TheColumbia Valley - Columbia Valley Pioneer

December 22, 2006
Looks like Christmas
By Lisa M. Rohrick
Special to Th e Pioneer
Th is morning I was at the market
stocking up on fresh fruits and vegetables.
As I was deciding how many carrots
I needed, I was distracted by the
ring of a nearby cell phone. Its song was
a poor quality, synthetic version of “We
Wish You a Merry Christmas”! I smiled
as I looked over at a sharply dressed man
in an African robe answering his phone.
I’m sure the song meant nothing at all
to him, other than it possibly being a
melody he likes. But it brought a lot of
thoughts rushing into my head.
I carried on through the market realizing
that Christmas is only a few days
away. I saw no evidence of Christmas
in the hustle and bustle of the market.
I live in a country where Christmas isn’t
celebrated. Yes, it is a national holiday,
but I’m pretty sure that’s just a leftover
from the days when Niger was a colony
of France.
Th is will be my seventh Christmas
in Africa. Celebrating without all
the trappings of Christmas is growing
on me. No turkey. No decorated shopping
malls featuring visits with Santa
(no shopping malls at all for that matter,
with or without decorations!). No
snow. No Christmas lights. No Christmas
banquets. No manger scene at the
local church. will be Christmas Day.”
I was going to say that there is noth-
The Columbia Valley Pioneer • 29
PIONEER CLASSIFIEDS
MISC. FOR SALE
Support Rockies Hockey - Firewood:
pine, mixed, and birch.
342-6908.
Premium Christmas trees to
your door, $25 to $35. Call to
confi rm size and delivery date.
Deliveries until December 23.
Call Dale at 342-3569.
White refrigerator w/bottom
freezer, 3 years old, excellent
condition, $500; beer fridge,
$100; two electric ranges, white,
$200 & $100; newer oak dining
room table and six chairs, $500.
342-0665, pjpank@telus.net.
CAREERS
We are looking for lumber yard
and store staff who are energetic,
ing here that is the least bit Christmaslike.
But I had to delete that line. Because
there’s a lot here that I’m sure was
like the fi rst Christmas 2000 years ago.
Last week I was visiting in a rural
village. Women coming from the well,
balancing buckets of water on their
heads (and rarely spilling a drop). Men
taking a break from repairing their mud
brick walls to share a pot of strong,
sweet tea. Girls pounding millet into
fl our with which to prepare the evening
meal. Babies crying. Little boys running
around with cars made from sticks.
Sheep and goats lazed in the shade
of a big tree. Chickens strutted across
sandy paths between huts. A donkey
brayed. If we were to add a bunch of
visitors coming for a census, I think the
village would closely resemble the scene
in Bethlehem that fi rst Christmas.
As I sat enjoying my friends’ company,
a young woman with a newborn
baby on her back came over to join us.
She sat down beside me and handed me
the wee tyke, wrapped in a thin cotton
cloth. Is that what the old King
James Version of the Bible meant by the
“swaddling clothes” in which the virgin
Mary wrapped the infant Jesus?
I held that precious little one in my
arms, swishing fl ies away from his face.
Yes, that tiny child was nice and clean,
but the same sure couldn’t be said for
the older children running by. Th ere
outgoing, self-motivated, fast
learners and work well with
others. Bring resume to Ace
Hardware.
Employment opportunity for
male or female to apprentice
Sales Associates
Full-time & Part-time
Please call Cathy at 342-7359
or stop by the store
was sand and dirt and squalor and poverty.
Soon enough that little baby will
be playing in the same sand where sheep
and goats relieve themselves. Soon
enough his little tummy will be losing
battles to worms and infections.
Jesus was born into similar poverty.
He was God himself, and he left a home
so beautiful that we can’t even imagine
it. And he was born in a stable into a
poor family. Why did he do it? To show
us how to live a life that pleases God,
Kootenay
Savings
Kootenay Savings, the
region’s leading credit
union with 13 branches
in the West and East
Kootenays, $597
million in assets and
more than 39,000
members, is seeking a
qualifi ed and fl exible
candidate to provide
part-time coverage as
a service representative
in our Invermere/
Edgewater Branches.
Resumes
By January 5, 2007
Paul Kendall
Branch Manager
PO Box 2580
1028 7th Avenue
Invermere BC V0A 1K0
Fax 250 342 6963
paul.kendall@kscu.com
stone mason. $13-18/hr
depending on learning curve
and experience. 342-5845.
SERVICES
Residential/Vacation
Properties
Maintenance & Repairs
Dependable - Fully Insured
JIM ROBERTSON
Windermere
342-9022
Simes Painting: interior
and exterior, woodwork
fi nished, stain, laquering, and
clearcoating. Valley resident, call
Barry 342-0572, Windermere.
THANK YOU
Dear Santa, Thank you so much
for your wonderful Christmas
present you left us in our post
offi ce box. You made our Christmas.
We love you Santa. Love
Dave, Kath, Jenn & Sarah
FOUND
Black male neutered cat found,
white spots on front paws, very
friendly. Phone 347-9093.
because none of us can do it on our
own. And to make the way available for
us to get to God, because none of us
can get there on our own. Th at’s what
Christmas is all about.
And that’s why I’m in Niger, to share
the good news of God’s Christmas gift
to the world. And as I look around me
on the dusty streets and hear a donkey
braying next door, I have to conclude
that it really is looking “a lot like Christmas”
around here!
Part-Time Service Representatives
Invermere/Edgewater Branches
At Kootenay Savings, we pride ourselves on building successful
relationships with our members - success that results from our employees’
genuine interest in helping people to meet their fi nancial needs and goals.
We have the same genuine interest in providing our employees with
opportunities to grow and develop in meaningful careers.
We currently have an opportunity to hire a part-time service representative
to work in our Invermere/Edgewater Branches.
If you are a team-oriented individual interested in growing with an
organization where you can demonstrate your talent for building strong
member relationships, we’d like to hear from you!
Your qualifi cations will include:
• Successful completion of Grade 12
• A strong commitment to continued learning & education
• Superior sales and service skills gained through training and
experience in a sales environment
• Eff ective communication and interpersonal skills
• Keyboarding and computer skills
• Cash handling experience
• Ability to work varied hours, sometimes on short notice
For more information on Kootenay Savings, check out www.kscu.com
EVENTS
Spread the word! All DTSS grads
of 1997, it’s time to plan our
10 year reunion. Please e-mail
your contact information to
dtssgrad97@hotmail.com.
CLASSIFIED DEADLINE:
Tuesdays at noon
Phone: 341-6299
Fax: 341-6229
Email:
info@columbiavalleypioneer.com
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prepaid by cash or cheque.