The Holidays are Here!

The holidays are here! This week I helped put up a Christmas tree at Hogar Belen-outside in my shorts and t-shirt. It was a little hard to get into the spirit, but still a good time :) The past month went by quickly for me- here were some of the highlights!

Thanksgiving:

This Thanksgiving there was no Turkey or football for the first time in many years, but the day did involve a volcano and a cow slaughtering.
On Thanksgiving day (not celebrated here in Nicaragua in November) I left work a bit early and went with some of the MCC team to visit a nearby volcano (photo below). When I got home there was a cow tied to the tree in our yard. I knew that this could not be good news. The next night at midnight the slaughterer came to our house. It is tradition here to do slaughtering at midnight, which to me felt somewhat like a scene from a scary movie. My family insisted that I watch this event. So for the first and last time I watched an entire cow be slaughtered. I will stop there with the details :)











Retreat with MCC Team:

The first week of December the MCC team here traveled North, into the mountains for a retreat. It was a nice break from my normal routine, and also it was cold! We slept with wool blankets and drank hot chocolate. This may be my only experience with these temperatures for a year, so it was quite refreashing. It was a good to spend time with the other team members reflecting, singing, playing games, and laughing :)

Hogar Belen:

Work at Hogar Belen is going well. The other day I went with Gretel to the market (the largest market in Central America) to get some materials for the sensory room we are in the process of making there. It is a small room with only one small window. We purchased some different materials for the walls and a full length mirror. We already have some different lights that we will be using and also have some foam material that we will be using for the floor. We have several different ideas, and I´m excited to see how it progresses and comes together in the next couple of months.

Another project that I am working on now is with some of the older kids to paint pictures and write a short letter (and by letter I mean their name, age, and one thing that they like :) that we are sending to students in a classroom in the U.S. The students from the U.S. are also sending letters and pictures to the children at Hogar Belen. We used a map to try to explain to them where their letters will go. I am not sure that they understand it well, but I am sure that they will love getting some mail :)


A good reminder:
I am currently reading the book "Gracias" by Henri Nouwen, which is a compilation of his reflections from the time he spent in Latin America. He shares his reflections in discovering that his niece, Laura, was born with Down Syndrome. He writes that his family can be characterized by being ambitious, hardwroking, and successful, and then writes :

"Now Laura enters and tells us a totally new story, a story of weakness, brokenness, vulnerability, and total dependency. Laura, who always will be a child, will teach us the way of Christ as no on will ever be able to do."

This was a good reminder for me in my every day work. For the days when my patience runs thin, as well as the days when I think I have much to give, it is good to remember that in and through these kids I have a whole lot to learn :)


























Right now I am looking forward to Christmas here. Christmas celebrations here all take place on the 24th of December. On this day I will celebrate with my Nicaraguan family, and the next day my family (from the U.S :) will arrive in Nicaragua for a week! I am so excited to share with them my life here, and am just looking forward to seeing them :)
I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas holiday, Feliz Navidad!