I woke up with a call from my Mama today. I was so excited that she stayed up later to call me at 7:30am my time. She wished me a Merry Christmas and I told her we were getting ready to go to Smile and spend the day with the babies. It was a good way to start the day I loved it. I got a little homesick and so then I had Brian call me and my morning was complete and I was ready to start my day. We were in our living room trying to read the Christmas story but then we all wanted french toast so I went into the kitchen and started cooking and we realized we were already running late so, of course given that we are all girls, everyone ran to their rooms to get ready as I finished breakfast. We had Katangies made so we were decked out. We had our hair done, our makeup and we were ready. It was such a cloudy day and I think Stephanie and I jinxed our Christmas. The last week or so had been so hot so we said if only it would rain it would be so much cooler and we started singing “I’m dreaming of a wet Christmas……..” and then I added on “windshield wipers going to an fro….” It was hilarious but now it’s a damp and cloudy day…oooooops. It took a little while to get a boda because of it being a Holiday but we were successful and we all arrived. When we got there we greeted the McFaits (another missionary couple who were in charge for the day) and the children were all seated in the grass like quiet little angels. It felt like we weren’t at Smile for a second because those children are never quiet. They were eating posho and as soon as they were finished they were off and back to jumping all over us. It was back to the Smile I knew. It was a bit chaotic because people were still setting up but for the most part everything was ready. We had the pavilion for the kids to sit under, plus two tents full of chairs for the adults. There were hardly any parents there which made me sad but I was glad for the ones who had come. After some time passed and the decorations were hung we did our drama of the Christmas story. The kids were so cute in their outfits. Our barn was filled with an elephant, hippo, sheep and a lion…you know typical barn animals. ☺ After the skit was over we let the kids go play because there was a Preacher getting ready to give his sermon but it was too much for the kids to sit through all that so we let them roam. My baby Nyko was finally at Smile, I hadn’t seen her in a week so I was able to give her the skirt I made for her for Christmas and I held her while we listened to the message and she fell asleep in my arms. After the Preacher was finished there was some tribal Karamojong dancing so that was fun and we all got up to dance. I loved it. They are non stop dancers though, they know how to wear a girl out. They just keep on jumping so needless to say my legs are killing me today. It was finally time to serve the food and we got all the Children lined up in rows to feed them and of course the tent of adults was full now. They were ready for the food. That part broke my heart to know that they missed out on their child’s drama but it was ok because our team was there for them. It was quite the process to feed each person present because we had to made sure they didn’t sneak food into a bag and try to get more otherwise we would run out but overall we were successful and everyone got fed. We fed at least 800 people. It’s official that Stephanie and I jinxed our day because after we all ate the rains came and they POURED. It was the first time that I was actually cold in Africa. It was just a chilly afternoon but we found out late that day that it means Blessings if you get rain on Christmas. So it turns out that we had a blessed day. Christmas was amazing. I would not have wanted to have my Christmas any other way. I have not once thought about receiving a gift for Christmas, because around here that’s not what this holiday is about. They usually receive a new outfit and the man is to provide meat for his family because they usually don’t get meat during the year. That’s is, meat and possibly a new outfit. At home we go broke trying to buy everything for everyone. Its madness when you think about it. I made a gift for Slivia and we gave her was a frame made out of pop-sickle sticks with a Polaroid photo in it. She loved it! It wasn’t a million dollar gift but it made her day. We also got a gift for the woman at Smile. We bought 5 woman a bottle of nail polish each and we called them into a room to give it to them and you’d a thought they won a car they were jumping for joy, over nailpolish. Who jumps for joy over nail polish? I loved every minute of it. This season of giving was great for me because we gave from the heart and our gifts were unexpected and greatly appreciated. The irony of it all is that my mom snuck a Christmas gift in my suitcase before I left and when I opened them after Smile I got a bottle of nail polish and a frame with Brian and I……coincident? I think not. I love it and I was so excited for my gifts too so it was the perfect holiday for me. I know I missed my family but I know I’m here for a reason and I enjoyed every minute of my day. After Smile we all got together with all the missionaries from Tororo and we got to eat a nice American meal. It was perfect my stomach was satisfied, I talked to my family and life was good. My dream would be for everyone to experience a Christmas like the one we had. It was stress free and that was the best feeling ever. Merry Christmas to all I love you!
