Life: an adventure, a journey with Jesus

Christmas preparations!

I see it now – the couple goes out to select their Christmas tree for the living room. They walk along thinking how big should it be, will we find a good looking one, what are the prices going to be this year? They have many other thoughts running through their minds, like the homemade cookies they are going to make when they get home, the traditional (and no so traditional) Christmas music, putting up the lights, and of course the wreath on the front door! It sounds like days gone by. Just like mom and grandma used to do. I can almost see the picture on a Christmas card depicting any one of those scenes, don’t you?

Fast forward to Peru, 2009! Join us in the same activity. Yes, we walked about a mile to the mercardo and found some trees, just not quite to our liking. Off on a bus to the store and our selection was made and we now own our very first tree in a box! (A little disappointing, since we are so traditional that we still had the real thing when we were in the states. Here they are just not available.) We purchased the other necessities to turn our living room into a traditional Christmas place for family and friends to gather. The trip home was interesting as we boarded the bus with box in hand, and got off at our usual stop. The walk home was not quite like you would imagine in the Christmas card mentioned above. It was hot. (We are in South America and it’s nearing summer time) We were not pulling the tree along through the forest in the snow! Instead Don carried ‘the box’ and sweat began to drip off us as we toted our goodies home the mile from the bus stop – and up 5 flights of stairs!

Picking up the FISH on line brought us back to thinking of Christmas as we knew it. Hearing the weather report of cooler temperatures in Georgia, advertisements of sales, and announcements of Christmas activities in churches in the city brought back memories. I got busy with the cookie project. And a project it is. You see our oven does not hold temperature. No matter how hard we try to bake something, it’s never quite right. I had already researched options on line and found a recipe for no-bake chocolate oatmeal cookies. It was just what we needed. The ingredients were purchased earlier in the week. After following the directions and measurements in detail, the cookies were sitting out on foil cooling (the batter was made on the stove top and had to cool). The pan of course needed to be scraped clean of the chocolate and peanut butter batter, so Don willing obliged! The cookies set up for a few hours, and finally they were the right consistency. Tasting proved they were a success!

The Christmas checks were already in the states for family gifts. Cards were being prepared and mailed by a couple of friends and family members in the states. We have dates on the calendar to celebrate Christmas early in the month at both Pat’s Place and Hope House, by taking cookies, punch, and crafts for the kids to make to kick off the celebration. These grandparenting opportunities provide the kids and us a much needed connection.

Christmas 2009 – maybe not traditional in many ways, but worldwide Christians celebrate the birth of our Savior in similar ways. We wish our family and friends a very Merry Christmas. Happy Birthday Jesus! (Yes, we will be having our traditional Birthday cake for Jesus on Christmas eve.)