blessings

You know what I love about Christmas? Well, there are a lot of things, but one of the many parts of the Christmas season I enjoy is the Christmas parties. And I was lucky enough to attend a couple in the last week. Last Friday I went to a program that a local high school performs every year at Christmas for the community. One of my roommates attends the school, so Mrs. Sewell (my landlady) and I went to watch her perform, and it was so wonderful.  Then program was called "Welcome to Bethlehem", and the school recreated Bethlehem and the story of Jesus' birth, complete with live animals, tax collectors, and a manger. The students and faculty constructed the entire village themselves, and obviously put incredible amounts of effort to make it a success. There was a perfume shop, bakery, carpentry shop, and other shops and details that you would expect to find in Bethlehem at the time. The students were the actors, and they did a surprisingly great job. You could sense that they were really enjoying themselves and it made such an impact on the atmosphere of the program. At one point I started laughing because I couldn't conceive of any of the students from my high school (including myself) acting out the nativity scene for an audience of hundreds of people. We were all way too cool for that. The entire evening I had a grin from ear to ear, and I really enjoyed the program. It was so nice to see the community come together and interact all evening as well. I'm still fairly new to the area, and I'm still learning a lot about the culture and the social life here, so it was a glimpse into a fun Friday night event.


This week I had another exciting evening, because Wednesday was Marla's annual Christmas party. I helped to prepare for the shindig all week long, and I've never seen the kids so excited before. A trend that I'm beginning to notice in Belizean entertaining is that when they throw a party, their motto is go big or go home. The amount of food they cook is unreal, and they love to decorate and prepare special music and entertainment, and Marla's did not disappoint. We even received a visit from Old Saint Nick himself, and that's when you know it's a party.


It was a lovely evening, and I am so thankful I was able to be a part of it. All of the kids were dressed up, everyone was enthusiastic and content and at ease with each other...it was a special night for them. The kids received gifts from Santa, and even though he scared a couple of the little ones into hysterics, it was fun to see the younger kids light up when he called them over. I don't know if you've ever spent much time around children and Santa Claus, but they really love him, and it is really something to watch their excited innocence and joyful, simple belief. It's beautiful really.


Santa wasn't our only entertainment though, oh no. Several of the girls shared dancing performances with us, which they choreographed themselves, so you know those were good. Then a couple of girls gave a few speeches, the house mother said a few words, and we spent the rest of the night partying. Like I said earlier, it was a lovely evening and one of my favorite Christmas parties to date.

one of the outstanding performances at the Christmas party

Something that these events made me realize, especially the party at Marla's, is how incredibly blessed I am to be here right now. I have just fallen in love with these kids and this place, and I can't imagine not having this opportunity. I am constantly learning and experiencing and growing, but sometimes I forget to just sit back and appreciate all of the wonderful things in my life. Some days are challenging, and at times I wonder what I was thinking when I signed myself up for this, but I really have something good going here, and I am very lucky and blessed to be a part of something that is bigger than myself. 


So during this Christmas holiday, even if you are struggling with something, or experiencing some tribulation, everyone has something to be grateful for in their life. Just take a moment and remember how blessed you really are, and how much you have to be thankful for, and maybe it will make your Christmas seem a little bit brighter.

little Brelyn with Santa