Christmas Eve, December 24

Dick with some of the kids who visited his house tonight

My day started early when I attended a Christmas celebration for the nurses in the children's area at Hermano Pedro.  Leslie, another long term volunteer from England, bought pizza, and I brought Coke and homemade cookies for the party.  It was fun to spend time with the nurses in this context, and they had even invited me to be part of their gift exchange.  More and more I'm feeling like I'm a part of what is going on at the orphanage, and more and more am able to make gentle suggestions about how things could be done differently. 

After the party, and spending some time with the kids who are still at the orphanage, I returned home to work on more last minute preparations for Christmas.  My room has become a storage area not only for the stuff I have bought, but also for a variety of food items which cannot be fit into the kitchen cupboards.  It always surprises me that I can fit one more thing into what I already think is an overcrowded bedroom.  Then again, I only have a bedroom to fit everything into, and right now have all the materials from Hermano Pedro stored here too.

I began helping with the cooking for dinner tonight and tomorrow, while also making sloppy joes to take to Dick's later tonight.  Pablo surprised me once again with his many talents when he constructed a huge nativity scene in our inner courtyard.  Besides being an excellent medical student, he is quite the architect and artist.

The final product

Shortly after 3, Dick picked me up and we headed for his house in Chimaltenango, about 30 minutes from here.  He had invited me to spend the evening with him and the kids, and I could think of nowhere I'd rather be. 

The kids even put up lights outside Dick's house



Kids came and went throughout the evening.  Visiting, eating, playing, just hanging out.  They came to get not only their Christmas gifts from Dick, but some attention and reassurance that they were loved and cared for.  As much as I missed being with my kids and grandkids (and I missed them more than I had expected to), being with this group blessed me in more ways than I can describe.  I am grateful to Dick for sharing these kids with me, and even more grateful for the kids accepting me as part of the group. 

Many of the kids who started out at Dick's years ago are now teenagers.  They still have no difficulty giving Dick bear hugs, especially tonight, and make no pretense about how much they care for him, and him for them.  There are now some young kids joining the group, and Dick became a bit sentimental as he talked about the time when the older kids were that age and first starting hanging around his place.  I have a feeling, though, that there will be a whole new group of younger kids finding their way into his home and his heart.

I did get a glimpse of why the kids like Dick's so much, too.  At times, he's still a kid himself. Shortly after I arrived, Dick had to show off his remote-control helicopter.  I'd heard a lot about it, since Dick got one a few months ago (though I don't know how many replacements have been purchased for the orginal), but this was the first time I got to see it, and him, in action.  It's true what they say about little boys never growing up, though this grown up little boy is content with little (rather than bigger) toys.  It was fun seeing this playful side of Dick.  And watching him, I was taken back to Christmas with my kids, only one year ago, when Zach, my grandson got a remote control helicopter.  We sat and watched as the "big boys" (his uncle and his dad) flew it around their living room.

About 9 o'clock Dick and I went down to Fernando's house to share my first Christmas dinner of the weekend.  Fernando's mom made a wonderfully rich meal of chicken, rice and vegetables. We also had a number of cups of  "ponche" a traditional Guatemala Christmas drink of different fruits cooked with cinnamon and sugar. It was a great honor to be included with Dick in the family's Christmas meal.  I think Momma enjoyed having another woman around to talk about recipes, our kids and grandkids, and how we enjoyed all the work that goes into Christmas.  I even got to cuddle her 21/2 month old granddaughter.  When it was time to leave, I hugged Momma and tearfully thanked her for including me, she asked me when I could come back again.  That almost broke me completely.

About 11 Dick brought me back to Antigua, for my second Christmas dinner with Mari, Leo and their family.  I'd been told the REAL celebration begins at midnight, and I was not disappointed when fireworks began exploding in every direction as we all stood outside watching the light show.  Pablo and Manuel also set off their own display right in front of our house.

When the fireworks were gone, we went in  and gather around the manager for a time of family prayer.  This surprised and delighted me at the same time.  Next we ate our meal of Guatemalan tamales, cornmeal stuffed with turkey parts.  I'm told these particular tamales are made only at Christmas.  Of course, there was ponche, and an olive salad, tortillas, and for dessert we enjoyed a meringue Pavlova, prepared by one of our students from Australia. We finally made our way to bed about 2 am, over-stuffed, over-tired, and well-loved.

While I hadn't been worried about being away from my own family this Christmas, I had wondered a bit how it would feel.  Thanks to Dick, the kids, and Mari and Leo's family, I don't know that I've ever spent a better Christmas Eve.  And there's still tomorrow. . .