My wonderful teammate, Averi, wrote a special rendition of this classic Christmas poem (and you can find the original post over on her blog site)! I know you’ll enjoy it.
Merry Christmas!
‘Twas the Night Before Christmas
from a World Racers point of view
‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the world;
Not a racer was stirring in their sleeping bags curled.
We found ourselves a tree, only 3 feet high;
In hopes that our Christmas won’t make us cry.
Our families are nestled all snug in their beds;
While visions of past comforts run through our heads.
Our surrender cost much but we won’t be at loss;
For our God saw us first, and He payed the cost.
Suddenly, outside, we hear a loud scream;
I wonder who that could be on our team?
We spring from our mat to see what’s wrong;
Oh, its only RJ playing a song.
He worships to God with no doubt in his mind;
That Christmas is more than just passing the time.
But then to my wondering eyes did appear;
Meg has an animal, am I seeing this clear?
A little tiny kitten so lively and cute;
She hands her to me, says this is for you.
How precious this Christmas, no matter how far;
We love, we pray, we serve, and we care.
Now Maria! Now Jon! Now Lauren, now Amy!
On Kelsey! On Kayla! On Rachel and Emily!
To the kitchen to make a delicious surprise;
But here in Bolivia remember, be wise.
You never will know the things you may see;
After enjoying a meal in South America with me.
So as we get ready for January, yes a new year;
We’ll say hasta lavista to the friends we made here.
And all the way to Asia the world racers will fly;
A long travel day ahead, we’ll try not to cry.
As I look around, my teammates are near;
Kayla’s brilliant smile spreads joy and cheer.
Maria and I laugh as we quote princess bride;
I know that these friends will stay by my side.
An impersonation of Gollum by none other than Zach;
Always makes me laugh, and takes me right back,
To the reality which is that no matter where;
Lauren will always have snacks to share.
Our joy-how it spreads! Our smiles, so bright!
The love that we have, we’ll share it alright!
11 in total, countries to bless;
But don’t get ahead, we haven’t left yet.
We have a new family for this holiday;
Don’t worry about us, we’ll be okay.
It’s the night before Christmas, and my teammates are blessed;
Matthew recites a poem and as you might have guessed,
He doesn’t skip a beat, he spreads Christmas cheer.
I am so thankful to feel so loved here.
So don’t feel sad that we aren’t in our beds;
We have each other to rest our heads.
And although we are far from our families tonight;
We’re in the right place, to the world we are light.
We have more than we need to experience delight;
So Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night.
How beautiful!!!!
Please tell Avery that this was such a beautiful and touching poem, so well-written, and pointing us to how wonderful God’s sovereignty and guidance is!