Christmas in the Dark

Christmas in Cusco mostly happens in the dark. Mass, the big meal and the opening of gifts all happen in the middle of the night as the 24^th December ‘explodes’ into the 25^th (fireworks are traditional here on Christmas Eve!). There are many cultural differences between Christmas in Peru and Christmas in the UK. It is nowhere near as big a festival as it is in Britain, at least in the commercial sense, and that can be an advantage, leaving us free to celebrate Christmas as we wish, rather than being bombarded by the advertising, the TV Christmas specials and the parties. 

Cusco Main Square at Christmas at night

But Christmas ‘in the dark’ is obviously a metaphorical reality for many and being away from family and friends and the things that in the past have made Christmas special helps us appreciate the mixed feelings or even depression which Christmas can bring. Sorely missed family members abroad, illness or the death of someone close in the preceding year (or longer ago) can make Christmas dark. A 17 year old we are visiting in the hospital at the moment, recently paralysed after a bicycle accident, is certainly sharing a dark Christmas with his father, alone in the trauma ward. 

The whole feeling that we are supposed to have a ‘Happy Christmas’ makes matters a hundred times worse when we don’t feel happy. But just before Christmas I came across a clip by Glen Scrivener (a minister from Eastbourne), entitled ‘Christmas in Dark Places’ (you may have seen it as it deservedly did the rounds on facebook), which got me thinking and helped me to see Christmas in a different light.

Jesus was born in the dark, away from home, into poverty:

It’s dark, in the bible, when Christmas is spoken.
Always a bolt from the blue for the broken.
It’s the valley of shadow, the land of the dead,
It’s, “No place in the inn,” so He stoops to the shed.
He’s born to the shameful, bends to the weak,
becomes the lowly: the God who can’t speak!
And yet, what a Word, this Saviour who comes,
Our dismal, abysmal depths He plumbs.
Through crib and then cross, to compass our life.
To carry and conquer. Our Brother in strife.  

 (Glen Scrivener, http://christthetruth.wordpress.com/)

It’s actually quite obvious, but I had somehow failed to totally realise this before - if we feel as though our Christmas is dark, and that we don’t even want to participate, then Christmas is for us more than anyone. Not the commercial version of Christmas, or even the ‘happy family’ version of Christmas but the Christmas that we read about in the Bible where God comes to earth precisely for the lonely, the poor, the oppressed and the depressed.

And if we are not among the lonely, the poor, the oppressed or the depressed (or even if we are) then through the Holy Spirit within us we are called to bring light - Jesus coming once more into the darkness.

‘The people walking in darkness
    have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
                      a light has dawned.’   (Isaiah 9:2)

Buying a ‘Happy Christmas’?

Something else I read this week, together with the experience of visiting our first real, shiny, western-style shopping mall in Cusco, has also impacted me in relation to Christmas:

‘The world sees joy as something received…. Many are trying to extract from life that which life may seem reluctant to give. So often, of course, this ends in disillusionment. Enduring happiness is found only on the narrow road with Me.’                                   Fr Hon Woolley in ‘I am with you’

People often look for experiences, success or ‘stuff’ to bring joy. We try and ‘buy’ happiness with new clothes, a new car, chocolate or holidays. The new shopping centre in Cusco, which, in a fit of desperation, half-opened a week before Christmas (it certainly wouldn’t be open yet in the UK due to Health and Safety regulations), houses a large supermarket, a department store, various other smaller shops and soon will have a food court, once it’s finished. Local people are trying to figure out how to use the escalators without falling over and numerous cleaners are constantly trying to keep the floors shiny (rainy season and a building site outside making this rather impossible!). It is a place where the advertisements tell us we can buy happiness. Rather poignantly, it is built on the site of, and right next door to what remains of, a Catholic school and seminary. Talk about a visual aid for Jesus’ words, ‘You cannot serve both God and Money.’ (Matthew 6:24)

Cusco's new shopping centre

Despite the increasing materialism in Cusco, Christmas is seen by many here as a time to contribute to the needs of the less fortunate, and many, many businesses, schools and hotels fund ‘chocolatadas’ where hot chocolate, food and toys are handed out. A few evangelical churches  also run chocolatadas and use the opportunity to give the Christmas message, but sadly, in my opinion, many evangelical churches tend to ‘throw the baby out with the bath water’ as they like  to be distinct from the Catholic church and don’t even mention Christmas!

