Merry Christmas!

Today is Christmas! I love this day, but in some ways it’s very hard for me. It’s hard because we have 12 boys living in our home and we work with another 25 kids in the community and 4 workers who live in the house. It’s hard to bring things for all of them and it’s difficult to decide where to draw the line for presents. That is why I packed so much stuff. At first I was going to figure out gifts for the kids while I was in the states, but in the end I just brought as much stuff as I could and figured the leaders here would know better how to handle things.

I decide it’s best to wake up with our kids in the morning and we invite a few of the community kids who are here almost daily. Then after our meal this afternoon, I will give all the kids a cup with candy and in the cup the community kids will get a small gift.

I wake up a 6:00am, brush my teeth and head out the door. I wake the sleeping leaders and go see where all the kids are. I can’t figure out why people are frantically showering and getting water… I just keep thinking, “What part of wake up, brush your teeth and open presents don’t they get?” But I’m not sure if we communicated this to the kids or not. I notice the kids are pulling buckets of water from the well rather than using the tap, so I go look. The well is almost empty! They are all rushing to take showers before the water is gone.

By 7:00 everyone is sitting on the porch. Nunu and I have talked through all that needs to be said about the presents. Everything from how careful the kids need to be with electronics, to how many people felt touched by God to give, and (with one child in mind) we explain that if anyone tries to sell any part of these gifts they might not receive one next time.

We hand out the gifts. All the kids get candy, water bottles, all in one utensil (spoon/fork/knife combo), stickers , and 2 pairs of underwear. The older kids get mp3 players (I found them on sale for $10 - $12 each). The younger kids get watches (they loved mine the last time I was here), crayons and CD’s.

Juma P showing his water bottle some love!

Amido

Latino & I

Osvaldo

Pedro checking the time on his watch.

The kids rip into their gifts and they are so happy. I know that they will like the electronics but it’s fun to see how much they love the water bottle, utensil and the underwear. I try to let them celebrate, but there is more!

There are also a bunch of gifts for the Center. They get 3 remote controlled cars, 2 remote controlled helicopters, a portable DVD player, DVD’s, Twister game, Shoots & Ladders game and hair clippers. I’m not even sure if they notice anything besides the remote controlled cars and helicopters. The place is instant smiles!

Juma has been telling Nunu all year
that he loves helicopters.

I spend most of Christmas day recharging batteries and uploading music on mp3 players. You should see the kids eyes when I tell them I am putting 500 songs on their players! It’s also really cute they all call them their “ipods!” Little do they know the cost difference =)

Before we eat Nunu shares the Christmas story, we sing and Maria even puts on a skit. We feast on chicken, fries, potato salad and wash it all down with a special bottle of pop. As we are finishing up the meal Ernesto, Santos, Sumate, Nunu and I go into the kitchen and put on the soccer jerseys that were donated and we walk out to see if the kids notice.

Chicken dinner for 30!

Nunu sharing the Christmas story.

Izack notices Nunu’s shirt right away and we show them the bag full of jerseys and give them 3 soccer balls and a basketball. These jerseys are significant, as they will allow the kids to play in competitive games that they haven’t been allowed in before. As the kids finish eating and we start handing out shirts to get a group picture.

It was about to rain so the picture is a little crazy,
but you get the idea... this is the crew!

All in all the day is awesome! It’s been such a long day and I’m so exhausted. But I love looking out my door at all the smiling faces. Some are dancing around listening to their “ipods” while others are pushing all the buttons on their watches because they love to hear the beep. One by one all the kids with watches come to my door to ask if the watches can get wet… I’m glad they are taking these things serious… it really means a lot to me. I also laugh to myself as I see that Juma P has his underwear on backwards. I wonder how many pairs of underwear he has had before in his life.

I’ve always loved giving gifts, but these kids bring the joy of giving to a whole new level. I’m so honored and blessed by how so many of you gave to help provide such an amazing day for these kids. Thanks for letting me be the one to deliver the gifts… I’m not sure I could ever explain with words or pictures just how amazing a day like today is.