It’s been more than 12 years since we’ve had Christmas as a holiday at Kwai River Christian Hospital. This year we are turning back the clock, and most of our staff will have the time off on Christmas day to remember and celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ with their churches and families.
This year’s sweet December kicked off on the 30th of November with a huge crowd in the hospital front lawn and parking lot.
A beautifully decorated tinselly and aluminum foil on bamboo lattice backdrop graced the stage for the narrated Christmas pageant – sort of the prodigal son meets the Christ child to find the meaning of Christmas. Along the way, the prodigal and his friends were partying it up with our young nurses who were quite enjoying being bargirls for the night. Fittingly perhaps, our antenatal nurse played the part of Mary, silently and calmly cradling the CPR mannequin baby Jesus through the night, without having to resort to chest thrusts or back blows despite the shepherd-nurses bearing IV poles as crooks.
The KRCH choir and a several vocal groups from the hospital, the Gethsemane Bible Institute and Saha Christian School gave lovely performances. Ajarn Surachai gave a warm welcome to our village neighbors and Ajarn Somsak gave a prayer of blessing to start the evening. Apart from the pageant, the other big draw for the crowd (to stay to the end) were the raffle ticket prizes for which you had to be present when your number was called – these included a shiny red bicycle with a pillion seat, a standing electric fan, and a hot water dispenser.
May Ajarn Mark’s message ring strong and true through our village neighborhood and to the ends of the earth! John 3:16-17 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” The true meaning of Christmas is the celebration of this incredible act of love. May your Christmas be most richly blessed as well!
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[…] – a former director here and still a very active supporter. Here’s a link to our Sweet December Christmas outreach event and other posts about the […]