The Truth About Being a Missionary at Christmas

Deb Wyss • Dec 12, 2016

I love Christmas. My mama always called me her “Christmas girl.”

When I was growing up there was nothing like waking up at Grandma’s house on Christmas morning. The Christmas tree twinkling in the early morning hours, holiday smells wafting from the kitchen, stockings filled with treasures. Listening to my dad read the Christmas story from the Bible and thinking about Mary giving birth in the stable to Baby Jesus warmed every inch of my soul. Even crawling half asleep into a freezing cold car to go home felt like a magical part of the whole experience to me.

Yes, my mama was right. I am definitely a Christmas girl.

I’ve spent seven Christmases on the other side of the world. For the most part, they were beautifully simple, meaningful days mixed in with a whole lot of loneliness.

And I guess that’s the first thing to get out of the way when we’re talking about Christmas on the mission field.

It’s lonely.

Loneliness is an issue most missionaries face almost daily. But on Christmas, it just hurts more. And, to be totally honest, it’s just part of the deal. When we left family and friends, comforts, and our favorite snacks, Christmas — as we knew it — was gone forever, too.

Most missionaries wouldn’t trade it. In our minds and deep down in our hearts, we know that. We’re compelled by His love to be exactly where we are. And we want to be. I mean, we get to celebrate the incarnation of Christ every single day by speaking the good news of a baby born to change everything. How’s that for year-round Christmas joy?

But that doesn’t mean we don’t have moments when we yearn to be surrounded by buttery Christmas cookies and crackling fires and hot chocolate.

When I was overseas, I missed everything. I missed the lights, the music, even the feeling you get when you walk into church for the Christmas service with everyone dressed in red and smiling, while someone is playing familiar carols on the piano.

The traditions we left behind, no matter how non-essential, are genuine losses as well. Just like giving up indoor heat or your heart language or your mom and dad.

It’s a real sacrifice. It’s a genuine cost.

So, missionary, take it as a loss. Accept it. And then embrace it.

My first four Christmases overseas were spent as a single person. An extrovert at heart, being alone was not going to cut it. Without family nearby, I had to get me some fill-ins. (Just kidding. But not really.)

I invited neighbors and friends and anyone around to come for Christmas brunch and Christmas games and the Christmas story. It was a reminder and a picture of Christ calling all from the highways and byways to His feast.

Sharing Christmas with the peolpe

Inviting friends and neighbors to celebrate Christmas with me brought new joy to old traditions. Photo courtesy of Deb Wyss


I got to share some of my favorite traditions and watch friends’ joy unfold as they discovered for the first time the things I had loved for so long: neighbors trying to unwrap presents while wearing bulky mittens. Howling with laughter as a teacher tried to act out “yak” in a game of charades. Watching guests spend over an hour decorating the perfect Christmas cookie. Experiencing old traditions in new ways brought a different kind of joy.

The forced simplicity of Christmas overseas made everything that much more meaningful for me. I will always remember the years of worshiping Jesus together on Christmas with just a handful of people, who represented multiple countries. What a foretaste of glory divine!

Making new traditions became a special and helpful way for me to bring new joy and significance to the holiday season. Here are a few ideas for you:

1. Get yourself your very own “Charlie Brown Christmas tree.”

One year, it was as simple as a plant from the local market for us. I began to add my own homemade ornaments year after year to commemorate special events that happened during the year. This was pure bliss to my sentimental core and satisfied my constant desire to record and analyze the happenings of my journey.

missionary christmas tree

My Charlie Brown Christmas tree. Photo courtesy of Deb Wyss


It was a reflective and praise-giving activity to thank God for His sovereignty in it all. By the way, I am not crafty. I cut out photographs, made holes with pens and tied thread to each one.

2. Make a Christmas countdown paper chain.

I made mine with a different name for Christ quoted in the Bible for each day of Advent.

3. Make new food traditions.

Not having the traditional Christmas foods can be a big let down. We started new traditions in the area of food.

We had a Christmas Eve “snack meal” by making fun, special foods that are familiar but could be made from local ingredients. We made meatballs and homemade “nachos” and splurged on dried fruits and nuts we didn’t normally have during the year.

4. Make giving presents into something a bit different.

Set a very small dollar amount with your family or other foreign friends, and see how far you can stretch it. One of my favorite presents from my husband was a roasted duck and grapes.

