Celebrate Jesus Celebrate

Christmas celebration number one: Sunday night. Involved making 20 homemade tortillas (to the perfect round shape because for some reason I have this real thing about making tortillas round), fajitas, homemade salsa, giving up some of the precious velveta cheese from america and making yummy cheese dip, homemade chocholate chip cookies and hot apple cider. Power out all evening, so having great fellowship by candlelight. it really was an incredible time. Our singles fellowship which meets every sunday night at different houses came to our house and we had a blast. I taught and we had a really special time as i had each one of us share different christmas memories and look at different aspects of the christmas story. We also sang our hearts out with carols by candlight (although the candlight is not by choice here!) i just love being a hosteess. Before coming to nepal I never knew that I would find so much joy in that.. but I do. I love it! I love this makeshift family that God has given me also. They have changed as new people come and go. .. but I look forward to every sunday as the highlight of my week. It is a very authentic community based around us walking through the joys and trials of serving God here.

Christmas celebration number 2: Just wanted to give you an example of a day in a life of nepal . Wake up and there is no power until 10:30, so no shower for jenn, or e-mails. So I have a wonderful time of coffee meeting with Jesus, then talk with my house helper for a while.. then I hop on the scooter and go into town. Run to the post office and drop off christmas cookies to my ladies there. Then drop of photos at the photo shop for apart of a christmas gift I am giving tonight. They are on a different side of town so although we now have power at my house.. I have to wait until this side of town gets power. So I go to the local coffee shop to wait and have another cup of coffee. Two of the ladies that come to my bible study work at the coffee shop– so I had a great time with them. Then my 2 friends from fellowship show up so we talk and laugh also. Go back, pic up picts. Run home, start basting the ham I am cooking for our fellowship tonight (think my grandma would be so proud). Realize i forgot to pick up carrots for carrot suffle that i am making tonight, so hop back on scooty and run to the grocery store. Need brown sugar and there are 2 grocery stores (biggest one has 4 aisles.. really.. dno’t think walmart).. all the foreigners have bought out the brown sugar this week… and the breakfast sugar. ke garne (what to do) oh well.. figure someone upstairs will have some. RUn back home and put together the christmas photo albums for gifts tonight.. then realize they did not print off half of my pictures.. so have to run on scooty again back to photo place. Get hit by a motorcyle as I am parking– no biggie.. no owies.. he just hops back on his motorcycle and keeps on going. They have no power again, so I go to the local mexican restaruant to wait. Some more of my friends show up so had a great time there. Then picked up pics, went back home. Cook carrots suffle. Want to make sausage balls but will have to wait for another time because have to homemake the sausage out of pork mince, then make the biscuits for teh dough– then the sausage balls– no time for that. Wrap the last of my presents.. then our church members show up christmas caroling. Go to listen to them. Power goes out again.. this time to stay out until 9:00 tonight. Then had a fabulous christmas gather with our teammates shyam and paula, then paula’s parents (who live above us) and our friends Matt and Ashley. The ham was awesome. It was quite the fun cheesy christmast gathering. A candle caught the wall on fire as we were eating.. always excitement! Then paula and shyams and matt and ashleys kids did an adorable christmas program, orin and paula acted out this hilarious christmas story, then margie told a christmas sotry.. then we sang christmas carols. So much fun! I really am blessed with an incredible community here. Lots of laughing and christmas cheer.

Then we exchanged gifts.. we had drawn names. I was soo excited with my gift. I got a huge plastic rubbermaid like basin. Now why would that excite me so much? they had quit carryng the big ones in nepal. Right now it’s soo cold showerse are miserable because no hot water. So I havce been taking bucket baths. But this would work where i would boil big pots of water, place them in the basin and sit down.. then another basin for my feet. Only in nepal would i get soo excited about a gift like that huh? but I was very excited.. and then some hot tea!

The power finally came back on (later then scheduled) at around 9:30. It’s funny when the power comes on the whole neighbornhood cheers! This happens daily. After the party I realized I had not showered in 5 days and tommorow we d on’t have power again until1 in the afternooon.. so i needed to shower tonight so I could dry my hair. So i took an ice cold shower, put my long johns and pj’s on, wrapped up in my bathrobe and here i am. A typical crazy fun day in nepal. Never a dull moment! And never do plans A, B, or C go as planned!

2 christmas celebrations down.. more to go. Tommorow christmas with the oprhans ( we had a great time buying them gifts) adn the slum kids.. and leah and i are taking our househelper out for some suprise christmas shopping.
Wednesday morning is going to be like christmas morning for leah and i — we will exchange gifts. Then Christmas eve night we willl go join our friends in bhouda on the other side of town (my fellowship friends). We are all going to go out to dinner at the fanciest hotel in town that night just for kicks. Then we will spend the night together, christmas morning we will wake up, open stockings (santa comes to nepal) and then have a big christmas meal and exchange gifts.

So don’t worry about me all the way over here in nepal.. i miss my family like CRAZY but God has given me soo many fun experiences and blessings.. and I feel so loved by my family back home that it helps. I think we work real hard to celebrate holidays BIG here.. since we are so far away we work hard to make them memorable.. and they are. Can’t believe this is my second christmas in nepal.

I love you guys soo much.