End of the year post! Part 2

I hope you all had a blessed Christmas and I wish you a Happy New Year!

Monserrat is one of our adorable toddlers in the nursery.

For most of us the in the US, Christmas is a magical time full of warm and cozy traditions. For the children of the garabage dump, Christmas can be a dangerous and even life-threatening time. No child belongs in the dump, but children from ages 0 to 5 are especially vunerable to the dangers of this environment. In years without the nursery at Christmas time, children have been seriously injured; tragically, some have even died because of dump site accidents. For this reason, some community volunteers and I help run day care at the AFE school during the holiday break. All days we are open, except for Christmas eve, Christmas , New Years eve, and New Years day.

Christmas was very different for me this year. This was my first Christmas without my family and it was my first Christmas outside of the US. Surprisingly enough, I made it through the whole day without a single tear. I am extremely thankful for the way God has continuously sustained me and comforted me away from home. My Christmas was celebrated on Christmas eve this year. My host family received visits from family and friends all day long. In the evening, we had a special dinner of cooked chicken, rice, and salad. Then, we waited until 12 midnight to see dozens of fireworks set off in the mountains. It was like the 4th of July in December instead of Christmas in July! Christmas day was very peaceful. I started my day with a video call from my family and spent the rest of the day watching Christmas movies.

Keep checking my blog for new updates in the New Year! Happy 2020 everyone!!!

To all of you who read my blog, thank you!!!