Nativity Scenes and the Meaning of Christmas

A final Christmas thought is one that relates to the elaborate nativity scenes that the kids enjoyed seeing in the Catholic churches just prior to Christmas. Nativity scenes are big in general – in homes, hotels, shops and bus stations. An article in the New York Times caught my attention (I must add that I don’t normally read the New York Times but was sent the link by a friend). It’s entitled ‘Ideas from a Manger’ and here’s the introduction:

‘Pause for a moment, in the last leg of your holiday shopping, to glance at one of the manger scenes you pass along the way. Cast your eyes across the shepherds and animals, the infant and the kings. Then try to see the scene this way: not just as a pious set-piece, but as a complete world picture — intimate, miniature and comprehensive. 

Because that’s what the Christmas story really is — an entire worldview in a compact narrative, a depiction of how human beings relate to the universe and to one another. It’s about the vertical link between God and man — the angels, the star, the creator stooping to enter his creation. But it’s also about the horizontal relationships of society, because it locates transcendence in the ordinary, the commonplace, the low’. 

I don’t think an attempt to summarise would do the article justice, so here’s the link if you’re interested in worldviews and what a nativity scene encapsulates:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/22/opinion/sunday/douthat-ideas-from-a-manger.html?_r=1&

Giant Nativity Scene at Korikancha, Cusco

Towards the end of the article the author states:

‘So there are two interesting religious questions that will probably face Americans for many Christmases to come. The first is whether biblical religion can regain some of the ground it has lost, or whether the spiritual worldview will continue to carry all before it.’

I wouldn’t like to call a life with God based on the Bible ‘religion’ (that is another entire topic), but the Biblical story is the only one that makes sense of, and redeems, the dark. I hope your Christmas was ‘happy’, but if it wasn’t, let’s remember that Jesus came more for dark Christmases than merry ones, and the joy He brings can be yours. Let’s not look for the joy we seek under the bright lights of a shopping mall, but in the Child in the manger, the Light of the World.

O little town of Bethlehem,
How still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep,
The silent stars go by.
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting Light.
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight.

Jenny's UK Trip (including Beachy Head Marathon Report!)

How can I start to describe the last few weeks? The boys and I broke several records I think – most miles travelled by plane within a month, most friends seen in a week, and most miles run in one day!

The journeys went quite smoothly, which was a relief as it’s the first time I’ve done a trip like this without Roland. The flights to the UK were slightly easier as we were already in Lima having had a week there with Roland and the girls. Just one change at Madrid, not much waiting about, and my brother picked us up from Heathrow.  Roland had no problem getting back with the girls without me (I was there at check-in just in case) and I had the correct piece of paper allowing me to bring the boys out of the country without Roland.  (It was a document written in an office in Cusco and then stamped in another office to prove that the first office was a genuine office not a fake one!) The journey home was long as it involved a flight from London to Brazil, several hours wait in Brazil, a flight to Lima (where we had to collect our bags and check them in again) and then finally a flight to Cusco. 

Our time with family and friends was fantastic. Despite the short time, the three weeks were even better than I could have hoped. Having been gone nearly three years since last visiting home, and seven years in total, I did wonder how it would be. The boys loved being with their grandparents, aunties, uncles and cousins, getting to know some of the younger cousins properly for the first time. They have several friends in Eastbourne, which is remarkable really given that they see them so rarely.

The boys with some of their cousins

Playing at home with Nana and Grandad and Aunty Carol

They took part in kids’ groups at church in London, Eastbourne and Hailsham and Sammy even went to school for a morning and participated in a Year 6 class, including helping with their Spanish lesson. They loved visiting the beach and looking for crabs etc. and going on a few other wildlife-related trips with Grandpa.

