Here I sit writing this in a very vulnerable and emotional state as the holidays have come and gone here on the race. Coming into this I knew one of the worst and most challenging times would be the holidays because it’s a time that has always been filled with my family and friends at home. But this year it looked a little different and instead I got to spend it with new friends and family that the Lord has so graciously given to me. And in the end I still got to celebrate with family and friends from home too because they’re still a part of my life and so instead of replacing one with the other I got to just add on. And what a blessing that is.
But it doesn’t make celebrating without familiar faces any easier. It’s still hard and there’s always going to be things back at home that just make it harder to celebrate for some more than others.
This year was so different it’s been a year full of some REALLY deep valleys but also some pretty high peaks and yet through it all He was consistent and steady – an easy resting place to find when things got tough and when I get worn out and someone to be so thankful for.
Through it all though I got a special season of being so much more thankful for the birth of a savior – because this year I’ve seen his hand and heart in so many more ways than I have ever seen and because of that I don’t know how I couldn’t believe and how I couldn’t be endlessly grateful. And while my faith in who the Lord is and the role he has in my life has been tested in so many ways I can come out of 2025 saying he is still lord and having the faith to say he has saved me and I couldn’t be more thankful.
Well this season has really brought it out of me. There have been so many emotions and while knowing this season would be hard I have also found that first I can really just get through it one memorable holiday and night or day at a time and second this season is so special and sacred because it’s a time that I get to have now and not later so I get to hold that. And the lord has so graciously reminded me this season is for him and what could be better than spending it on missions for him. How special?!
Thanksgiving came and went… nothing special but nothing easy either. It was a good holiday to start the country off with because it got us into this new space of experiencing these things together and it was also a little easier because it wasn’t as much of a celebrated holiday and especially not celebrated in other cultures. We still had fun with it and made hand turkeys and had dinner together with thanksgiving beans and remembering what we’re grateful for.
Next came Christmas and let me tell you it was crazy.
We had a huge celebration with the church on Christmas Eve and to prepare we got sarees – traditional Indian dresses used for special occasions – which took time to pick out the design we would want and to get the top tailored. Our team chose to get our hair done the morning of and it was so fun to get to go do something together. We then got back and kinda hung around before getting ready in our tops and underskirts so that someone could come wrap the rest of the dress because it is a pretty complicated process. It was a fun night with a message, dinner, and fun performances from the kids and even a Tamil dance that our squad learned. It was so much fun and then we did a countdown to Christmas almost like new years and then the service didn’t end till nearly 1 in the morning. It was such a good time of communion with each other celebrating the birth of the king who has saved our lives.
Our team began prep back in South Africa at our debrief between Swazi and Malaysia by buying stockings which was such a cute idea we had come with some time earlier. The only thing is I should have done a cute gift that was something I wanted to share with everyone but I am such an intentional gift giver in a way and wanted to get something that reminded me of each person and that they had said they had wanted at some point. But it left me scrambling for a while because I was so specific with every single one. These stockings we opened Christmas morning as soon as we woke up and it was the cutest thing and it felt a little more like home because if we do anything we usually just do stockings.
After opening up each of our gifts we ran downstairs to the church where our squad exchanged gifts for our secret Santa. It was so fun and everyone pretty much did really good with finding out what each person likes or just knowing. It felt so intentional.
Today our team also chose to go watch Avatar in theatre’s because for some of us it’s a tradition to watch movies and it was just a fun way to celebrate Christmas together. It was a really long movie but it was worth it because it wasn’t that bad of a movie and we just got to spend time together.
Later that night we came back and did our white elephant gifts which were pretty funny and then we got ready and went to one of the church members houses for dinner. We had traditional dinner on banana leaves and even at the whole time with our hands which I can say is not my favorite way to eat things but it was still fun.
We finally ended the holiday season and celebrated new years. This one was big but not as big as Christmas. We had another service this time with a countdown to New Year’s Day and there were fireworks and everyone celebrated but not as much as Christmas. It was still fun though and I do have to say it’s was kinda weird being almost a full day ahead of family back home because it was like I was already in the new year and everyone was back in 2025 which was kind of a funky concept.
Overall, the holidays here on the Race have been a completely new and stretching season of learning how to celebrate exactly where you are, rather than wishing you were somewhere else or longing for how things used to be. It has been an ongoing invitation to release expectations of what holidays are “supposed” to look like and instead embrace what they look like right now – in a different country, surrounded by unfamiliar traditions, and with people who once were strangers but have now become family. Learning to be fully present has not always come naturally, especially when homesickness, comparison, or exhaustion try to creep in, but this season has gently taught me that presence itself is a gift.
Being present has meant choosing to engage even when things feel uncomfortable or different. It’s meant celebrating without everything being familiar, letting go of control, and allowing joy to look different than it has in past years. It has meant laughing at the chaos, finding beauty in simplicity, and recognizing that God is just as present in a crowded church halfway across the world as He is around a living room back home. The people God has placed around me in this season – my team, my squad, and the local community – have become such a tangible reminder of His faithfulness. They are the ones who have laughed with me, prayed with me, and sat with me in the quiet moments when emotions felt heavy.
Ultimately, the holidays on the Race have taught me that celebration isn’t about location, tradition, or timing – it’s about perspective. It’s about choosing gratitude over longing, presence over distraction, and trust over expectation. And in doing that, God has met me with an abundance of joy, comfort, and grace, making this season one I will carry with me long after the holidays are over.
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