I have been blessed to be able to go stateside again and be with my family for Christmas and then in Denver with friends for New Years!
So I am currently writing you not as far away, but before the year ended I wanted to share all of the beautiful Christmas celebrations we had before I left! As gifts this year we, as a team, made sugar cookies for everyone and then went house to house and passed them out to all of the families we know. It was a fun time together as a team listening to Christmas music and cranking out cookies like a factory!
Then for our women’s class we had a secret friend gift exchange and to reveal the gift we described the person we had. It was fun to hear how everyone was described, starting with the obvious – “young”…”Nicaraguan”…”Gringa” 🙂 – to more personal like their family, interests they have, or things they like. It was another sweet time to celebrate Christmas among friends and enjoy the friendships that had been developed over the last year. I received a shirt, but my favorite part was a letter thanking God for our friendship and the blessing it is to be able to live life together.
My heart was full.
The last few days leading up to me leaving though were the parties I had been waiting for! Ernestina had the idea of throwing a Christmas party for the kids for each day they come to the feeding program. So, there are 3 different groups of kids meaning 3 different Christmas parties that we wanted to be super special! She wanted to cook a special meal and had the idea of giving them new clothes as their gift. Getting a new outfit for Christmas Day is a big tradition in Nicaragua so our prayers were that this would help the families with those gifts.
Then we had a pinata for each group and a little craft.
It brought me so much joy to watch Ernestina pass out those clothes and to see her so excited to give them to the kids. Then to have those couple of extra hours with those kids just enjoying the holidays, laughing and eating together, and watching them enjoy it all so much…it was such a sweet time and a treasure of a memory that is forever imprinted on my heart.
I can’t say it enough, though…for those of you who support me, this was possible because of your generosity! You brought joy to these kid’s lives. Alan, Lupe, Isamar, Kenner and so many more had a yummy lunch with their friends. They laughed while breaking a pinata and carefully made beautiful crafts to decorate their homes. You helped us celebrate Christmas together and share the love of Christ to so many kids. Their smiles were priceless and the enjoyment was so special. So thank you for continuing on with me and for providing a beautiful Christmas celebration for so many people. I continue to thank God for allowing me to be apart of all of this.
I am truly blessed.
I pray that each of you have an absolutely wonderful Christmas with your friends and families, that you are blessed with equally treasured memories and that you experience the joy of the Lord like these sweet children. : )
Until next time…
God bless! Merry Christmas! Happy New Year!
And, always, much love!
