A New Perspective for the New Year

It is always a little surprising to welcome a new year because I (Sarah) often feel surprised that the "old year" is already finished. I usually feel like I just got comfortable with writing the new date on all my letters and documents and now I have to get used to writing a whole new year after the date. At the turn of this year, I realized that it was at the end of 2008 that Sam and I began praying about and considering the possibility of coming to work here at the Elikya Center. And now it is 2011! Where has the time gone? I also noticed something very different about entering the New Year here in Congo.

 

On New Year's Eve day Sam and I invited Mowa (the director of the Elikya Center) and his wife Luta to eat lunch at our house. After the meal we took time to pray together for the coming year. It was a sweet time to sit together and not only pray for the things ahead of us, but to thank God for carrying us through the past year. We spent the night at the Smith's house on Friday night to bring in the New Year with them and were awakened early in the morning by a group of women singing and dancing through the neighborhood. This joyful singing continued on for most of the morning and we were surprised by their energy, especially since we had heard most of the singing begin the night before.

 

On New Year's Day we shared a meal at Mama Lopango's house, our friend and 2^nd surrogate mother. Her house was full of family, friends and some of the orphans in the Global Fingerprints sponsorship program. It seemed like every 5-10 minutes someone shouted "Bonne Annee!" (Happy New Year!) which received a joyful response of shouts from everyone else in the room. On our way home I couldn't help but notice all the people who were out and about. Every other house had a yard full of people singing, dancing or playing soccer. Whole families were gathered in their yards dancing together or shouting "Bonne Annee!" in unison. I was very surprised by this exuberance because I had noticed the week before when we were driving through town that most people seemed to be celebrating Christmas in a sort of mellow fashion: just eating and visiting with their families. I had expected the same sort of low-key celebration for the New Year, and I was wrong.

 

Then I realized that everyone here has different appreciation for the New Year than I do. The people here are truly grateful that they made it through another year. In a country full of disease, a high infant-mortality rate, poor medical care and extreme poverty, there is much to be grateful for when you survive a whole year without dying or starving or getting very ill. I am usually reflective at the beginning of the New Year as I think about the good and difficult things that occurred in the past twelve months. But, I have never thought to myself about how I actually survived another year. I can honestly say that I lack the gratefulness I should have at the end of another full year of life, blessings, trials, health and growth. Even though my life is very different from most people here in Congo, I should never lack a thankful heart for the way the Lord has brought me through each year. It is a miracle that I made it through 2010 without dying or starving or becoming very ill. Only God can carry me through each year and I have been effected by the joy and gratitude I witnessed this week.