February 2010
Dear Friends,
As in years past, my Christmas update is coming a little late. Because our letters are due in to Omaha by the 15th of each month, this my first chance to write about our holiday celebration.
First of all, we had a last minute change of location for our all-night Christmas party. A couple weeks before the big day, one of the members of our local board invited us ALL to spend the night at home with him, his wife, and their two boys. This was such an amazing invitation on their part. Not only did they give up the intimacy of a “family” Christmas, but they allowed 30+ people to run rampant in their home. Plus they paid for and prepared an amazing Christmas dinner for us all.
Now, if you’re thinking like we sometimes think, you may be asking yourself if the children didn’t completely destroy that house. At least that was a concern we had going into this. But I am glad to report that the children were unbelievably well-behaved. I’m not sure if being in someone’s home had a kind of calming effect on them or what, but not a single child had a crisis or really even made any kind of trouble at all.
Other than this super-cool new location, our all-night celebration was similar to years past. We started the night with prayer and worship, as well as a reading of the Christmas Story. Then the children split into two groups (older kids and younger kids) with one group playing organized games while the other had art, and then switching after an hour or so. And all the while children were being pulled out by twos and threes to go to the kitchen to decorate cookies (yum!). Then around 11pm it was time for dinner, which was delicious, and immediately afterward – presents!
Each and every year, one of the highlights of our Christmas party is seeing the children open their presents, especially the children that are spending Christmas with us for the first time. Most of the kids that have been with us for years sort of know what to expect in their gifts, but not the new kids. It’s amazing to see their faces light up as they open their box and start pulling out all the great loot – mittens, scarves, and hats; pencils, pens, and notebooks; toothbrush and toothpaste; stuffed animals, toy cars, and on and on…
Thank you so much for your prayers during this time. Thank you also for praying for us as we were caroling (which was great fun this year) as well as for our Christmas party for the children’s parents and siblings. We really had a special season this time around.
One last thing before I close: Ana is starting to write her own prayer letters in addition to the ones I mail out each month. She’s writing in Romanian, but I’m going to help her translate each letter into English for a small list of people that would like to receive her letters through email. If you would like to be added to her email list please let me know.
Until next month, do well…
Love,
Paul and Ana