This will be our first Christmas in Lusaka, Zambia.  Since we live very near the capital, Christmas decorations at the stores in town actually began in the middle of November.  There are the usual types, Christmas trees, garland, lights, ornaments and banners.  There are nativity scenes set up in the shopping areas.  Most of the Christmas music we have heard is familiar as well.  We think that this is due to it being a large city and the western influence that is so evident here.

We asked some of the missionaries about Christmas customs out in the bush and if anything is done to celebrate the event.  As the weather here is warm and with rain frequently it is the time for planting and tending their fields, so most Zambian people in the rural areas do not celebrate Christmas.  However, we also talked with our yardmen and they say that in the Zambian churches the celebration begins the day before Christmas with singing, skits, presentations, and eating throughout the two days.

Zambian Christmas songs are very enthusiastic with much dancing and motion. At the Lutheran Mission this year, many of the missionaries and families are on furlough back in the states, so the remaining families will get together for a traditional Christmas dinner.  The local Shoprite has frozen turkeys this year for the holiday, (unlike last year).  We are pretty fortunate to get most of the ingredients we need for baking, although chocolate chips, colored sugar, condensed milk, and certain nuts are hard to come by. There was a sugar shortage here a few months ago, but luckily that is over for now.

For those of you reading this back home, God’s richest blessing’s to each and every one of you during this Christmas season and in the New Year!

Our city, Gravatai, Brazil, is in an urban setting – at least the part that we live in.   Because we live in the southern hemisphere we are heading into summer and have already had some temperatures in the 90s.  The stores have had Christmas decorations out since the beginning of November, but it does seem a little strange still to see fans sold alongside artificial Christmas trees. Real trees are not very common here, although they can be found if you search hard enough.  A traditional Brazilian Christmas involves a churrasco, or BBQ, around 9 or 10 at night followed by fireworks at midnight. They also have fireworks for New Years Eve.

Our family usually gets together with the other missionary family in the area to share a meal, although we have our meal earlier in the day.  I miss the cold and snow at this time of year because that’s something that always signaled that Christmas was coming for me.  Our children have only celebrated Christmas in Brazil, so all they know is the way we celebrate with them.

Brazilians have their own Santa Claus, called Papai Noel, and presents are exchanged, although people here don’t spend as much as Americans do when it comes to presents.  Since we’ve moved here the true meaning of Christmas has become all the more clear because so many of the things that used to mean Christmas aren’t here – snow, cold weather, family and traditional foods.

Brandi Bivens

Everyone wants to hear the exciting stories, see the cool pictures and shake the hands associated with “the feet of those who bring good news.” Missionaries. God gives them special calling to go where we cannot. I am very excited to work with the missionaries and their families. You see, it’s my job to assist them in raising awareness for each mission field, both in the US and around the world. My name is Dave Savatski, and it is my privilege to help these great men and women of faith tell the stories of Missions.

WELS Missions Promotions is the current tag for my position and I schedule presentations. Schools, churches, Mission Festivals, Lutheran Women’s Missionary Society rallies – I can schedule a mission speaker for all of those. This is, quite possibly, the most interesting and diverse job out there. You should see all of the cool pictures that are sent in and the video footage that needs to be edited. The most difficult part of the job is to organize and push media out into the spotlight while it’s still relevant.

To help with these things, I have a few tools I use. My speaker request form is the easiest way for you to request a mission speaker for an event. Maps, bulletin inserts, video clips and Mission Information kits all help to tell the story as well. The blogs have been a tremendous help in connecting the mission families with everyone back home and abroad.  Organizations like WELS Kingdom Workers, Lutheran Women’s Missionary Society, Multi-language Publications, Humanitarian Aid and my fellow synod employees in Milwaukee, WI, have all been extremely helpful in helping to coordinate efforts by WELS Missions (Home & World Missions). It’s not always what you know, but rather who you know.

My husband Luke and I live in Berdsk, Russia, with our three children, Christina (10), Katie (8) and Peter (3). Berdsk, a city of about 90,000, is a bedroom community for the large city of Novosibirsk. It does look like Christmas here. There is a foot or so of snow on the ground. This morning the tree branches were covered with heavy snow and ice. Everything was nice and white after some fresh snow. The temperatures have been wonderfully mild – right around freezing. Only for a couple days at the very beginning of December did the temperatures drop suddenly to -15 F.

The city square is beginning to look like Christmas, too. By the end of December when the children get out of school for the winter holiday, the city square will be transformed into an “Ice City”. There will be a huge decorated tree in the center with large snow sculptures all around it. Workers will turn piles of snow into decorative snow slides for the kids. Already the frame for the large city tree is up, and branches are being put in place. Large wooden boxes are standing on the square to be filled with snow and packed solid for carving snow sculptures. Snow plows are piling up snow for the slides. The city square is really close to our apartment, and we have lots of fun playing on the snow slides during the winter. During the holidays people who own horses in Berdsk decorate their sleighs and offer one-horse open sleigh rides around the city park. We all love to go on the sleigh rides![slideshow=87] Read more ›

What do I do?

Everyone has to have a title and mine is officially, “Missions Promotions Coordinator.” Pretty fancy, eh? When missionaries come home on furlough (their 2 month break every 2 years), I take care of the scheduling of presentations for them. Then I promote the presentations and the resources that we have available. Logically, I have to create print materials and edit media before I can use them to promote. I also do my best to supply Nikky Kruschel with web media and materials.

What do I like about this job?

I have an unique opportunity to use my organizational and computer skills to design promotions and tell the story of each mission field. It’s been said that “a picture is worth a thousand words,” but the pictures and video that are on my hard drive are worth far more than that. It is a privilege and an honor to work with men and women in the “frontlines” of the ministry – pastors, teachers and families in both Home & World Missions and in all WELS congregations and schools. I may not like waking up every morning but I certainly like coming to work every day.

What’s the story behind it all?

The World Missions Promotions Center started back in 2003 on a grant from Thrivent Financial. Originally housed in the WELS Kingdom Worker building, the office has moved into the Missions area at the Synod Administration Building just a few blocks down the road. I was hired mid-June of 2007. The program has expanded to accommodate a lot more of the promotional needs and web-based work. In 2009, I’m gearing up to have an even “bigger & better” year than 2008 as a result of a lot of collaboration work and the release of better web technology tools that will enable us to work together even more.