Christmas Haven

Beyond the gift of life that we all acknowledge to have received from God, I think there are so three more gifts that are important. These are; the gift of people be it in family or friends, the gift of the meaning of Christmas and the gift of self. This Christmas has been one of the most exciting moments of my life in Norway and a landmark may be for ever. Beyond that a Christmas like never before. May be you are curious of what happened or the experience. I spent the Christmas in Fogn with the Volds invited by a good friend Finn. There is so much to tell about it but I should start by painting a picture of Fogn.

First Fogn is a small Island north of Stavanger with a population of about three hundred and twenty, may be twenty one, two, three or four… people. If you have heard of the times that Kings never excited in Israel and everyone knew what to do then Fogn is such a place. Or if you have ever read a book titled “Siku Njema” (Good day) and learnt of the dream of Kongowea Mswahili (the main character). The dream of a world of peace, natural harmonic existence such that no one has to lock doors to houses or cars, no need of police or even leaders then go to Fogn!! It also reminded me of my Kenyan village where we know everybody or rather almost everybody, we great them, we share with them and we welcome everybody. The true spirit of community and neighbourhood!!

With such a background then you can be sure I was in a haven of Christmas. Being in the Volds home was a great gift to begin with. Being with a family is one of the things that really fill my energy tank. I had this great feeling of being at home through out my stay and I never lost the gift of being myself. The playing around with the two girls Ester Alida and Inger Katrina, dinning with the family, going for walks together and relaxing like I do back home was a great gift. And this is the gift of people.

It all started with the journey to Fogn with the boat once more, no fears this time, and an evening in a social gathering in one of the family’s friend who host a similar party every year for the last 10 years. Later together with Finn we attended a youth meeting till early morning. The Christmas eve (24th Dec) which is the peak of Christmas celebration in Norway start with eating one of the most typical Norwegian ‘uji’ called ‘ris grøt’ which is made from rice and milk before the service. The Christmas service is very important in this land and the churches are usually full. Amazingly it was the first time since I started attending Norwegian services did we sing a song that there was some clapping hands and some sort of dancing. You can be sure I had missed this so much so I did it with all enthusiasm.

I can’t miss out on telling you about the Christmas dinner which is a special meal in Norway. Several times before I had been asked severally by friends what I will be eating for Christmas, it was ‘ribe’. These are pork ribs oven heated for about 2 hours or so. It was a great shift from my normal ‘mbuzi choma’ or ‘kuku karanga’ (roasted goat meat or fried chicken) back home. I received so many Christmas gifts than I ever anticipated this is a beautiful thing, don’t you think so? Then the dancing around the Christmas tree singing Christmas songs! I hadn’t imagined how fun it could be until it happened. We had many moments to focus on the true gift of Christmas and that is the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Without this I think Christmas would be another fun having event but not with the Volds. The moments to have talks with each other and reflect on different issues to do with our faith were beautiful moments. The several Christmas services added beauty to it.

The history of the island goes back to 500AD. Several historic sites as war centres and graves that old exist well preserved. The beauty of nature exciting so naturally was breath taking as we took the walk on the 26th before coming back to the city. As I left Fogn for Stavanger, I had a deep feeling of loss that I was living the family I had so become a part of though in few days, yet a feeling of gain because I had made good friends. I loved it that I lived out to have the gifts that I think are also important too: the true meaning of Christmas, the gift of people and the gift of self. It was fulfilling and refreshing. I look forward to living everyday with these gifts and the ultimate truth; Christmas is not an event but rather a life with Christ in our hearts!!!! What is better than that?