Thanksgiving has been and gone...

...and it was great! we had a day off work and I went to a family on my sites house. It was a very traditional american thanksgiving (so I'm told) with smoked turkey, mashed potatoes, greens, butternut squash, macaroni cheese, yams, stuffing, cranberry.. a lot like christmas.. followed by pumpkin pie, pumpkin cheesecake, peach cobbler.. mmmm.. the deserts were wonderful.. I really love pumpkin now! anyway, I ate a little of each thing, it being my first thanksgiving and all, then went to another church lady's house for another dinner!! this time puerto rican style!!.. so rice and beans, pork shoulder, potato salad (which contains eggs here), a strange pork/green banana thing and lasagne... I ate so much that day I barely made it off the train and collapsed in a very full state!!

But apart from the food it was great to fellowship with some of my people!

So on thanksgiving week we gave out turkeys and boxes of food to some of the sponsor kids on our site, this was a little stressful but all good!

But that was all a few weeks ago now..it is christmas all the way!The weather is getting colder here, only been bitterly cold on 2 days so far, I am coping suprisingly well with the climate so far, but sidewalk has to be cut much shorter which isn't so great!

Anyway all week we've been giving out stockings they have been made by people all over the country filled with goodies.. then next week all the kids get a gift worth 10 dollars.. as you can imagine these weeks all potential kids on your site will attend and so on friday at my site I had 270 people come.. this is great as we teach a pure evangelical message at this time so they all heard it!!

Yesterday we had a crazy saturday of indoor sunday school it has been upp-ed to 6 sessions instead of 3, so they were at 9,11,1,3,5,7.. with pickups and drop offs inbetween, it was a long day beginning at 7.30 and ending at 10.30 last night but it was good.. however I had my first experience of a full bus with 82 kids on, like 4 to a seat... it was slightly stressful!!!but good/

The other night I helped out in calling some of the ministry sponsors to wish them a merry christmas. It was so great to chat to them, and they encouraged me so much... one lady told me she wasn't getting a christmas gift this year, instead she was giving that money to metro.. people really care so much for what we do, they are so giving. Actually in staff meeting Pastor Bill talked about the verse Luke 6:38, about giving...and how it is often perceived as financial giving.. yet it is so much more, giving of your life, your time, your efforts.. all you can to advance his kingdom..

Yesterday I started to help a little 5 year old boy zip his coat and he said to me "my daddy beats me with a belt".. I asked him why and he replied "because I am bad sometimes... but I am being good at yogibear".. and I couldn't even say anything, I was so taken aback by this little innocent defensless kid telling me this.. and I walked him to his bus and gave him a hug and told him I loved him, and he said "ok, merry christmas"... giving a hug, giving love.. we can never know what that means to someone. Life as a christian is about giving not getting.. it is not about us, first God, then others, then us...


anyway, just some food for thought! I will be back in the motherland in a week and a bit.. looking forward to seeing all again and getting some nice home cooked mummy's food!!but yes, hopefully get to see people. I have to try raise support, so if anyone wants to support the ministry, by commiting to sponsoring me on a monthly basis for ministry funds let me know and i'll hook you up with a pack...

other than that Merry Christmas to all.. if I don't catch you when I'm back then have a blessed season and wonderful new year!!

p.s sorry no pictures but my camera broke