5. Have a special activity you reserve for the holiday season.

For us, we put together a jigsaw puzzle each Christmas. This took some forethought, as I purchased a few of them when we were on home assignments to have them ready for Christmas.

6. Do something out of the ordinary.

We chose to blast the heaters. After being so cold for so long, we chose to ignore the cultural norms and the bill and be warm!

7. Celebrate the “family” God provides for you overseas.

Gather together and just be. Play games, laugh, talk about your family traditions at home. Celebrate God’s wisdom in having you born in the exact place He preordained, just as He sent Jesus to be born in a manger.

Wishing you joy in Christ during this Christmas season!

By Suzanne Pearson 08 Mar, 2024
Through God-ordained partnerships and creative connections, TEAM worker Keith Moore sees the global Church advancing in amazing ways. In the global missions landscape, a phrase that comes up often is “from everywhere, to everywhere.” God is calling His global Church in literal new directions, as He raises up cross-cultural workers to be sent from places that were once on the receiving end of missions work. We call this movement “polycentric sending.” TEAM workers Dawn and Keith Moore have seen first-hand this transition taking place. Their story involves the unlikely but beautiful intersection of Charlotte, North Carolina; Tegucigalpa, Honduras; and Memphis, Tennessee...and beyond. The Path to Honduras Keith and Dawn joined TEAM in 1991 and served as church planters for nine years in Bogota, Colombia. After safety concerns precipitated their return to the States in 1999, they knew they wanted to continue serving in Latin America. The Moores felt called to Honduras but wanted to connect with a strong missional church to help send them. The Lord orchestrated a collaboration with Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee. “Some people asked, ‘Why Honduras? Missionaries have been there for 100 years. It’s already reached,’” Keith says. “But there’s a whole section of Latin America that had not been reached - the upper crust.” Keith goes on to explain that he and Dawn felt called to reach college-educated professionals in Honduras – a ministry vision that resonated with the missional goals of Bellevue Baptist. Impact and Growth With the support of this new church partnership as well as another sending church in Birmingham, Alabama, the Moores embarked on their next adventure. Keith and Dawn started Impacto Honduras Church from scratch, and in less than 20 years, the church grew into four locations with 1600 total members. The Moores and other TEAM workers also created a “Bible school” type training program to help professionals who feel a call to ministry to make that transition. Throughout this period of explosive growth, church partnerships played an integral role. “It’s such a different vision when you have a church that says, ‘OK, this is our deal, we want to make this happen,’” Keith explains. “They helped us with everything. They took away every single obstacle to growth. Every time we needed something, they were there.” In 2017, the Moores once again found themselves on the verge of another decision. Was it time to leave Honduras? “I had no desire to leave,” Keith recalls. “People were coming to Christ every week! It was just so amazing.” However, back in the U.S., Keith and Dawn’s parents were in their 80s and would soon be in need of more care. “We realized that either we would leave in a crisis, or we would leave strategically,” says Keith. The couple began to implement a careful succession plan. By the time they left, the four churches were established with strong, Honduran leadership ready to carry on the work of the Gospel.
By Suzanne Pearson 23 Feb, 2024
Justin Burkholder, pictured here with his wife Jenny and their daughters Isabella, Olivia, and Zoey, has recently been named as TEAM’s next International Director. On February 19, 2024, with much excitement and gratitude to the Lord, TEAM announced that Justin Burkholder will become our organization’s new International Director, effective July 1, 2024. Justin, who is currently TEAM’s Executive Director of Global Ministry, will assume his new role upon the retirement of the current International Director, Dave Hall. ( Read the full press release here. ) We sat down recently with Justin to learn a little more about his background, his family, and the journey that has led him to TEAM. Q: Tell us a little bit about your “origin story” - Where did you grow up? What was your family like? A: I grew up in Mexico City as a missionary kid. My parents were focused on church planting. We were very close as a family. Both of my parents are still alive, and my dad serves as a pastor in southern Florida. I have one brother who is a pastor in Wisconsin, and the most special individual in my family is my sister, Amber. She was born with a very severe case of cerebral palsy and is entirely dependent on my mother...who is extraordinary! The three most impactful forces that have shaped who I am (outside of God’s grace) are growing up in Mexico, having parents who loved and planted churches, and sharing life with someone with a severe disability. My parents belonged at the time to a church and denomination that came with quite a bit of legalism and performance-oriented Christianity. Grace was a challenging concept to grasp. While I had an awareness of my sin and need for redemption, it wasn’t until I attended Moody Bible Institute that I began to grasp the fullness of God’s grace and His delight in His children. I have continued learning