Christmas Braai

The church we attend has a tradition of meeting together on Christmas Day to remember Christ's birth. Afterwards there is a braai (bbq), with everyone sharing a good meal together. This year our family volunteered to host at our home, since we have lots of space in our backyard, and good kitchen/meeting facilities.

At 7:30 Christmas morning a car came to our gate and honked. I decided it must be someone to see my neighbour since the service wasn't supposed to start until 9am, but it turned out it was one of the organizers with some food and drinks to drop off. So I went out in my pyjamas and unlocked the gate.

At 9am a few people came but we didn't get started on the church service until past 10 sometime. Some of the ladies started peeling potatoes and preparing chicken. We lit the braai stand so that the charcoal would be hot enough later.

For the church service we sang a few carols and shared what Christmas means to us. Some of the young people presented "Lord I lift your name on high" with sign language, and also presented a sketch about making room for Jesus in our hearts.

Then it was time to play and eat!

Michelle chatted with the youngest member of our church.

The last person left around 4:30pm. So it was a long day, but good to spend it together in a meaningful way. Some of the people were saying that for many Zambians, Christmas is an excuse to drink in excess, so I'm glad the church was able to offer an alternative.

We opened our presents around the Christmas tree as a family afterwards. We didn't really have supper since we were still full from our late lunch! This was our second Christmas in Choma. Only one left before we return to a good old Wet Coast one! :)