Merry Christmas

This has been the best Christmas ever!
Today I anticipate going to the MTC to help out with some activities for the new missionaries. The mission president's wife, Sister Carlos is concerned that these very young missionaries will feel homesick on a holiday that is very big in the Philippines and is all about family. She has devised lots of different projects on different days to cheer and bless their lives. I will be helping out with the gingerbread houses and frosting cookies mid-morning while the missionaries one by one call their families. The husband and wife teams from the dental clinic are going to help out in the Christmas follies tonight by putting on a shorties skit. There are devotionals, carolling through the halls where Sister Carlos passes out "crackers" filled with candy and some hot chocolate bonding activities. The missionaries don't know it yet, but when they come back singing through the courtyard, it is going to 'snow' on them.

Anticipation is more than half of the fun of Christmas. In late November I had an idea for Christmas dinners. I asked the Chan's to make dinner for some families as she is a very good chef. I gave names and some pesos for food and a wage. I told them to give anonymously and finish out the list as they know the ward better than I. WOW! The Chan's magnified my idea into many families instead of the short list I had. Pretty soon Facebook exploded with thanks to the Chan's and anonymous for the wonderful dinners. Some people tried to thank me personally but it just made me feel a little guilty because it was all the Chan's doing. They took the money I hired them with and turned it into many more dinners!

I made burp cloths for new babies coming, sewed up pillowcases for people, visited a hospital to give out gifts, bought toys for 10 children, sewed up stockings for the dental clinic and the Solera family, then bought little things all month to put in them, saved and then stuffed envelopes with money for all the maintenance workers, staff, and security people who work in our apartment high-rise, asked the Chan's to make a dental thank-you meal for the  maintenance workers at the MTC,  and wrote letters to old friends. Last week I got to talk with all of my children - that's the only niggle to a fabulous Christmas, not being with my children. We were part of getting ready and attending a wedding and that brings a lot of joy. Jeffrey and I have been invited and gone to lots of parties. One of the beautiful ones was with Elder and Sister Schmutz from the Area presidency where we exchanged white elephant gifts, had a wonderful dinner and enjoyed the reading of the Christmas story and sharing stories. In between working at the dental clinic, I have been working on projects every night. Fun, fun, and a little phun.  Being with the grands on Saturday was the pinnacle of joy. There really is nothing like children at Christmas time! We will visit with the Bowman family this afternoon and then gear up to go back to work on Tuesday. More parties are anticipated for New Years.....