Merry Christmas!

We have Internet! It's a Christmas miracle! We haven't had Internet all week, and I was very sad about not being able to talk with family or friends this Christmas (by the way, it happened last year, too!) but this morning, we checked and we have Internet!!! So, hopefully, we will be able to make some calls in a few hours when you are waking up on your Christmas morning.

The last few days have been such a blessing. On Sunday night, we went to the annual Christmas party at the American Embassy. It sounds like a fru fru party, but it's really just a bunch of Americans getting together to celebrate Christmas with songs and food, the way we are used to celebrating in America. It's actually really nice to feel like you fit in for one evening out of the whole year! The Jansens (doctors at Partners in Hope) and Kelly (our neighbor at ABC) did the music for the party. It was so fun to sing with all the kids!

Eli with Bech at the party. Eli has been doing so well considering we have kept him up past his bed time and skipped naps every day this week! Santa even came to visit the children and Elijah sat on his lap (picture will come later...I have to get it from a friend). I actually wasn't there to see him pulling on Santa's beard (thankfully it was real). Dan and I aren't really into forcing our kid to sit on a smelly weird man's lap, but Marley IS and she was holding him for most of the night. The moment came when we started asking "where is Elijah?" and then we answered ourselves "oh, he's with Marley, probably with Santa, too". So, Elijah sat on Santa's lap, and I'm pretty sure he liked it!

On Monday, our babysitter Christina and her two children (Florida and Charity) came to visit with Elijah and I. I had put together a gift bucket (buckets are WAY more useful here than baskets) and some stockings for their family and it was fun to play with them and have them meet Elijah. Eli loved playing with Florida (pronounced Floreeda, not sure if she was named after the state...).

We took them home after a few hours and then had the best nsima meal I've had in Malawi. It was so humbling to eat with them and see their hospitality in the midst of such poverty. This is Christina's neighborhood. It was a very rainy day.

Christina is the oldest of 5 children and her father died when she was very young. She was explaining to us the difficulty of being the first born because there are so many expectations put on her to help with the younger sibling's school fees and such. I'm not sure what the situation is with her children's father, but it seems as though it is just her and the children. They live in a very small, two room home with one bed and a mattress on the floor and yet when we arrived, Christina was so excited to show me her room. She is so thankful that the Lord has provided that little home for her family. It was very convicting as I often sit in my house here on ABC campus and think about how dingy and dirty it is and how it doesn't reflect me as a homemaker. WOW, how shallow and selfish of me. So, we had a wonderful time of fellowship with this beautiful family and I was reminded of the many blessings I've been given and how I really do take them for granted. We are thankful for Christina and her love and care for Elijah. She comes 2 hours a day, three days a week while I teach and we couldn't be more thankful to have someone we really trust and love to be with Eli while I work. This is me at Christina's house. Her younger sister also lives with them (in the red).


Last night, we had dinner with Marley and Bech Evans. Marley made an amazing tomato soup with the tastiest croutons and Bech made French bread. It was delicious. We are so thankful for these friends and for having someone to spend Christmas Eve with. After dinner, we joined our neighbors at the Dehnert's house for caroling and dessert. Again, it was such a blessing to be with friends during this time when we miss our friends and family the most!

So far, we have had a wonderful Christmas day. Elijah woke up very early, excited I'm sure. We put him back to sleep and were able to get a few more hours in. We enjoyed orange cranberry scones while opening the few presents we had. Elijah LOVED the wrapping paper.
Eli loved his new little stacking cups which I picked up here in Lilongwe. He still would prefer playing with people to playing with toys. And yes, I put the bows on his head...I couldn't resist!

Dan's beautiful wrapping job using the local news paper.

Dan cleverly wrapped some earrings and a pendant in a large box and made me search for them. He did a great job with presents this year, truly surprising me with a great red African purse and jewelry.

My beautiful fancy earrings.

After opening presents, we headed over to the Jones' house (two doors down from ours) for a Christmas brunch with the Evans. We just adore this family. Their kids are so funny and cute. The next two pictures are of Alice Ann and Ruthie with their fairy wings:
I found a bowling game set at Santa Plaza (a real store here that is open all year round, not just during Christmas) and wrapped it up for the Jones kids. It is painful shopping here because you pay Toys R Us prices for Dollar Store quality. Oh well, the kids can't really tell the difference.


We had a great time playing with their new toys, eating great food and again, being with people on the day you miss home the most. John is a doctor here at ABC. He and his wife Emily have taken in a little baby named Clever (only 4 lbs) for a few nights since it's the holidays and there wouldn't really be anyone to take care of him at the hospital. He is possibly HIV positive and his grandmother is the only known relative. He will probably soon go to the Ministry of Hope crisis nursery and then hopefully be adopted. It was such a blessing to spend Christmas with this little guy as well as the Jones family and the Evans. Here are the guys all hovered over little baby Clever. I haven't seen a baby this small since my nephew Amos was a baby.


Well, we are now off to play neighborhood ultimate frisbee...more to come later.