Christmas Day 3

The past couple of days have been quite different from the usual. Well, as usual as China can be.

Yesterday our team had a little retreat to just lift up our thoughts and study the Word. It was a wonderful time away from the craziness of life. We were able to momentarily forget about the rest of the world to spend time with Him.

In the evening I went out to buy a sweet potato on the street for dinner. Then I bought some oranges from the "watermelon lady." I gave her a scarf Mom had sent me in the mail, because she always looks freezing. I handed it to her with two hands, saying "Sheng dan kuai le!" (Merry Christmas). She looked so thrilled, smiling with her two teeth. And she grabbed my hands shaking them very excitedly. Then she gave me a couple apples for free. As I was walking away, I almost started crying, because I was just so glad that I could help brighten her day a little bit. She also always brightens my day!

Today, from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. we had our Christmas party for our students. We had three different "stations" of activities for each class of students. We had a dizzy Santa relay race, where the students had to put on a Santa outfit, run to the other side and spin around, and then run back to the rest of their team. We also had singing Christmas carols and then acting out the Nativity story.

About half of my students came all the way from new campus in the cold and drizzle. Here are some pictures and a video from the day's activities. It was a great day to open our homes to them and share more about what we believe in a fun way.

The first picture is of some of my students acting out the Nativity story. The second is of me with a bunch of my students. The third is of the dizzy Santa relay. The video is of some of my students singing "The Twelve Days of Christmas" and they're so cute!