A SURPRISE VISIT AT CHRISTMAS

There is much debate about the time of year that Jesus was born.

All I can say about that is that one Christmas nearly forty years

ago He came on the 25 of December. My wife Elaine & I were

missionaries among a group of Indians in the tropical rain forest

called “Chimanes”. Because they lived in a remote area and living

conditions were difficult our five children in order to get an education

had to be hundreds of miles away at a boarding school most of the year.

The heat, bugs and mud, and traveling by dugout canoe and living in

leaf shelters as we visited small, scattered villages along brown rivers

was not a hardship for us. We were missionaries sent by God to reach

these forgotten people with the message of hope.

The only sacrifice we felt was having to be away from our kids. Some

times at night I would wake up and listen to Elaine crying and I would

ask her if she was in pain and she would say “No, I just miss the kids so

much”. Christmas was a big deal with us because that’s when the children

got to come home for two weeks. In order to get to the town nearest us

they had to first fly to La Paz, the capitol city, after an eight or nine hour

bus ride and then catch another plane to get to where we lived at the edge

of the jungles.

The air strip at that time was just a dirt runway and when it rained the plane

couldn’t come in. December is the height of rainy season so we heard on our

two way radio they our children, accompanied by one of the teachers had

flown to La Paz and would be getting a flight into our town of San Borja.

However, it rained and it poured and each day we would get the report that

the flight was canceled. After a week the flight was finally made but it was

an early flight that they had to be at the airport before dawn and they, along

with their teacher over-slept. The teacher called us and said that they were

turning back and would not be coming for Christmas. Elaine lost it! She said

“I have to see my kids.” She took a cargo plane that hauled out meat and went

to be with the kids. With all the expense of the flights and hotel and our low

budget I decided to not go out.

My Indian informant lived a few miles up river so I decided to go spend time

with him learning the Chimane language. The day I went to his humble lean-to

was Christmas day. However, it was 100 degrees, no one had trees or gave presents,

there were no Christmas decorations, it was just like any other day.

When I got to the informants home, he and his wife were leaving to go to a fiesta

down river. They didn’t invite me along because it would be a drunken orgy so

they left and I was alone in a leaf shelter with no walls and the rain began once more.

I got hungry and looked around to see if they had left something I could eat. I spotted

a leg of a rodent called “capybara” in the rafters but when I pulled it down it was green

and stunk so I couldn’t eat it.

I could hear the beat of the drums down river and knew that the drinking party was on.

All at once it hit me, Hey! This is Christmas! I thought about all of the celebrations,

presents, get-to-gathers in the States and also the blessing that Elaine at least was

with our kids. I knelt there and worshipped the Lord. I told Him that I loved Him and

that it didn’t matter if I was alone, I only wanted to serve Him. All at once that

little leaf shelter was filled with His presence. He came and He filled me with

joy and all I could do was worship and praise Him. I don’t remember how long

I sensed His presence but it must have lasted a couple of hours. Heaven came

down and glory filled my soul. Doubters, scoffers and skeptics can mock all they

want, I know the risen Savior lives because he came that Christmas and left a

memory stamped on my heart that cannot be erased. Merry Christmas everyone,

be of good cheer. Though He may not choose to reveal Himself, He is near.