 

An outing with Grandpa

I ended up with loads of opportunities to speak about our work in Cusco. I did an interview with my brother in London as part of his church’s ‘International Banquet’. I spoke at four different home groups in Eastbourne and Hailsham, plus a Latin Link prayer evening and four church services (three on the same morning which was interesting!). Then, a week after the marathon, I had a short live telephone interview on BBC Radio Sussex, at 7.30am!

A lunch with some of our Kings Church friends

The marathon itself was a great experience. It really was very hilly, and the 300 steps at around 3 hours didn’t help! However, it was at least dry and a pleasant temperature. I had a couple of good runs in Lima the week before flying – a 2 hour run and a 1 hour run that felt so much easier than the same at altitude. I then just did an hour in Dorset and a few shorter easy jogs in the 10 days before the race, including a short run up and down the very steep start and finish of the course in a gale and pouring rain! Still, that gave me the confidence that I should actually run (very slowly) the first hill rather than walk as many people quite sensibly do!

The first two hours of the marathon went really well and felt easy despite the hills so I got to half way slightly more quickly than I expected and it was a boost to meet the boys and Roland’s parents there. The next hour was OK but we were running into a strong gale and we had the challenge of 100 steps, shortly followed by 200 steps, a little before hitting the Seven Sisters hills! Since I had only trained up to three hours, the last bit was bound to be difficult. There was a huge hill up from the Cuckmere river and I ate all my remaining glucose sweets just to enable me to walk up it (most people in my part of the field were doing a lot of walking on the uphills at this stage!) I then felt a bit better and could at least jog the downhills from then on. The feeding stations were a bit too far apart for my liking, but I made it to the final one and grabbed a piece of Mars bar which I hoped would be enough to get me to the end. I just about made it, but really struggled through the last 800m despite being able to see the finish! The support from spectators, marshals and other runners was fantastic, people even waiting to hold gates open for others following on behind and encouraging each other the whole way, especially over the last 6 miles that were so tough. 

Coming down the steep hill at the end of the marathon

People have asked if that was the first of many marathons. I have to say I doubt it! Beachy Head marathon is a unique challenge with amazing scenery and I can’t imagine another marathon could be like it. Would I consider running Beachy Head again? I don’t know! If I could train better at sea level one day and enter it with sufficient (rather than minimal) preparation maybe I’d like to try again and see if I could run over those Seven Sisters at the end with more success! On the other hand, that was my final running ambition fulfilled and I might be quite happy with a few 10Ks from now on!

Finished - took about 20 mins before I could get up!

I’m very grateful for the sponsorship I’ve received and from the £1500 raised there will be around £750 to support people with ME, £375 for Kallarisunchis and £375 for resources for kids in Cusco hospital. Thanks to everyone who has been part of this!

Now back in Cusco I’m reflecting on what wonderful friends and family we have and what great churches we are privileged to know and be part of! All the services were encouraging – the worship and the sermons - from my brother’s message about faith not being so much the size of our faith but the size of the God we have faith in, to Andrew’s preach at Kings on ‘Christian warfare’, to a word shared at Christchurch (Hailsham) about God ‘never abandoning us’ and that ‘He is not slow’. 

Here’s a quick summary of some other thoughts:

Most stressful moments: The airports and flights, driving for the first time in three years, and perhaps the 7.30am live radio interview!

Most emotional moments: Too many! Meeting my brother at Heathrow, seeing parents and family, first Sunday back at Kings Church, feeling  ‘normal’ just chatting with friends, watching the boys playing in their ‘own’ garden at the Blue House.

The boys in the Blue House garden

Cross-cultural moments: Mostly to do with shops this time for some reason – how friendly the shop assistants were, and what a lot of stuff there is available! Also, most of the houses have roofs and are finished and quite neat and tidy!

