My sticker Christmas countdown says its 6 days until Christmas...but its really 5

Manuel-ito, I am not being mean to him, he just doesn't like that I actually make him stand up.

This is Elvirita, I am feeding her everyday from around 1100 to 1200. We are working on transitioning her from a bottle to a spoon but it is a very slow process....and messy!

A group came into Hogar Belen to help celebrate Christmas with the kids

Some face painting to start things out

Antoni and I during one of our play dates

Which tree isn't like the others??haha

Putting up Christmas lights

Feliz Navidad Todo!! Espero que todo esta bien con ustedes! It is only 5 days because Christmas is celebrated on the 24th here. I am currently listening to the Edmonton Christian Radio station to get a little flavour of Christmas music as it is hard to come by here. It's funny the things that are sentimental to us, or the things that cue our mood. For example there is no snow obviously, not a lot of Christmas music being played, and an abscence of other familiar traditions around me. And so for me it feels really weird that Christmas is so close. But nonetheless, the reason for the season is the exact same! And thanks be to God that it is. God is a God who is bigger than traditions, He is bigger than borders, languages and any other box we may put around Him or around ourselves. Jesus may of come as a small package but He is a powerful and amazingly personal gift.

I am looking at only three days of work this next week and then the festivities begin. This month has flown by and again there have been good and bad days....but as a whole the good days far outweigh the moments of struggle. The last few weekends I have had a chance to spend more time with my host family, we headed into Managua to see the Christmas activities and fair that they have in December. I also went to the market with my host mom to buy some Christmas lights (I am by no means above Christmas traditions :) .

Work has been going well. We are now up to 30 kids with a huge variety in abilities and ages. As of January 4th, the older ones will be moving to another house about a 1/2 hour away from Hogar Belen. I had a chance to visit the site on Thursday and I think there is a lot of potential in creating a home-like environment for them, and the place is beautiful. The psychologist, physio-therapist and I have been working on setting up a plan for the kids and workers. We don't just want them to be busy but to also be learning vocational skills, how to plan, follow directions, build self-esteem, and get involved not only in the house but possibly also in the community. Initially I was not included in this planning which was disappointing for me as I felt like I had a lot of ideas to share...but then there was that language barrier again. But I was really excited this wednesday as I was asked to write out my ideas and share them with the rest of the team. It's hard to know how much will get followed. I would love to be leading some of the group activities because I feel like it is really O.T. but we shall see.

Although Christmas is so close and I definitely am missing friends and family, I feel like I am getting to experience so many great things that I can't spend my time wishing I was somewhere else. Coming here was a risk, and being away from family has been hard. Each day is filled with moments of uncertainty and at times anxiety, but the more awkward I have anticipated it to be, the more God has given me His peace. It's hard to explain, but I have been going through a devotional book and it has been talking a lot about rejoicing in your weakness and thanking God for the difficult times because that is when we seek God. And it is so true. I feel like I am learning to trust God more in situations (big and seemingly small) because what else am I going to do. I don't have a lot of control with what happens and so I can really only pray that God would guide my actions and reactions. Although days are still up and down, I feel like more often than not God has given me His joy and peace.

I will fill you in on the events of Christmas! As for now the plan is to have Christmas supper on the 24th and the 25th will just be spent relaxing with my family. Then the 26th and 27th I am going to go into Managua to watch Christmas movies, maybe do some Christmas baking and listen to Christmas carols with what few MCCers are here (likely just a couple others SALTers)

Many Blessings over Christmas!! Feliz Navidad! Enjoy every minute spent with family and friends. (And don't take for granted the eggnog! haha)

Lots of love

amanda