and trusting in the Gospel through formal education, like completing my M.Div., and through spiritual practices in community. Learning the Gospel and believing the Gospel has been a daily exercise. The Gospel is as beautiful and multi-faceted as a diamond! At an individual level, it is simple enough for us to live convinced that “Jesus loves me, this I know.” At a corporate level, it becomes the foundation that forms and informs our life as a spiritual family. At a cosmic level, it is redemption that reaches as far as the curse is found. It is hard to even grasp the multiplicity of goodness found in the Good News. Q: Share a little bit about your family life now. What does a typical day look like in the Burkholder household? A: My wife Jenny is my high-school sweetheart! She brings joy and kindness wherever she goes. She’s the best listener I’ve ever met, and we love spending time together. We have three daughters. Isabella is ten, Olivia is seven, and Zoey is four. Each of the girls is unique and has taught us a lot in our process of following Jesus together. We like to go out on walks and go to the park together. Once a month I try to get some alone time with each of my daughters which usually includes bowling or trampolines. A typical day in the Burkholder house starts around 5:00am. Because of traffic here in Guatemala City, we have to leave early for school. After school, the girls come home to different activities - sometimes swimming class, sometimes piano lessons. Four or five nights a week we have dinner together where we usually talk about our high and low moments of the day. On weekends, we enjoy time together, playing outside, or watching sports together. Go Cubs and Go Buckeyes! Q: What are your interests and hobbies? If you have the day off, what are you likely to be up to? A: I enjoy physical activity, running, strength-training and following sports. I also love music and, truth be told, am a bit snobby about my taste in music! I also am a very curious person and love reading just about anything that passes through my hands. A day off is usually an opportunity for time with family. Jenny and I like to cook something interesting together on our days off. Often there is time for some reading and watching some type of athletic event. Q: How did God lead you to TEAM? A: My wife and I were working in the Chicago suburbs. I was a youth pastor and she was a Spanish teacher. When we got married, we had already sensed God’s direction to serve cross-culturally, but it was a matter of discerning when and where. There was a driving desire in me to see a church deeply love the Scriptures and at the same time, be deeply engaged in loving and serving their city and the most vulnerable among them. As God directed our paths, we visited a variety of places and made some friends in Guatemala who opened up the path for us to serve here. While we were exploring, we knew that the International Director of an organization called TEAM happened to go to our church, so I decided I should probably invite him out for breakfast - his name was Charlie Davis. Charlie was extremely thoughtful, passionate about disciple-making, and very gracious in creating space for us as we stepped into this endeavor. Charlie connected me with Steve Dresselhaus, a fellow TEAM global worker who was at that time serving as the Senior Director for the Americas. I cannot express the debt that I owe Steve. He walked closely with me in the transition, encouraged courageous thinking about the church and her role in society, and blasted open the doors for us to serve in Guatemala. After meeting Steve, we spent some days praying about joining TEAM. One thing I will never forget – one night during the process, I found myself wide awake in the middle of the night. A peace like I have seldom experienced passed over me confirming that we should join TEAM. There is no doubt in my mind that God tied all of these pieces together to bring us into the TEAM family and community. Q: What roles have you held in TEAM? What have been the milestones in those roles? A: The most important role I have held in TEAM is that of a global worker. God in His grace has allowed us to help plant two churches here in Guatemala, serve in leadership development, counseling, and discipleship. Our greatest joy has been found walking with those who are learning to follow Christ more deeply. I served as the Ministry Area Leader in Guatemala from 2016 to 2019. We helped to establish and lead this ministry area as it grew from just four global workers to over 15. I then served as Senior Director for Mexico and Central America from 2019 to 2021, Regional Executive Director for the Americas in 2021 and 2022, and then transitioned to the role of Executive Director of Global Ministry which I’ll continue in until the end of June. Q: What do you love most about being a part of TEAM? Why TEAM rather than other organizations or job opportunities? A: The TEAM community is full of people who have faithfully served God’s mission and have given up a lot to do so. It is a privilege to know many of our global workers and be counted among them. I am also fascinated by the fact that TEAM has existed now for more than 130 years! There is something to be said about the resilience and faithfulness of an organization that has continued to impact the world for so long. The rest of our conversation with Justin will be coming soon on blog! We’ll hear more about how God called Justin to the role of International Director, and what Justin sees for the next chapter in TEAM’s work in the global Church.
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