The joyous Swahili Christmas chorus declaring that Jesus is born rings to the rafters of the tin-roofed sanctuary decked with bright tinsel, streamers, and balloons. Children's enthusiastic voices lead the worship in the traditional holiday service at Emmanuel Full Gospel Church.

Children Lead the Celebration

During Christmas in Dzaleka Refugee Camp, the churches ask the children to lead the preaching and singing to remember the most significant child in history.

In recognizing that when he came as a child, Jesus came to serve the world, they teach their children how to both serve and celebrate.

In the words of children's pastor Dieu Merci,

"We celebrate by having the children of the Sunday school take over everything in the church service. We adults watch everything our children do and celebrate with them. After the church service, we have a children's party with food and Coca-Cola."

Mama Grace says this part of her family's Christmas traditions brings her joy.

"I am always happy seeing my children participating in God's work. During Christmas, we also have a family discussion at home or when we go out to celebrate with others about the love of God reflected in the birth of Jesus. This teaches us how much God loves us by giving his own child to come and save us! We read Bible verses about love to sharpen the spirit of love within us."

Serving Others at Christmas

In one of the most challenging places to survive, my friends continue to live out that love with hope and generosity. At Christmas time, Mama Grace and her community express this by giving sacrificially and caring for others.

As the leader of Tazama, a trauma healing group in the camp, Mama Grace spends the week before Christmas with her ministry team, visiting hospitals and shut-ins, praying for those who suffer, encouraging them with words of blessing, and sharing half kilograms of sugar and rice as gifts to those who have even less than themselves.

The Christmas Spirit Shines

The spirit of Christmas shines brightly through the words of my friend Precious:

"Above all the activities, we recognize that Jesus came to serve the world, so we commemorate his life and death [when we celebrate Christmas.]"

Immanuel Lives In Dzaleka

When I last visited these friends in Dzaleka, they asked our IAFR team to pray with them for sustainable solutions. My heart felt the weight of the request and the sense of painful waiting that accompanied it. I can feel that the strain of toxic uncertainty in the camp is getting harder to bear.

As we approach Advent with its posture of waiting on Jesus to break through the darkness, we wait and pray with them, trusting that Immanuel has not forgotten them as they celebrate God's love and faithfully serve Jesus.

They are not alone. Jesus is present with them, and so we do what we can to demonstrate this through our presence, prayers, and help.

-Story by April Palmbos with Rachael Lofgren

Relationship is key to everything we do.

As a partner who supports IAFR missionaries like April, you make it possible for us to provide friendship and vital ministry assistance to refugees through refugee church communities. You are breaking the isolation of refugees in Dzaleka and around the globe, assuring them that they are not forgotten.

Jesus is the Reason

When God decided to rescue the world, God did so by becoming human and living among us. That's what we celebrate at Christmas.

As the Body of Christ, we are called to be a tangible expression of God With Us in the world today. That's why relationship is core to everything we do as we pursue our mission. And that is why our IAFR teammates are our most valuable asset.

Thank you for making a life-giving difference in the lives of refugees!

You are making a life-giving difference in the lives of refugees through your support of our missionaries! We can't show up without you!

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Thank you for helping people survive and recover from forced displacement!