It's That Time of Year

The holidays are here and I have been thinking alot about what life would be like if we were living in the States right now.  I would be running around like a crazy person getting ready for Christmas: buying gifts for family, teachers, Sunday school teachers, neighbors, friends, etc.  I would have my house all decorated and there would be 5 inflatables in the front yard and icicles lights around the roof.  There would be lots of cookies to make and parties to go to and planning what to eat Christmas day and who to invite over. Somewhere in the mix would be a trip to North Carolina to see family.  It would be a fun time and I would be trying not to get so busy that I forget about what CHRISTmas is all about and to share that with my kids.  My kids, by the way, would be focused on presents and what they hope to get - sharks teeth and Lego sets.

This year is a tad bit different.  I used to have 8-10 plastic totes full of Christmas decorations, now I have 2.  The decorating process took about 20 minutes, not a whole day.  It's the 11th of December and I haven't made one trip to Target and won't (only because they don't have it here and if they did, I couldn't afford it).  I haven't ordered anything online and don't plan to buy any presents - except small gifts for families here.  When I asked Jon what he wanted for Christmas, his reply was a short pause followed by "I don't really need anything, I have enough stuff." Some people reading this just fell out of their chair because that boy ALWAYS wants a Lego set, ALWAYS.  It's amazing what happens to kids when they are removed from marketing media.  You don't want what you don't know exists. We will be going to one party and spending Christmas Eve with the other American families here.  Muy tranquilo - Spanish for very calm.  That's Christmas this year.  The craziest it will get is Christmas Eve when we hand out food baskets and gifts to our Guatemalan families and Christmas day when our team gets to visit 15+ families living in extreme poverty to tell them that they will be getting a new home next year.  It's going to be the best Christmas ever and we can't wait.

There are lots of videos and things going around the internet about how much Americans alone spend on  Christmas.  It's a crazy amount of money.  If just a little bit was given away, the world could be changed.  Really.  Doing all we do at Christmas isn't bad or wrong, but if we would just skip something small and gave that money away, people could eat, kids could have shoes or a warm jacket,  someone could sleep on a bed instead of a dirt floor or a piece of flea infested foam,  and the list goes on.   I live in a place where I see people with extreme needs that could be helped with just a little money.  We also help alot of people with "our" money.  If we can use our little missionary budget to help, so can you.  I think of how we lived in the States and how much we could have helped if only we knew the need.  I want to share the need with everyone I know so you can know it too and help.

How Others Have Helped-

Cruz (boy in the middle) gets help with seizure medication

This family got food and a stove (and a home too)

This family got a home, bathroom, stove and pila

  How You Can Help -

Go to 12X12 Love Project and donate money for a house, food, medicine, beds, stoves, pilas, etc.

Get friends, family or co-workers together to raise money for a new home, etc.