Natal (part 2)

Natal (part 2)

I´ll start off with some fun highlights from this week!
-A car drove through a pot hole full of water and guess where we were
conveniently standing?
-We went to a member´s house for Christmas Eve and stayed there until
almost midnight, and I almost died from exhaustion; but it was really
fun.
-We had a day this week where we had two lunch appointments, and I found
out it's possible to actually die from overeating. I almost didn't make
it out alive.
-You know you've been roughing it when you use the bathroom in a more
affluent family´s house, and they have two-ply toilet paper and you´re
like, "two-ply?! What is this, the King's palace?"
- Also when you get to walk up some concrete stairs that aren't
unevenly spaced and crumbling and think, "Dang is this the stairway to
Heaven or what?!"

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  This was definitely the most humble, most Christ centered Christmas
that I've ever had in my life. I remember the first time I went to the
house of one of the Irmãs here, and as I walked down the dark damp
treacherous stairwell I thought, "What am I descending into right
now?" This week, I merrily made my way down those same stairs with a
big smile on my face and a heart full of glee. At the bottom of those
stairs is a concrete patio, with nothing but a big blue tarp to keep
the rain off of us, where I was welcomed with open arms by about 20
of the most wonderful, lively, loving people I've ever met in my life.
We sang Christmas hymns together, and everyone ate a ridiculous amount
of food and talked and laughed, and I felt at home.
   As I sat there with a full heart (and stomach), I thought about
Jesus' birth. The King of Kings, the Savior of the World, the
Great I Am, who was born in a manger. I thought about the rejoicing of
the Heavens at that humble birth and all of the love that must have
filled that stable. I've learned so much already and have been more
humbled than I can explain in words. I hope that in this New Year I
will continue to grow in gratitude and appreciation for everything I have,
and that each of us can be a little more charitable, that our hearts
can be a little more full of love, and learn a little more about the
insignificance of material things in the grand scheme of things. I
love you all so much and hope you all have another great week!!

Loooovveeee,
Sister Curtis