The Gift of Giving

Its Christmas day! Not sure of the schedule but there is a trip planned to the dump church. Last year there were plans to build a church in the slums by the dump. The plans were successful and we get to go celebrate Christmas with the people there!
We started our Christmas celebration early yesterday by giving the gifts to the kids. Kiran started out talking to the kids and having them yell out various thank you messages which we caught on tape. Next he called up one of the youngest kids and blindfolded him and had him pick out a bag at random. He picked out the gift for the one boy who had a birthday that day! Everyone clapped and cheered as the boy pulled out the items in his gift bad one by one. Kiran translated the Christmas card in his gift and everyone got really excited. Next he started calling out names one by one. There was far less chaos than I expected. Even with the excitement of receiving gifts, the kids were well disciplined enough to sit still and wait for their name to be called. Watching their faces as they took each and every item out of the bag was adorable. We got lots of cute pictures of the kids showing us their Christmas cards or pictures. I think every team member saw Lotty’s picture. The kids would take out their brush or comb and try it on their hair or they would mime brushing their teeth with the toothbrush.
I don’t think I fully realized the impact the gifts would make on each child. I know that if I got a gift of wash cloth and tooth brush when I was a child, I would have been disappointed. Kind of like getting the proverbial Christmas gift of woolen socks. We knew the kids would be grateful since they have so little, but it was something else to see them downright excited! These kids had never really been given a gift all of their own before. We had them make stockings out of felt and hang them up in their room. Each day we would place a small gift like pencils or candy in the stockings. The expectation on the kids faces each night was precious. They didn’t even devour the candy right away, but they would run around holding their candy cane close, showing it to us and their friends, savoring it. At first glance, it felt like we were merely introducing materialistic American culture to these kids, but I don’t think that will be the net effect. I think there is a real chance these kids have gained a better appreciation of giving, and a better appreciation of the gift God gave us in His Son.