Hello Everyone...Happy New Year!!

 How is everyone? I hope you are doing very very good..I prayed that you all would have an amazing Christmas and New Years. Here in Busia we had a great holiday it was not like a Christmas or New Years I would have spent at home but I think that made it even better.

CHRISTMAS:

My team and I did a secret santa this year, each girl had one other girl on our team and for the week before Christmas we would leave little notes of encouragement and some kind of small gift or surprise like cookies, or juice, or candy bars (as a missionary food is usually the best gift to give). It was a really awesome week and I had so much fun trying to be creative and find cute ideas and things to give or say in my notes of encouragement. We as a whole big team with both the Uganda one team and the Uganda two team (there are 11 of us total) we all celebrated together on the 24^th because we were going to be busy on Christmas day. So we woke up on the 24^th and we saw that despite being in Uganda away from our homes, families and friends Santa had still comeJ. We had stockings that were made from our socks, we had balloons filled with candy's and real candy like kit-kat, snickers, and m&m's. Awesome letters and Merry Christmas cards we opened gifts and ate our candy. It really was one of the best Christmas I have ever had, my Secret Santa was Nadia and she was just simply an amazing Secret Santa for my gift she bought me a beautiful purple head wrap like ones that all the women wear here in Africa and I absolutely LOVE it. I wore it all day from the time I got it till I went to sleep; it was exactly what I asked for and wanted. One girl on my team Tara gave us the best gift ever. She contacted our parents at home and had them contact people to e-mail her Christmas letters for us. So as we all sat in our living room with our belly's full of candy and good treats we also cried at the sweet letters we had received from friends and family. My letters were amazing and so not expected it was such an amazing surprise. Then the rest of the day we ate and ate and ate; for breakfast we had banana and chocolate chip pancakes, for lunch we had veggie and fruit skewers and dinner we had corn fritters, mashed potatoes, doughnuts that we have learned how to make and I know I am missing some foods but just so you are not worried about me not eating I promise we are doing good with food.

Then on Christmas day we spent most of the day at the church that we go to and work with here called Grace Calvary Christian Church, we put on Christmas skit and sang some Christmas songs for them from America then they showed us how they have Christmas African style. They sang and danced around A LOT, we had communion and they served us lunch. It was really a great two days. I missed my family so much and I was able to get to talk to just about everyone so that was a great gift as well......oh and the best part about Christmas is that our water had been off for about a week and it came back on the 25^th and I was able to take my first shower in 10 days....hahaha it was a glorious day J

NEW YEARS

 New Years eve we found ourselves right back at Grace Calvary Church for an all night prayer service to pray into the New Year. We went to the church around 6 p.m. and we left around 5a.m. At midnight everyone was outside of the church and praising God into the new year. There was sooooooo much dancing and singing and praying. Here in Busia when you are really happy you dance with a chair above your head and run around doing whatever kind of dance moves you want. So that is exactly what I did as well. I grabbed a chair lifted it above my head and danced around with my other African brothers and sisters in Christ. We prayed to our might God, our king of kings our savior. Thanking him so much for the past year and lifting up prayers for the year to come. Again it was a really cool experience and not the way I would have celebrated had I been home so I am glad that I was here and got this chance to experience this. The rest of the night was filled with a pattern of preaching, worshiping and dancing and praying.

Praise God for the new year and all that is to come this year. I am so excited to see how he works in my life and where he takes me this year in my life. It was really sad to see 2009 leave because it was such a good year but this year holds many promises as well.......

      My 3 biggest prayers for the beginning of 2010.

 (1)See my family members grow with Christ.

 (2)Grow to a whole new level in my faith.

 (3) Go to college (this one scares me the most)................

Thank you again so much for reading my blogs I hope you enjoyed reading about our awesome holiday experiences. Love and miss you all so much and my prayer requests right now are to be praying for my future plans of college and for my team here. We have been in a struggle right now with some ministry things and we are really trying to pray and seek God in it all but a little extra prayer from our loved ones at home is always needed.

 Thank you so so so much and God Bless.

Love,

Love,

Love