It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas!!!

​It's hard to believe that then end of the year is upon us. With the end of the year come Christmas. Probably my favorite holiday of the year because you get to spend time with family! However, this year I will spend Christmas abroad. This will be my first Christmas away from family. I said the same thing last year and ended up going home early, however I don't think that will happen this year.

A group of us (our family here) went out to Christmas dinner at the Mariott. It is so beautifully decorated and the buffet had tons of delicious foods!! 

Rocking my UK scarf during this scarf weather :).  

Sometimes it is hard to believe it is December let alone Christmastime. The weather here has just recently dropped to the low 60's. Back in the States I would have welcomed 60 degree weather with a light hoodie and jeans. However here 60 is like 40 so people are breaking out the winter coats and gloves and scarves, I love it though!

The tree that decorates the door to 2nd grade. Also there are handprint trees on the window with all their hands.  

My school has decorated for the Christmas holiday. My roommate and I are on the event committee for our Christmas party so it has been fun (and stressful) getting everything together. This week our 1st and 2nd graders painted salt dough ornaments to hang on our beautiful Christmas tree. I also painted their hands so that we could paint the windows in each class. Grade 2 has handprint Christmas trees on the door window. Grade 1B has two wreaths on their middle window. Grade 1A has reindeer going across their windows. It was so awesome to see the smiles on their faces as they get to paint the window. They laughed so hard when I painted their hand. At the end of the lesson we had some beautiful decorations :).

2nd grade's Santa and reindeer handprints.  

First grade's handprint wreath.  

Our batch of sugar cookies!!! Yummy!!! 

On Friday our staff is coming to our apartment for a Christmas party! We decorated our apartment this week (well actually Jen did most of the decorating). It's looks beautiful! We made sugar cookies to be iced and decorated at the party. Then we will share the Christmas story with them and then listen to and sing some Christmas carols!!!

It's beginning to look like Christmas, everywhere you go!!!

Young Adults Outreach

On Saturday the HIF young adults planned an outreach for a local home for disabled people. We met at church at 9am to take a motorbike convoy to the home that was about 45 minutes away. There was probably 20 of us foreigners so we definitely stood out from the crowd. We were planning a Christmas party for the home so we all were carrying the gifts for the people. The convoy was a lot of fun even though it was rainy and cold. :)

Our HIF young adults motorbike convoy! Right after this photo a guy pulled up beside us and just kept staring at us for at least 5 minutes! Never breaking his concentration.  

At the home we mixed in with the residents. We didn't speak the same language but we could smile and smiling is infectious. We played a couple games and ate lunch with them. We also sang some Christmas carols and one of the little boys sang a song for us. It was super adorable! After lunch we were able to present each person with a Christmas gift! Their smiles and excitement made the whole day perfect! I am so glad we were able to bless this home!

Our group and the tree we made out of straws and toilet paper rolls. We tried our hardest but our tree came in last place. But it doesn't matter because we all had fun!!

This is the little boy that sang us a song. He was soooo cute!!! 

One of the games was Freeze dance. Everyone was so good we decided to have a dance off. So much fun!!! 

This was a great way to start the Christmas season!

Group photo! 

Happy Turkey Day!!!

Thanksgiving was last week and I do have to say it was one of my best Thanksgivings abroad. I was blessed to have the opportunity to attend 4 (that's right, FOUR!!) Thanksgiving meals! We basically turned it into a weekend of Thanksgiving :). ​

On Thursday, the young adults met at our apartment and we had a potluck dinner. It is really awesome to see people from all different nations come together to celebrate an American holiday. We had a ton of food and some great company! We also shared about what we thank God for. We should thank God daily for all we do. ​

Our young adults feast :) 

On Friday, we were invited to our pastor's house for a Thanksgiving dinner. ​My roommate and I brought a salad and bread to their apartment after school was over. It was so great to share in a meal with our pastor's family, our friend Kelsey, and a couple from church. The dinner was amazing, such delicious food! After dinner we played some card games. It was a great time of laughter and fun! So thankful for the friends God has given me here!

Our pilgrim hats.  

On Saturday, ​my friend Hương invited us to a Thanksgiving dinner with a club she helped start for locals and foreigners to become friends and help each other. At the event we had a brief history of American Thanksgiving.  Then we enjoyed a meal together. This meal included pizza and local food, someone also made mashed potatoes! Then while we were eating we did some discussion questions or at least tried but we weren't a very talkative group. After talking we separated into two teams to play a game of charades but with a twist. For this game of charades it was played like the game telephone but instead of words you used actions. It was so fun to watch the other team's actions change as each person performed for the next. By the time it got to the person who was guessing the action rarely looked the same as the beginning. It was hilarious! I laughed so hard I cried. 

Playing telephone charades.  

On Sunday, we had a small Thanksgiving meal at our house with our team. Everyone brought something to share. I made the turkey, in a toaster oven, for the first time. I was so nervous but at the end of the evening there was none left. Must have been good. :). My roommate made mashed potatoes and O made broccoli cheese casserole. Our team leader's wife made stuffing and pumpkin pie and our friends made cranberry cake, tiramisu, and apple pie. We had ourselves a feast with great company. It made a perfect ending to our Thanksgiving weekend. ​

Our Sunday feast! It was all delicious! The top is the main course and the bottom are the desserts.  

I am so thankful for the opportunity to serve here. I am thankful for the friends God has given me here that help to make transitioning here easier! I am thankful for the love of God on and in my life! ​