Tis the season to be jolly, fa, la, la, la, la, . . . Well, it is the season to be
jolly and we have enjoyed some fun times here at Peru Mission as we celebrate
the advent season. First, we had a
PM Christmas Party. The Smiths and
Bakers and I hosted the Fellows to an evening of good food, good company and
good fun. We had pizza, and some
homemade guacamole and salsa and several yummy deserts. Everyone brought a gift of no more than
30 soles (around $10) and we played White Elephant where you can either open
your gift or take someone else’s.
It was great fun. My turn
came and I decided to steal a gift.
I had passed out all of the gifts and one was so soft. . . I thought
maybe it was a stuffed animal—WRONG!
It was 22 rolls of toilet paper!!
This is a very practical gift here and actually a very sought after
gift. It was stolen from me and I
never got it back. We had a great
time opening presents and playing.
Afterwards we sang Christmas hymns and carols and enjoyed another game
where we split into groups and did lightening rounds and had to come up with
Christmas songs within 5 seconds.
Hearing all the different songs and who knew them and who didn’t was
great fun! We ended our night in prayer for the mission and its churches and
our Fellows who would be traveling home for Christmas.
Two days later, we said goodbye to 2 of our fellows—Chip and
Katie are going home and not coming back.
It was very sad! I have
enjoyed getting to know them both, but Katie has lived with me and I will miss
her dearly! All of our community
will miss them both. We had their
despedida (going away party) in my apartment. It was a HUGE success!
We had tons of Peruvians over and enjoyed good food, shared stories
about Chip and Katie, they spoke, we prayed for them, offered thanks for them
and even had a special guest appearance.
Our favorite band, Muyupampa, came and played at my home. I truly enjoy this Peruvian band that
is composed of mostly members from one of our churches. They are a talented group of musicians
and it is always fun to sing and dance with them. Katie is an excellent dancer and had learned a traditional
dance for a wedding recently so she performed with 2 of our Peruvian
brethren—Raol and Milton. Chip and
Katie were a valued part of Peru Mission and made very valuable contributions
while here. We will miss them
dearly.
Check out the pictures of both events in the photo album
section. It has been good to have
the community of Peru Mission and the Peruvians around during this special
season. It is a reminder of why I
am here and whom I am working for.
I hope that you too are able to stop and remember the real reason we
celebrate this Advent season in great anticipation of Christmas Day.
