Holidays

This year we had a Christmas tree. It made our lives seem a little more normal. The two little gifts under the tree are empty. Cheryl just thought we needed some wrapped gifts to make it look better. There's also a small carved manger scene. That was made on a neighboring Island in timor-leste. Last year we didn't put up the tree and it felt terrible.

We called our children and my parents on their Christmas Day which was the day after Christmas for us. This Christmas felt so much better. Last Christmas we were only out for 20 days and it felt so lonely and we felt like we would be away for ever.
In our church group three of the four adult members are living alone here in Timor-Leste. We had them all over for Christmas dinner. Sitting next to Cheryl is Nikki. She works for the Philippine Embassy. Across from Nikki is Eden. She has three children that are currently living in the Philippines because one of them needs special therapy. She'll be alone until they return the middle of 2019. Sitting across from Cheryl is Warlito. He has eight children. Everyone lives in the Philippines except for him. He can find much better employment here in Timor-Leste. He is an electrician.

We had a good Christmas dinner together. Everyone stayed for several hours and we talked a lot. They've become our extended family.
We had a very enjoyable group Christmas party. Everyone brought some desserts. Cheryl led the group in Christmas songs while a member of the group practiced and was able to play the songs on the keyboard. We then showed a church video about the nativity. We followed it up with some holiday bingo while we ate the desserts.

Counting Cheryl and I there were five members of the church and 10 who were not members. Everyone enjoyed themselves. There was a nice spirit.





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