John Mark & Moorea

(sorry for the delay. I thought I had posted this earlier)

Merry Christmas

Christmas is always a little strange this far south. We are still in tank tops and shorts especially in the afternoons which are still very warm, though not a wasrm as they were, thank goodness. 

We are in the midst of the Christmas rush here too. We had our Christmas service on Sunday night. The service was bilingual for our English and Spanish congregations. We had children and adult choirs, a living nativity, and a dance. I had the opportunity to choreograph a hip hop dance for the youth to perform. It was a bit of work and took lots of practice, but it was super fun and turned out better than I had hoped. I think the kids liked it, which was the goal. We had a huge turn out for the service - nearly 400 people packed into our auditorium. At the end of the service, people had an opportunity to write a message on a heart-shaped piece of paper and put it in the manger as a symbolic act. It was a beautiful service. We have already started planning the Christmas service for next year.

Christmas Service

Decorating the church

Last week, we built a makeshift stable and borrowed animals from local people to fill the living nativity. At one point, I called John Mark and asked him I was interrupting anything. His response was: “Well, I’m just picking up some sheep so...no.” We invited the local elementary schools to bring their classes to our living nativity, and while they were there, we told them the story of Jesus’ birth. It was an amazing opportunity to reach the local kids and their moms. One little girl, about 10 years old, was from a Jehovah’s Witness family (there are many Jehovah’s Witnesses here). When the presenter said that Jesus was God, she was like “really?!” She was enthralled with the story. The next afternoon, she brought some of her friends back to the church. Pastora Maya thought they just wanted to pet the animals, but she said, “I brought my friends so that they could hear the story about Jesus. Could you tell it again?”

Teaching kindergardeners the Christmas story

Living Nativity

Last night, we had a posada, or Christmas party, at the mission in San Ignacio. We had almost 70 kids with piñatas, candy, and a traditional Mexican Christmas punch. It was crazy with so many kids, but it was an overall success. Since coming back from Guadalajara, I have been able to teach kids classes on my own, without a translator. That was my goal, so I am pretty happy about it. I still can’t do it off the cuff, so I write out the lesson in Spanish and have one of my friends read through it with me and correct the mistakes. It helps me learn the vocabulary that I need and experiment with the grammar. The little ones (4-7 years old) almost always understand me, which is fantastic. One time, I was assisting a class taught by one of the teenagers for the older kids. They were having trouble listening that day, so I finally intervened, shouting “silenciense” which means absolutely nothing in Spanish but sounds kind of like a mangled version of “quiet yourself”. The room went dead quiet and one kids timidly offered the correction “silencio?” It was hysterically funny, but we were able to hold it in till class was over. 

While living in Mexico has many advantages, there are several surprising things we have had to live without. My friend and I decided last week that we wanted to make gingerbread for gingerbread houses. I then learned that it is impossible to find molasses down here. I scoured the internet and discovered that one can apparently make gingerbread without molasses, so we will attempt it this weekend. It is funny how many of those unobtainable things I am still discovering after a year and a half. 

This Christmas is already much more festive than last year. John Mark and I bought a little table top cypress tree and covered it in red lights and funky ornaments. I am grateful for the few decorations we have acquired in the past year. They really do make a difference. We also have family in town! John’s parents flew in on Sunday and were able to make it to the Christmas service and the Posada in San Ignacio. John and Ted are doing a project at the church installing closets and cabinets in the computer/sewing room (which is also my squatter office). Mary is going to be cooking with some Canadian volunteers who are providing a Christmas dinner for the prison inmates we minister to once a week, and a nearby elderly home. Next week we have a few fun things planned during our Christmas break.  It is really good to have people from home with us. We appreciate how upbeat they have been considering that this lifestyle is a lot more uncomfortable than the one they are used to (with fuzzy critters and no hot water). 

Pastora Maya asked me yesterday if I would sing a special song for the ladies meeting on Friday. Her daughter is the singer, and would normally do it, but the song is fairly difficult and out of her range. I said yes with trepidation. It is barely in my range, so we will see how it goes. I am pretty nervous about it. 

We are continually grateful and amazed at all of our blessings. All of you who keep up with us, pray for us, and support us financially are a big part of that. Thank you for waht you do. Words are not enough to say how much it means to us. 

Merry Christmas

Moorea