Waving at the Wise Men and taking a selfie with Mary and Joseph will be possible this Christmas thanks to the hard work of church volunteers.

Each year Winkler Evangelical Mennonite Mission Church (Winkler EMMC) hosts an event called From Everywhere to Bethlehem, but for the second year in a row, the event will not be possible. Instead of missing out on the chance to share the story of Jesus' birth, they came up with a modified plan by looking at what many others were already doing in Winkler: a nativity scene. 

"Christmas has always been special to me," John Wiebe, pastor of discipleship, says. "Pondering the whole concept of Emmanual with God, God with us, I think it is just a phenomenal opportunity for people to be reminded what it took for God to add humanity to His deity."

Eager Winkler EMMC members have built a life-size nativity by hand for their "slice" of Bethlehem.  The pastors enlisted the church's help creating each large piece, including the life-size people, sheep, and backgrounds. The shelters were made the year before but did not get displayed.

Some not-so-sly footprints in the snow leading up to the life-size nativity are evidence that their community is craving to interact with the brand-new installation.

"We did not want this nativity scene to be the kind of nativity scene that you put up and away so people can see it but not interact with it. Our goal is to have people get up close with it," Lead Pastor Dale Dueck says.

As they were setting it up, people were stopping and slowing down, craning their necks to take a look.

"People were even asking for the opportunity to come in and take selfies in the scene," Wiebe laughs.

On Sunday, most people will see the handmade pieces for the first time.

To celebrate the season and give thanks to God for Jesus' birth, a Sunday evening drive-through event will be hosted, complete with hot chocolate. The men are unsure of how many people will come to visit them but they are certain their visitors will have a good time.

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