I think I fell in love...

with three little orphan boys!!


Ha - Fooled you!!!


Christmas here was a wonderful experience. On Christmas eve we got ready to have the little boys come over. They came with their bag full of toys and clothes. I was surprised at how many presents they brought with them and I realized it was due to the generosity of people here in Guyana. Although they received many donations this Christmas the one thing that they did not receive was a home... so we took the boys into our house for Christmas eve, Christmas Day, and Boxing day. When the boys first came over they were quiet - which was surprising because they all know us pretty well. And that quiet lasted about 20 minutes and then they were back to their normal selves. We took them to the Sea Wall for a walk. It was amazing how they were fulfilled by something so simple as going and looking at the boats that were passing by. We walked up and down until the littlest boy got tired and we decided to turn around. We took them home and fed them dinner and then played. The boys like to play with any and everything. It doesn't even need to be a toy - you could give them a piece of string and they would be plenty happy with that. I think it comes to creativity when you live with 50 other boys. We took turns going to Mass because the Masses were to late for the boys... so I took the first shift. I had them sit and watch a movie and while the movie started the youngest, Wendell, fell asleep in my arms. I was thinking how a year ago at Christmas eve I could never have imagined that a year from them I would be holding a little orphan boy in my arms rather than opening presents. And I decided at that moment that he was more of a present to my life than any material item. I got him ready for bed and put him to sleep when I went and sat with his brother and he fell asleep. I guess I have the ability to make them fall asleep. The other one got ready for bed on his own as I helped the sleepy one get into bed. They made my job very easy. I got some time to reflect and get ready for Mass while they were sleeping.

I went to Mass with Sister Katherine and she got me to sit with the choir for the night... which meant I had to sing with the choir. I found it ironic because last Christmas eve some man stopped me and told me how I had a good singing voice (which I denied) and the next Christmas eve I would be singing in a choir. We had 9 lessons and songs before Mass began which was really cool. Then I was excited that one of my favorite priests would be saying Mass for us. He always has really good, and concise homilies. :). Mass was a blessing... but it was annoying to be bit up by mosquitos on Christmas eve.

After Mass I went home and my family called. It was good to hear from all of them. I am sure they had a good time - well as good as they could have without me. I do miss home but at the same time I've been so busy its hard to really think about it. I missed the laughs that I would have had with my family because they are always plentiful. It is always good to have the phone passed around and hear from the different people. I was laughing to myself as I could see the personalities of my family members come out depending on what they would say and the amount of time they would take to speak with me. Life is good.

Christmas morning I woke up to the sound of little feet running around wanting to open up presents. So we went out and watched the boys open up all of their presents. They were super excited with everything that they got. At that point once they were preoccupied with their own toys we took some time to open our presents. I got 2 journals, hair ties, nail polish, sharpies, and some paper. I felt like I got a LOT for Christmas and realized how much waste I have had in the past. This Christmas it was different... I didn't think about gifts at all and I thought of them as just a side thing. It was a really good feeling to have - because I didn't have to force myself to focus on everything else.. rather it came naturally because I had three boys to focus my attention on. For once this Christmas was truly about making sure everyone around me was happy.

I've been thinking a lot for the past few days about Christmas. Everyone says its the season to give rather than receive. But I feel like I disagree. I believe Christmas is truly the season of receiving... but we have made that too literal. We want to receive gifts - when our focus should be on receiving the love of the Christmas season into our hearts. My little boys gave me so much and so did my housemates, yet what I received is not tangible. I also believe it is more about receiving than about giving because it is in giving that we really receive. I believe Pope Benedict said that prayer is pure receptivity. That we give God a moment of our time to speak with Him but really our open communication with Him is a gift to us. Like that analogy I realized I received from so many people this Christmas, by opening myself up to them I recieved more than I could imagine. With a little time, love, and energy (okay lots of energy) -I was able to recieve the best gifts of all. Life is all about perspective...

Christmas day we went to lunch with the Sisters. It was not only really good food wise, but it was fun to be around people we've seen so often for the past 4 months. We ate lunch, prayed, sang Christmas Carols, and laughed a lot. It was a good mix and once again the focus was on family, community, and the true meaning of Christmas. We each took a slip of paper from the infant Jesus that had our "gift" which was a way to grow in virtue over the upcoming year. I thought it was a really good idea.

After that we went back home and played with the boys - fed them and finally put them to bed. Once again it was just a joy to be around them no matter how difficult or tiring it may have been.

Boxing day morning we woke up, fed the boys, and took them to Church. It was amazing how well the behaved. It was quite funny with the three white girls and the three little black boys. One guy looked at me and laughed when I introduced Wendell as my baby. Eventually we had to bring the boys back. The other two brought them back and I did some major cleaning of the house to get rid of the immense dirt that came with the children coming. Then we took a LONG nap - and went out to the "big lime". Basically the whole Main street of Georgetown is barricaded off and there is a big festival. It was a good experience and just another day to go out and have fun.

I got to see some of my students out when we went out and that was a joy. I realized that over the past week I've missed seeing them. I don't miss the work, but I miss the students. I think that I will be ready to go back to work again in January. I will be the computer teacher now at Mercy Wings and I will be teaching all of the students... not just my girls. I am excited about this! :)

Well anyway... I hope your Christmas has been blessed. Know that I am continually praying for everyone back home through my adventure here. Remember there are 12 days to Christmas so keep up the Christmas spirit.

http://christianity.about.com/od/christmasdevotionals/qt/12dayschristmas.htm

May God Bless and Protect you!

Love,

Ashley Ann