work in the rough places in and around you.

Susanne and Ken

The 2005 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 339

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Contributions from individuals may be sent to: PC(USA) Individual Remittance Processing, P.O. Box 643700, Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3700. Please write “JHAH South Africa” and Designated Account # H000109“ on the check and on the cover letter. Send a copy of the cover letter to: Presbyterian Hunger Program, 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, KY 40202-1396. Or click on the "give" button below to contribute online.

Sessions may help the denomination to support us in the field by designating a portion of their annual GA mission giving to account # D506580.

Financial support for the educational and advocacy work of the JHAH Mission Group in the Presbytery of the Western Reserve may be sent to PWR, 2800 Euclid, Cleveland, OH 44115.