The Life and Times - Christmas At The Village

Christmas Eve Day kicked off our celebration of Christ's birth at The Village.  During the afternoon we gathered everyone together for a reading and discussion of the Christmas story.  We talked about God's demonstration of love in sending His Son as the gift of eternal life.  All the presents piled up from the children's sponsors made a great object lesson. Of course, some of the kids were pretty anxious to see what was in all those pretty boxes!

Our family spent Christmas Eve with Paddy and Lisa Winson, some good friends of ours here in town.  We played a rousing game of Chocolate Scrabble, in which Paddy continually introduced new rules to her advantage.  We even experienced a new Christmas Tradition - Christmas Crackers.




















Sunday started with a bit of a difficult situation regarding a crew of people who had invited themselves over for the afternoon festivities, but we were able to get that straightened out.  Church was a tremendous blessing, as we were able to attend services at Welkom Baptist Church (more on that later).  Then we headed to The Village for an afternoon with the children and several dozen visitors.

We had a great time and it was definitely a unique celebration.  For many of the children at Restoring Hope Village this was their first time to celebrate a real CHRISTMAS, and their first time to receive presents from someone who truly cares.  For the Americans, the 90 degree heat left us dreaming of a white Christmas.

A special thanks to all the family and friends who made a special effort to make Christmas a wonderful day both for us and for the children at Restoring Hope.  We appreciate all your thoughts and prayers.