Funniest moments: Watching all the cousins from Roland’s side, aged 6 to 21, playing ‘sardines’ together; being stopped at Lima airport so that they could inspect my two small packets of cheese; Benjamin’s amazement that people have carpets, even on their stairs; Sammy reading all the road signs and directing me from Hailsham to Eastbourne (a very short journey that he didn’t realise I knew extremely well!)

How did Roland and the girls cope while we were away? Well, I think. We phoned or Skyped every day and the presence of the Stoker family, who stayed most of the time we were gone, was a huge help. Daddy can even plait the girls’ hair now!


To finish, a couple more photos:

The boys with Grandpa in Puddletown Forest

Jenny with Dad, Chris and Beth

Beachy Head Marathon Saturday 26th October 2013: 26 miles, 42 Kilometres

When I was about 11, I watched the first London Marathon on TV. Just starting my running ‘career’, I guess I thought that one day I would run a marathon. Since running a marathon runs a very high injury risk, and was never likely to be my best distance, in the years I was running seriously the furthest I ever ran was 14 miles. The furthest I have run to date (as of this week!) is 16 miles, but I still have a few weeks to make it towards the 20 mile mark, and then have been advised that somehow I’ll make the last 6 miles when it comes to it!

Why now? Why this year? Well, I thought 42 K at 42 years of age sounded a good thing to aim for, but since we couldn’t come home to the UK to sea level last year, I’ve had to wait a year. The idea was to come home in time to fit in a couple of months training in, but as it is, I’m doing all the training at altitude and will come to sea level just three weeks before. Great advantage to be training at altitude you may say – but unfortunately we live 1000m higher than any sensible person would go to train at altitude, with the result that it is pretty hard to run at all, never mind run a long way. Anyway, I jog along slowly and by doing that I’ve managed to keep going for 2 hours 40 minutes so far.

The marathon I’ve chosen is Beachy Head since it’s on the edge of Eastbourne so is my ‘home’ marathon. Perhaps not the best to choose for my first (and probably only) marathon as it is rather hilly (said to be one of the hardest course in the UK!), but I figure that I’m training on the side of an Andean mountain and the hills can’t be any worse! It is also known as one of the most picturesque marathons, if one has the energy to look at the view.

Please don’t think ‘Oh, Jenny has always run, this will be easy for her’. I haven’t done any serious running since before Sammy was born, 10 years ago, and even then I was training for races of between 4 and 8 K.  So 42 K really is a lot more. And I’m quite injury prone so can only train three times a week, which isn’t very much.

Although this is mainly a personal challenge, the fulfilment of a long-held ambition and a way to get fit and have time out in the beautiful Andean countryside which does me a lot of good, I have decided to try and raise some money too.  Here’s what you can support:

26 miles – I’ll run a mile for each year my mum has been severely affected by ME/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome – Half of what I raise will go to the ME Association that supports people with this disabling illness and funds research.(It is estimated that 250 000 people in Britain have the disease.)

42 Kilometres – I’ll run a kilometre thankful for each year of my life that I have been able to run (thinking that I must have run my first steps at age 1!) – Half of what I raise will go to support Latin Link and our work in Cusco, including resources for kids in Cusco’s state hospital and funds for Kallarisunchis micro-finance project.

I don’t have a particular target in mind, but every pound will help people with a chronic disabling illness, kids who spend weeks, even months, in a very poorly resourced hospital and families trying to work their way out of poverty in Cusco. You can pledge a certain amount per mile or kilometre by sending me an email or facebook message – this will motivate me to keep going the whole way! Or you can go straight to the Justgiving page now and donate, in faith that I will make it!! http://www.justgiving.com/JennyBrownRun

Here’s the web site for the marathon details. It’s taking place on Saturday 26^th October, starting at 9am:  www.visiteastbourne.com/events/BeachyHeadMarathon.aspx  Supporters welcome if you live anywhere near. Here’s the web site of the ME Association: www.meassociation.org.uk

 

If you want to know more about our work in Cusco and don’t receive our regular newsletter, please contact us and we can send it. The Latin Link UK web site is: www.latinlink.org.uk/