When angels proclaimed the birth of Messiah they said, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” Peace on earth!!! How does it should look like in the reality of our world today?

For Hebrews peace is shalom, a holistic view of peace, it is more than absence of violence or war and people’s responsibility of cultivating culture of peace.
Christmas gives us an opportunity to create that culture of peace, harmony by breaking the walls of identical with prosperity. The time of Shalom is a gift from God but there is other side to it and its isolation and suspicion of “others”. In the West, Christmas comes in winter with large part witnesses’snow fall, with shorter days and longer nights. It’s when we rarely see our neighbors since most leave for work while still it’s dark and return when it’s dark.

This Christmas we decided to make Christmas cards and wrap two candles as gifts for our neighbors on our street. A Sunday before Christmas we went visiting 13 of our neighbors on our street, each one of them was surprised with joy by this small act, some even had tears in their eyes, since then we have noticed our neighbors are more open and the talk goes further than hola!!

Vanesa and I are leading a “transformation team” at YWAM Madrid. We have registered a NGO Asociación Cien por Cien Vida (Association Hundred Percent Life), the objective of this ministry is to serve the city. We want to develop models that will be implemented  in different parts of the city and through this association we have started various activities in our center. We have English classes for the primary school children, where 12 boys and girls from the neighborhood come. All of them are from the families who can’t afford private tuition classes and parents who don’t have any knowledge of English. There are children of immigrants and of parents who know that without good education their kids have very little chance to overcome the economic and social injustice. As a result a Moroccan father whose three kids come to our activities and English class, said, “I would love to help out with practical things at our association, please let me know if you need help”. Another Spanish father offered the same thing and would be helping us in some of our events.

What I want to point out here, through small acts of love, respect and care we are bringing people together. By opening our lives, small act of kindness and serving the felt needs of the people we are removing isolation and suspicion. When people come closer many wrong concepts about each other are removed. It removes the seed of “us” and “them” and sow the seed of “us”. We are acting on the message of Jesus Christ, “love your neighbor as yourself”. When he said that, HE knew it will create Peace on earth that angels had proclaimed.

We had also organized the first Christmas event for the neighborhood, around 120 adults and children came to have hot chocolate, cake and cookies, games and music. We also presented the dramatizations of Nativity story which was very much liked by the people. We desire to see “the Saucar neighborhood Christmas celebration” has established as a regular event where neighbors come together and lay foundation for safe tomorrow.
“You people are very good example of how different cultures can live in harmony together, and you should be more visible for the rest of the town” said a city councilor for culture, immigration and welfare when he attended Fall-Fest that we had organised for the children in our area on 31st of October.

It is our heart and desire to create the culture of peace here in our town that was proclaimed at the birth of Our Lord and Messiah.