Lora Nafziger
I love Advent. I love the darkening days and the cold and the gathering-in with preparation for Christmas and the Christchild. The week before Advent began we attended church (as is our practice these days) at the Catholic church.
The week before Advent, is Christ the King Sunday and the priest spoke about the kingdom of God. His words were helpful for me- He reminded us that the Kingdom of God is a place (wherever you see love and peace being enacted); it is a time (in history whenever you see the poor being cared for, the hungry fed); it is a condition with symptoms of love, justice and peace. And it exists beyond time; past, present and future. I love these ideas especially as we enter the time of waiting that is also all of these things. The time of waiting for the Christchild is a time of waiting that is for something coming in the past (the incarnation of God in Jesus); something coming in the far future (the fulfilment of God’s hopes for the world- the Kingdom of God; and sometimes we talk about Jesus’ second coming); and something that is coming each day (the presence of Christ in the times and places we live in). And also aside from those, the coming of the celebrations of Christmas.
Right before the first Sunday of Advent we left Kathmandu and headed south to Hetuada for a retreat with the expatriate staff and families of UMN. There were 28 of us together (representing 8 countries) –with another 11 who couldn’t make it for various reasons. I had been working a lot planning for the retreat, the worship, input, games and even lodging. It seemed that no one had energy for the planning except me, so that meant a lot of work in the lead-up and during the actual weekend- but it was wonderful to be able to work on something meaningful, creative and with a tangible outcome. We gathered together at a hotel for reflection, worship, fellowship and laughter. We explored the themes of Advent found in The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe and I planned intergenerational sessions that inluded: some words, film clips, poetry, Bible readings, ‘arty’ activities and discussions. It was a very enjoyable (and tiring for me) weekend and I was glad that it went well and people from many ages enjoyed it. One of our colleagues made a 6-minute montage video that you can watch here showing parts of the retreat, starting with the bumpy van ride to Hetauda.
On our return home, we had several days where the pollution cleared and we were able to see the mountains behind the Kathmandu Valley hills. These were some of the most spectacular we had seen from our house, and are regularly calling each other to go outside and look. Some of the WhatsApp groups we are in also let each other know when the mountains are out. There really is not end to the delight of their majesty!
After preparing for the Advent retreat and singing and reading the Advent scripture all weekend, it felt a bit sad to not “feel” like Advent/Christmas at all. It is a little dark here and is certainly getting colder, but everything here is new, and feels different. We talked with a number of our friends about what they do for a Christmas tree, and most people bring an artificial one with them. We have learned that artificial trees are becoming more common and even are for sale in some large stores, but we really wanted a live tree. So we found someone selling a Norfolk Pine tree in a pot and brought it home in the bucket bike. Then we decorated it this weekend (second Sunday of Advent!)
