Greetings, y'all...I hope that the recent holiday season was blessed and beautiful for you! Christmas and New Years were already a few weeks ago, but I do want to share a bit about the celebrations here...and since there's still plenty of snow in MN, I'm sure a holiday re-cap for you all up north will feel a little less overdue than it feels here.
Well, in my last blog I mentioned our "Cena Navidena" for all of the kids in my house...and wow, that night was SO special. A fellow volunteer and I made more cake than I've ever seen in my life (each of the kids got 'triple' dessert that night! It had to be Christmas!), and we all ate pinchos (kabobs), rice, and of course fried beans outside beneath the stars and amidst all of the lights from the tree, decorations, and lit candles on the tables...comple
tely and utterly beautiful. And, to close out the night, each Tio gave a blessing for the sacred celebration for the kids, as well as a reminder to SE PORTEN BIEN (behave well!)...these employees knew all-too-well the chaos that would ensue upon their exit to vacation time...haha....
Once the employees left for their 2-week stretch of holiday time, the madness truly did begin...lots of activities, late-night movie-watching, 'bajando los colchones' (putting all of the kids' mattresses on the floor to sleep all together in the dorm!), plenty of junk food, and of course a slackage of the rules and more 'tranquilo' discipline for the kids by the high school and college students in charge of everything. It was completely crazy and exhausting, but I really loved it. Sharing the special moments made me, as well as the rest of the volunteers, feel even more bonded to my kids, and I discov
ered my new love for 'turno' over-night stay with my kids. I did it for my first time and loved the snuggling with my kids for the night, so I volunteered it 2 more times...and have done it another time since the employees returned...and plan to continue volunteering my nights at the baby house. No, I don't get much sleep, but I love feeling even more like a mom...I thought my maternal longings would be put on hold while here and surrounded by SO many kids, but I was wrong...haha!Well, on Christmas Eve night I definitely felt like a mom...we had a late night with the kids which involved a Pastorela (Nativity skit...very beautiful!), the tradition CentroAmerican Christmas meal of tamales, and activities
in the courts outside. By the time we got the kids to sleep, it was already late, but the volunteers' night of preparing and placing gifts out for the morning had just begun. We put out all of their individual little bags of candy and little toys, the gingerbread houses for both sides of the house, the big toys for everyone, the picture collage of all of the kids, and the special illustrated Bible for everyone....and then we finally went to sleep. A couple of hours later, I just HAD to wake up before the kids to watch them open everything...so fun! And surprisingly more calm th
an I had anticipated...it was a Christmas miracle...haha.:)New Years also was full of activity...a great dinner outside, a late-night dance, fireworks, and plenty of chocolate and candy. I worked 'turno' that night and was loving spending my new year with so many kids...it's never been my favorite holiday, so I enjoyed it with all the little cuties.:)
Overall, I thought I'd feel more homesick over the holidays than I really did...I think knowing that Minnesota was cold and snowy and that I was pri
vileged enough to miss out one at least one MN winter in my lifetime made things a lot easier.:) I missed my family a lot when I talked to them on Christmas, and I did feel nostalgic after the holiday when my roommate and I prepared a very American breakfast together and listened to Christmas tunes and talked over candlelight...ahhhh. That definitely was a tradition I missed here...Christmas carols...they don't really sing them here, and when I went to my church for its annual Christmas dinner/program, I was shocked that the church didn't sing all of the traditional hymns we do, just translated into spanish...haha. But everything was still beautiful. And living with Germans made the festivities more fun, too....they really know how to 'do up' Christmas!
So that's that for my Christmas re-cap. It truly was a 'magical' time here...full of Christ's joy, love, peace, and beauty...and I will never forget the experience. I was reminded that God calls us to 'come unto Him as little children'...and I was thankly to experience the significance of that this Christmas.
