We started off the month of December sharing the story of the real reason we celebrate Christmas with about 150 people in the plaza of a village. We did this through a drama based on the gameshow, The Family Feud. The two families were the family from Bethlehem against the family from the North Pole. It was a great way to reach people in a non-threatening way.
Jerod and Alex had fun playing in the fake snow.
Annie and I dressed up and walked around the village inviting the kids to come and watch the play. I was Snow White and Annie was a happy clown. These kids have never been to Disney or any other park for that matter and they all wanted their picture taken with Snow White. It was fun being able to make them happy just by wearing a silly dress.
Annie has always made friends super easy here and truthfully she has become one of them.
Many of Jerod and Alex's friends may have a look that would put many Americans off, but these kids are mostly good kids trying to find their way in this world.
This is Angel. I had asked for prayer for him a while back because he had been bitten by a rattle snake. He is now doing well and waiting for reconstructive surgery. He was Rudolph the very famous reindeer from Hollywood.
The kids loved this play! There were 150 people in the audience watching it. It was a great night.
Afterward we took pictures of the kids with Santa and the rest of the cast. This was my favorite.
Then everyone gathered together and prayed for those who watched the play.
Since Annie wasn't able to see Santa here, my sister took her phone to the mall and sat on Santa's lap for her. Via FaceTime Annie was able to talk to Santa and tell him what she wanted. It was a great memory made!
Then as a special treat she took her to Chick-fil-a and let her imagine she was eating her sandwich. She even got to order herself. Can I say how much we love Chick-fil-a?
Christmas came and it was getting cold. Greg lit a fire to warm our house! ;o)
Annie was thrilled with what Santa brought her!
She liked what her brother got her too. Jerod gave her the Taylor Swift album.
We had a Christmas party with one of our church plants and I made them a typical Thanksgiving style dinner. They had never had Turkey before and loved it!
We had pinatas and played games and laughed a lot.
This is Victoria, she LOVED the turkey, corn and even the broccoli salad.
This is Vladi, he had his plate full and then it was completely clean. I am understanding what it means to eat what is put in front of you. It does something for the people who prepare the meal.
We played a white elephant game and I ended up with a piece of sugar cane, which is the same as candy to many kids here.
We then sang Happy Birthday to Jesus.
It was a great time of worship and fellowship! Please continue to pray for our friends here. We have seen a lot of spiritual growth among our people here. However, many continue to struggle with family issues and that can be very hard on their walk with God. Thanks for praying!
