by Tim Ramsey
The gift that keeps growing
My best images of Christmas have nothing to do with Santa Claus, nor Christmas Trees, nor receiving presents.
I can never forget the joy I had as a young teen standing at the back of the humble, mud-plastered church in the Ayoré Indian camp of Zapoco and handing out small bags of gifts to the Ayoré children and adults. It was a tradition begun by my father and carried out year-after-year at the conclusion of the “Christmas Drama.” I recall standing by the door as a throng of excited kids lined up while Nathan and I handed them their Christmas, gender-specific bag filled with goodies; for the boys, a toy car, or marbles, or a spinning top; for the girls, combs, hair clips, ribbons, and maybe a small stuffed animal, or plastic baby doll, and for everyone, candy.
Nor can I forget the joy on my daughter’s face as she and her cousin handed out donated stuffed animals, coloring books, crayons, and toy cars to the Ayoré children in Zapoco back in July of 2000. Jenn had started to collect the animals and financial donations four months earlier as a loving gift for these children; and what a success it had been. Three duffel bags of stuffed animals and Hot Wheel cars, and two more filled with coloring books and crayons were the result of her efforts. When the big day was finally over, the two exhausted girls bubbled on and on about the reaction of the children to such incredible gifts. They were thrilled!
It is amazing to watch the joy on the faces of folks who travel to Bolivia with us after they’ve been able to give unconditionally. They can’t stop talking about it. I believe this is because, at our core, we were created, not to receive, but to give; and it is only as we give that we experience true joy. I think giving is intrinsically tied to our having been made in the image of God. He is love, and His love for us cannot be more fully expressed than when He sacrificially sent His son to earth as a helpless baby for the sole purpose of dying for our sins. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that love is best shown by sacrifice, and that joy is fundamentally tied to love. We were made to love and be loved, and that calls us to give, while receiving back the gift of joy!
So... let me give back to you a gift this Christmas that I hope will encourage you as you celebrate the Lord’s birth.
Three years ago in December of 2004 we started programs at Monte Blanco Camp and Conference Center. Since that time 10,784 campers have been to Monte Blanco, and more than 4,000 of them have gone forward in our chapel making life changing decisions before the Lord. What an anniversary!
Schools in Santa Cruz, in particular, have found Monte Blanco to be a tremendous blessing. According one principal from a Santa Cruz high school, there have significant behavior improvement especially in the senior class. Their grades improved so much that not one student flunked the year. There is greater interpersonal respect and unity among students, he said, most notably in the senior class.•
Above: A minister gives campers blessing and prayer.
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