And a Happy New Year

It's just as hard to believe that Christmas has passed as it was to believe that it was the Christmas season to begin with. The holiday brought the boys team from their placement near Kampala to our home in Namaliri. Even though we came as one gap year team to Uganda, it's felt like we're two separate teams a lot more lately being at different placements, so it was nice to spend time with the boys as well as work with them.

On Christmas Eve we hosted a kids party at our church. Africa time has become something we're accustomed to--if church starts at 10am we go at 11am, dinner is no earlier than 9pm, and time becomes merely an idea based on the position of the sun--but the day of the Christmas party threw us off. Five hours before the party was meant to start, a truck arrived at our house filled with over 50 children. All were dressed in their Sunday best--their mismatched suits and fancy dresses hanging open in the back because they are missing the zipper--and seeing the excitement on their faces made me realize that this Christmas party is a really big deal for them. When the time for the party to start arrived (five hours later)I went outside to take them to the church and they were all gone--they had already left for the church. It was then that I realized how out of shape I had become, because I ran full speed to reach the church before they did, lest they pop all of the balloons and steal all of the sweets. The party was a chaotic success, and in the end, they did pop all of the balloons and steal all of the sweets, but I have a feeling that because they don't get parties very often, this will be a Christmas for them to remember, and it's worth all the popped balloons a missing candy in the world.

This Christmas was one for me to remember as well. It was simple, with only a big meal in the way of gifts, but that was enough, because that's all our family, the Amenemoits, had to give. And when I look back on it, I realize that that is what Christmas is all about--giving all you have, all you are--because that's what God gave us. With all of these new experiences and broadened perspectives, I am ready to ring in the new year with a new disposition to accompany it. I challenge you to do the same.