Christmas in Romania

Sarah and I have spent the past week in Galati, Romania visiting her brother John. He works at a center with children from very poor homes. The center provides the children with one meal a day, showers, clothing, tutoring, counceling, devotions and worship time, and love! Because it was a vacation week, the activity at the center was a little different. On Monday, the kids put on a Christmas show for their parents and sibilings. It was really cute...the kids did a great job! After the show, the children presented their siblings with Operation Christmas Child boxes (that they had to "earn" by doing work around the center). Each year my family puts together boxes for Operation Christmas Child...it is one of my favorite parts of Christmas. This year I was able to see the faces of children who recieve them! What a gift to witness the joy on their faces!
The next two evenings were spent caroling with the children. The first night we went around to many of the children's homes. The second night was to the homes of people who support the center. Since the carols were in Romanian, I was mostly singing jiberish :) What I enjoyed most about those evenings was the relationship I build with one of the girls (each adult was paired with a child). She taught me some words in Romanian but most of our communication was through hugs, laughing, and making faces.
On Christmas Eve, we had an all-nighter at a local family's home. We played games, did crafts, decorated cookies, sang carols, had a time of reflection and thanksgiving, affirmed the children, ate a delicious Romanian meal, the kids opened their Christmas gifts (Operation Christmas Child boxes), and we watched movies until morning! The most precious moment of the evening was when one of the little girls opened her box and there was a baby doll on top (Just what she'd asked Santa for!)...she closed the box and wasn't interested in looking at anything else :) She was so excited! These kids will forever hold a special place in my heart.
Christmas day...after sleeping a few hours (we were all tired from the all-nighter), we spent the majority of the day in the kitchen :) Pancakes, coffee, mimosas, fruit and chocolate...what a yummy breakfast! Then more food prep for dinner with friends in the evening...I made Grandma Smallegan's wonderful egg nog (they had never had egg nog before!) and Sarah and John made a broccoli casserole and apple crisp. The best part was surprising my family with a skype call! It as so good to see them and just talk. I later realized that was the first time we had really "seen" each other since I left (my internet always makes the video freeze when we talk on skype). What a great Christmas present!!! What a wonderful Christmas...

A Different Kind of Christmas

Today Sarah and I are headed for Romania! We are going to spend the holidays there with her brother John. Next destination Italy! From Naples to Rome to Florence to Bologna to Cinque Terre to Venice...we are going to see the sites.

I pray you have a wonderful holiday! Missing you all! Sending my love...

Tis the Season

How I miss Christmas music 24/7, stockings being hung, decorations everywhere, snuggling by a fire with hot chocolate while snow gently falls outside...
Desperate to bring some Christmas cheer to Morocco, Sarah and I bought our very own "Charlie Brown" Christmas tree last night! What a great friday night...decorating our Christmas tree, listening to favorite holiday tunes, making snowflakes and paper chains for the window :)
Today we went to a Christmas fair (like a craft fair) and back to a friend's house to make Christmas cookies. This is a big tradition in my family (and one of the things I look forward to the most!)...every year Grandma Smallegan labors to make dozens of sugar cookies, frosting, and toppings for decorating. So, it was such a blessing to be able to do that here in Morocco too :) Stephanie was a wonderful host and we had so much fun decorating cookies with her two small children, Noah and Sara. Lunch, dozens of cookies, coffee, and Christmas movies...can life get any better than that?!
Although I miss sharing this with family and friends, there is something about this season that warms the soul and brings such joy...oh wait...that's Jesus! I pray you all have a blessed Christmas season as we celebrate the most precious gift of all. Sending all my love...

More pictures are up...

My pictures from our Marrakech adventure are on my Picasa web album!

Giving thanks...

Happy Thanksgiving! During this season of giving thanks, I'm reminded of all the blessings in my life...a wonderful family, job, new adventures (just to name a few). While I wish I could have enjoyed the turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, and pumpkin pie, my Thanksgiving had a bit of Moroccan flare :)
Our holiday weekend was spent in Marrakech. We stayed at a beautiful riad run by a french man and his monther...like a B&B. Our time in Marrakech was mostly spent in the souqs (bargaining markets). We honed our bargaining skills (Papa you'd be proud!) and were called a Berber by many of the shop owners (The Berbers are the original people of Morocco and are known for being hard bargainers) We also toured the Bahia Palace which was a great display of Moroccan architecture.
The big excitement of our trip was the camel trek in the Sahara! We left from Marrakech in a 4x4 and drove 7 hours east to Zagora. The drive there was amazing. Morocco has such a diverse landscape. Our driver/guide was funny and even gave me an arabic name: Nora. In Zagora we got on camels and headed out into the desert. Camels are not very comfortable to ride...FYI :) We reached our tent, enjoyed some Moroccan mint tea, a traditional Moroccan tagine, and called it a night. You only live once, so we decided to sleep outside under the stars instead of in the tent. It was cold but the stars made it totally worth it!!! 5 shooting stars :) What an amazing world we live in...thank you God! We are so blessed.