Christmas

Posted by Brian:

It is great to be back in the states to celebrate Christmas. Beth and I are able to spend a week with our families in the West Virginia and Chicago and the back to the Dominican.
Before we returned to the states we had a few activities that we had been planning for the villages. First we had were able to give the children a small Christmas gift. The boys got hackey sacks and matchbox cars and and the girls got fun pencils and notebooks. They also received a bag of candy and some school supplies. Each child in the older classes also made a Christmas tree craft to put in their houses.
To culminate the Christmas season we put on a program with the children. The little children sang "Jingle Bells" and recited a memory verse. The middle age children sang "Away in a Manger" and the older children sang "Silent night" and "The First Noel" . The children also performed a play of the nativity scene. We had practiced this for about a month and they did great.
The program was supposed to be in a basketball court in Pancho Mateo but it had rained and we did not want to chance putting the electric equipment in the rain. So we moved indoors to the church which is about a 30' by 20' building. To accommodate everyone we borrowed a TV and hook it to a video camera and put the TV outside so the children could watch while they waited for their parts. The parents were able to sit inside. To top all this off the truck delivering the chairs and generator got stuck in a mud hole. We were able to unload the chairs but couldn't get the generator. This was a problem because the electricity is never on for long in Pancho Mateo and we had no back up generator. However with lots of prayer the lights stayed on continuously through out the program. It was the longest I have ever seen the lights stay on in Pancho Mateo.
After the program a preacher from our church shared a message with the parents. It was a great evening and the children enjoyed it. At the end of the night Beth and I were so proud of the children. I think we had over 100 people who came to see the program.
We will try to post pictures later.