December--Another Month of Celebrations

Actually, our celebration of Christmas began in November, when I was invited to the Hope Haven Christmas party.  Though I don't work with the wheelchair factory all the time, they are so gracious to include me in many of their activities, and I always feel right at home when I walk in there.  It was a great night celebrating with good friends.  The bonus was that my dish, pumpkin filled ravioli in spinach sauce, really grossed Dick out!

Feast days honoring Mary are very important here in Guatemala, as in all of Latin America.  These holidays are celebrated more with parades than the typical processions.  For the first time this year I went to Ciudad Vieja, a town south of Antigua, on Dec. 7 to see the parade celebrating the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.

The "floats" in this parade seemed to honor primarily the life style and culture of Guatemala, though there were few fairy tale characters thrown in for good measure.  The people riding the floats were mostly children, including one young girl on every float (regardless of the theme) dressed up as the Virgin Mary.  It was really a lot of fun, but I'm still trying to figure out the religious implications, if any, of this parade.  Click here to see a slide show from this event.

December 12 is the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  Each year, on Dec. 11, there is a "convite" (gathering of the confraternity honor this appearance of Mary to a young man in Mexico) and a street dance is held--right in front of Mari's house. Again, I'm trying to figure out how this ties in with a holy day.  What I do know is that we get little sleep because of the booming music in the street, usually lasting until 2 in the morning.  (It's a little better in my house which is a block south of the gathering.  Last year, the group was right outside my bedroom window!)

The next day, on the 12th, more traditional processions are held, again focusing on children who are dressed in traditional Guatemalan costumes.  To see a lot of cute pictures of these children click here to go to the blog of my friends, Judy and Phil.  They have done a great job of chronicling this event.

We were able to help provide the workers at the Hope Haven factory with a Christmas dinner on their last day of work before their vacation, Dec. 21.  A generous North American friend wanted to provide a meal for the shop, but wanted to remain anonymous.  We were able to facilitate this for him, and Mari, my adopted Guatemalan daughter, prepared and served all the food.  We spent time just visiting, which we don't often get to do at wheelchair distributions, and were even serenaded by a gentleman volunteering at the shop.  It was such a fun day.

Saturday, Dec. 22, I was invited to a Christmas luncheon by two missionaries, Phil and Judy Bergen, who are new friends.  Their ministry, Love Guatemala, is based in Jocotenango, just outside of Antigua.  I met them through Scott and Linda Hardee who have been staying with me the past week.  They wanted me to come up especially so I could meet Edwin, a Guatemalan who has been their link with the mayor's office in Joco.

 Edwin  has a developmentally disabled brother and wants to start a group home and sheltered workshop for individuals with cognitive disabilities in a building he has been given to use in Pastores, another town not far from Antigua.  I can't help but believe it is a Godincident to meet someone who shares my vision for community living for the disabled, in a country where I have not been able to located any functioning group homes.  We will talk after the first of the years about how we can collaborate and share resources and ideas.


I also was privileged to hear some of the Christmas memories of some of the Guatemalans with whom Phil and Judy work.  Two of these stories in particular broke my heart.  Click here to read them.

Christmas Eve (Nochebuena) was spent in a special worship service, followed by supper with Dick's kids at our house, then a visit to Mari and Leo's, culminating with fireworks at midnight.  A long day, but a good one.  Click here to find out more about our celebration.

Christmas Day I was excited to spend time with Daryl and Wanda Fulp and nine of their ten children, as well as eight of the residents from Hermano Pedro.  Our group was rounded out by my friend Judy Kerschner, Scott and Linda Hardee, and Genardo (Daryl's assistant) and Daniel, who volunteers at Hermano Pedro.  Providing dinner for us all was quite an undertaking, but Wanda's theory is "there's always room for one more."  Her girls follow in their mother's footsteps, jumping in to help whenever they can.  I am so blessed to be friends with this family.  Click here to peek in on our day together.

My son Jeremy, his wife, Lindy, and sons Zachary and Nathan

I did get to speak with each of my boys on Christmas, though I missed talking with Mikayla, my daughter. Jeremy and Lindy were preparing brunch for the family when I called, but I used Facetime to visit with my grandsons Zachary and Nathan.  I think one of the high points of my day was when Nathan, only 3, recognized my voice and started yelling, "Hi, Grandma," before he even saw my face on the Ipod.  It was so good to be reminded that he knows me, though I'm seldom there.  Joel, my youngest, went to California to spend time with middle son, Jonathan, who is a Marine stationed at Camp Pendleton in San Diego.  So it was a different type of Christmas for all of us, but one in which family still played a central role. It was good to be able to share part of it with the kids, even in only from a distance.

Mikayla having snuggle time with Zach

So this Christmas season has filled with family, friends, food and fellowship as together we remembered the birth of the Babe in Bethlehem.  I am blessed.