Dear Loved Ones,
We don't know how you spent your Christmas time. This is how we, the Nzunga family, spent our blessed Christmas time.
I spent most of Christmas Eve day in Cap-Haitian making some important contacts with different people and looking for our car parts. Kihomi and the children were home cooking some good African food (manioc leaves and fufu).
In the evening, it was time to go to church watch the play put on by adults.
We decided to have our own service home and sing Congolese Christmas songs. This was to honor our son Giguya who lives in Bahamas. Then we played the DVD of the "Gospel Bluegrass Homecoming"presented by Bill Gather and Mary Stuart. Around 10 PM we were in bed.
In the morning of Saturday, Kihomi was up early singing her Congolese Christmas songs.Our village was very animated with many people going to the market since Saturday is a market day. Around 11 on Christmas day we left for Cap-Haitian to join the UN force keepers and share their meal. On Sunday Dec. 12th we received 10 of them at our house for a meal and a time to get to know each other. These relationships are very important in poor countries since the motto is "Who you know, not what you know."
There were about 20 policemen/soldiers to share their meal with us.I had the chance to explain the meaning of Christmas to a Muslim. He promised to continue the dialogue. Kihomi had a long talk with the director of the Food World Program/ Cap-Haitian branch. This contact will help her in her ministry of nutrition with women in our churches. I also visited with the newly appointed director of immigration in North of Haiti. We got back home very pleased with different contacts and the witness to a Muslim.
In the evening Nzunga Giguya and Pambi decided to present us with their gifts. Giguya showed us his report card where he is on the honor roll, a certificate of excellence for decorating a classroom and a T-shirt of the student of the month at his school in Eleuthera, Bahamas. Pambi presented us with "The Legend of the Christmas Prayer" by Brian Morgan. She read and sung for us.
Sunday we were ready to attend the ordination of Rev. Blaise Ludia, the first woman to be ordained in the Haitian Baptist Convention. Started at 10 AM we got out of service at 1:30 PM. Rev. Blaise Ludia was our theological student in 1998-99 and is assisting Kihomi in the Haitian Baptist Convention Women's Association. When we got home Kihomi had to get ready to welcome the regional leaders of the Association for a two day meeting.
It is our prayer that the new year that is about to start will bring you peace and all the blessings you have always wanted.
Yours with gratitude and thanksgiving,
Nzunga, Kihomi, Giguya and Pambi