This Christmas 2002 in Zimbabwe there is no fuel, no sugar, no cooking oil, no salt, no sugar, no milk, no bread, no meat, etc, etc, etc.  It reminds us of the Infant Jesus who had no bed, no pillow, no sheets and blankets, no electricity, no running water, no proper place to be born.  Our Savior started his life in a stable amid the animals and laid his head on straw in a manger.  Humble shepherds were the first to celebrate his birth.  He soon became a refugee in Egypt.  We feel very close to this Jesus as we share in a small way the suffering that afflicts 11 million Zimbabweans and millions more around the world.  We give thanks to friends and neighbors who share with us the little that they are able to obtain.  Yesterday a friend brought us several precious packets of milk and another brought us 10 liters of petrol that he managed to buy from the station where he works.  In the face of severe shortages, such generosity is truly heroic.