Christmas

¡Feliz Navidad! to all of my friends, family, readers, and others. I have been enjoying a sunny and warm Christmas day here in Mexico and have been really blessed these past few days.
Even though this may not be my first non-White Christmas without any snow, it is my first Christmas spent away from my family. I haven't been feeling too sorry for myself, but in truth these last few days, as some of my co-missionaries took off the states, have been a little hard. Though my older brother is not at home everyone else is in the big house with the fire going, and I'm learning what it is to just miss the physical presence of people - the comfort that they can bring and small way of enjoying another person's personality and facial expressions and hugs.

A couple of my co-workers invited me to spend Christmas Eve with them. We would stay up late, eating tamales and punche (a heavily-sugared drink made of fruit; apples, oranges, guava, jamaica, tamarindo; boiled in water with cinnamon. It's a lot like apple cider except for the pieces of fruit). At midnight we would open presents and then go to bed. I stayed with David, Bero, and their family until about ten o'clock. I played monopoly with their kids, and Briana and I lost a lot of money to Pablo as we landed on "Avenida Ventor" right after he had decided to put four houses on piece of that set. Some of the first tamales were done just as I was leaving, and then I went over to Ruth's house. She has five brothers and sisters and we played Tabú (Tab00) and ate more tamales and then at midnight we opened presents and then lit sparklers outside. I spent the night there and felt truly welcomed by them. I really, truly, enjoyed my Christmas Eve. At times I would think "hmm...I wonder what my family's doing right now" but I had such a fun time and really enjoyed my company that I didn't have much extra time to wonder about that.

Then this morning I biked home and Becca and I ate her traditional almond coffee cake and opened the presents and stockings we had exchanged. Later today we are meeting up with some other missionaries in a nearby city and Becca is bringing a horrid concoction she calls "white chocolate pumpkin cheesecake." I might just have to try a piece. ;)

Merry Christmas, and may the Christ Child be truly born in our hearts this year.