Feliz Navidad!

End of year fiesta in La Obra Ecumenica
Doing the Cha Cha Slide with the kids in Escuelita 1

It has been a very quick December. I cannot believe that Christmas is this week! We had our end of the year party in La Obra and Christmas worship service at Nuestro Salvador.

I am not opposed to summer weather on Christmas, but I will admit, it is very different wearing tank tops and shorts and going to the beach and eating watermelon and having cookouts to celebrate Jesus' birth.

This time of year, I find myself thinking a lot about my friends and family back home. You all are in my prayers and I hope you all find time to thank the Lord for sending His son into the world! Last night in the Waldensian church there was a Christmas program put on by the children and we sang Christmas carols. It reminded me of all of the Christmas plays we put on growing up in First Lutheran and I really enjoyed the excitement in the children's faces here to be doing the same.

La Obra is closed until January 20 and lots of the young adult group are going home for the holidays. The young adult group had an asado (cookout) on Saturday night to end the year, and we hung out outside talking and playing card games. Sunday, I shared the cookies that Dad sent me with the members of the congregation, and they loved them. I am getting ready to I am looking forward to a visit from Laura, Anne, Megan and Josh this week!

May you all have a blessed Christmas and holiday season. Know that you are in my prayers!

Fin de Ano

Since the end of the year coincides with the end of the school year, December is by far the busiest month. I find myself in awe of how fast the time is flying. While I am grateful that the time is going quickly so I can see my friends and family, I feel like I am just getting started here and know in June it will be hard to leave Uruguay.

In La Obra Ecumenica, we are preparing for our field trip to Cabo Polonio and the end of year party. From a very generous donation, the kids and teachers have the opportunity to go to the east coast of Uruguay and see a new part of the country. I do not think any of the kids or teachers have been here, and everyone is very excited for this Saturday! For the end of they year celebration, I am teaching the younger kids the Cha Cha Slide. While it is easy for any English-speaker to catch on, it is a bit harder for kids who do not understand what the words say. I have probably done the dance 20 times in the past two weeks and will not be disappointed if I do not ever have to do it again after the 19th!

The kids at La Obra are precious and it seems like they understand me and I understand them a lot better than 3 1/2 months ago.

A funny story (that requires a little background):
Soccer (or futbol as it is called here) is huge and the fact that I am not a fan of one team or another is incomprehensible to the kids. One of the teams is called Penarol and another Nacional. Well, today we were talking about our field trip, and on the way to Cabo Polonio we are stopping at a national park (or a parque nacional in Spanish). While the teacher was explaining that we were going to this "Parque Nacional," one boy spoke up and asked if we were also going to go to the Parque Penarol! So we had to explain that "nacional" did not only refer to a soccer team, but also to the country.

At church this Sunday, we had three visitors from the United States! It was a brother and sister whose father was the missionary who helped to start the Lutheran church here in Montevideo. They spent most of their childhood here and this was the man's first time back and the woman's second. The wife of the man was also there. They both got up and shared some of their experience in the church and what they remembered. Some people that were members of the youth group with them were also at the service, and it was so neat to hear their stories. They both graduated from Wittenburg in Ohio and the man knew of Marietta and had even been there! He was a food service manager, and served Marietta! What a small world!

While one was talking during the service, a candle on the advent wreath fell over and the plastic wreath starting burning! AHHH! Luckily someone noticed right away and Wilma blew out the fire and someone took the smelly wreath out of the chapel.

This Friday, I get to see Betsy Curry who is coming to Montevideo for a day on a trip with her friend Cathy, from Parkersburg. It will be so nice to get to see friends from home.

I am looking forward to spending my Christmas with one of my adopted Uruguayan families. Analia is my friend here who is the secretary at the Waldensian church and she graciously invited me to spend Christmas in Colonia with her family.

The day after Christmas, I am going to Montevideo to welcome Megan, Josh, Laura and Anne to South America for a week! I cannot wait to show them what I have been up to!

Retreat

We had our first retreat with the YAGM volunteers over Thanksgiving. We went to Colonia Valdense, which is a small town in the department of Colonia in Uruguay. We stayed at Centro Emmanuel which is an organic farm. There were five of us there: Me, Stephanie, Jake, Angela and Kate. This was a much needed retreat where we spoke almost only English and enjoyed each other's company and God's beautiful creation. It was the hottest Thanksgiving I have ever had, about 40C which is over 100º F!!! It was unusually hot for this time of year in Uruguay and with no air conditioning, it drained my energy quickly. But we had a good time. We ate chicken in place of turkey, but it was enjoyable nonetheless.

The three other volunteers came back to Montevideo with me for the weekend, and I got to show them my site and what I do here. It was neat to get to show them around. I hosted my first asado at the church for some of my friends from the young adult group, and it was a lot of fun! We stayed up until 3am singing and talking in the patio of the church.

I am now preparing for the end of the year at La Obra (because the school year ends right before Christmas), Christmas in Colonia with my friend, Analia and then a much anticipated visit from Laura, Anne, Megan and Josh right after Christmas.

I hope everyone is doing well! The holiday season is a time that we all think of our family and loved ones, and all of you are in my thoughts and prayers.