Celebrating Christmas at Alameda Care Center
The International Student Ministry (ISM) paid another regular visit to the elderly in Alameda Care Center on Saturday, the 15th of December. However, the visit was anything but regular. First, we celebrated the Christmas holiday by singing three Christmas carols: "Silent Night," "Hark the Herald Angels Sing," and "Joy to the World!" Many of the elderly enjoyed the sound of Christmas with their eyes closed. Some of them even sang along with us. And their faces were beaming with joy. Then, we read, in both English and Cantonese, two passages from the Bible that talk about the coming of Jesus Christ. Following that, Hank delivered a special message explaining the true meaning of Christmas. To concretely and practically translate God’s love for them, we brought them Christmas presents—warm socks and mittens. They loved the gifts very much and held them close to their hearts.
As we went around and chatted with them individually, many of them expressed their gratitude to us. They commented that our presence was very special to them and hoped that we could come back more often. As I took pictures of our interactions with these elderly, I felt that we had gotten much closer to them after less than one year of monthly visits. Personally, these new relationships brought me so much unexpected joy and fulfillment. As I reflect on the fact that God calls us to look after orphans and widows, I realize that God truly knows how to bring us closer to true joy and fulfillment.