It was a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS at New Hope Homes today!

The day started early. The big boys got up early and spent hours cleaning the classroom. They made it shiny clean. Really. It practically sparkled. I was so very proud of them. .

Then we working on measuring some feet for the kids to see how much they had grown in the past 4 months. .

Harv is a HUGE hit. The kids love him and he they. .

Meanwhile, Abby was up early baking cutout cookies. Ahh, so much loved went into today. .

Eventually all the kids came up and everyone got some tinsel and tossed it at the same time...when we hit…And a Happy New Year in the Merry Christmas song. .

Abby brought her guitar and led the kids in Away in the Manger; We wish you a Merry Christmas and Jingle Bells. It was great fun. .

Then importantly….Erica joined us and talked to the kids about the meaning of Christmas and asked them lots of questions to ensure today was about celebrating the CHRIST in CHRISTmas. We talked about the fact that Jesus was the best gift and the other gifts there were getting today were not things that we deserved, and they shouldn’t expect them every year. We talked about sometimes we have sponsors who have some money to help and sometimes not..so for this Christmas we would be thankful that there were people who could help make Christmas a bit more special for them. .

THEN came extra fun. 2 by 2 the kids came to chairs in front of the Christmas tree and held their beautiful bag that Deb made for each of them with their name on the outside, a picture of one of her kitty’s in the pocket and then their presents inside. It was precious beyond words. I will post more photos when I get back, but for now, just know that each gift bag was perfect. Shoes, PJs, undies, socks, an outfit and of course…their present. THANK YOU all who went out their way to help make this Christmas so extra special for them. .

Then we had a little catered lunch so Emmanuel didn’t have to cook. A real treat for them. Abby helped us order from a place that did beef kabobs and chips (French fries) .

THEN, as if that wasn’t enough fun. Abby let each child frost their own cookies. They were so yummy and kids had a great time frosting them and of course got it all over their faces. EXCELLENT FUN! .

The little kids then went down to the 2nd and 3rd homes to take a nap and the rain began. It poured and poured and poured and poured. I keep filling bucket from the roof pipe to refill our buckets that we use to wash. Water is such a gift and fresh rain water is especially good. .

Our skyping time was great. We talked to Ian and Kristen and again and they told the boys about a Chelsea match they could watch tonight if we skyped in with them. Ian was awesome. He created a livemeeting we could login to and they they watched. Unfortunately we couldn’t get the Chelsea game so they settled for Arsnels..their nasty rivels! .

The walk back to the 1st home was a muddy slippery climb up the hill, but all did it. Nothing like walking in the dark carrying stuff and hoping to continue to go UP...not down. ☺ .

2 more hours and we’ll be ringing in the New Year here in Rwanda. We thank you for sharing our journey and we’ll say a prayer that your new year will be blessed beyond measure. .

Donna, Harv, Abby, Erica and the Kids of New Hope Homes.