Its a Wonderful Life!

As some of you know, my favorite holiday movie, and movie in general is the christmas classic, Its a Wonderful Life. This movie for me represents the true spirit of the season, a time to celebrate the great love of friends and family, a time to celebrate the generosity of the human heart, and the general joy that reigns during the special time that is Christmas. Here at the finca this spirit infused every heart, and in turn produced a truly magical Christmas.

On Christmas eve, one could literally sense the excitement in the air. The adorable nativity play before mass, the all finca dinner full of delicious food, and the general excitement and anticipation in the faces of every child put a smile on every face. Then as the kids danced away in the school, we volunteers snuck around playing fed ex for the santa. At midnight we all went out on the soccer field and said a quick prayer for the beautiful birth of Jesus and sang a christmas song. In this whoville esque moment, the great joy that is christmas filled all our hearts, and put smiles on every face.

I then had the true blessing of being able to go back to two of the houses with the kids to watch them open their presents. This truly made the holiday for me. The house 3 boys, ages 4 through 8, literally jumped for joy when they saw their presents. Joels face when he discovered his stuffed frog also made noises was one of pure amazment. Jose Pastor held up his bag of new marbles as if he had found pure gold. The prize though goes to house four, boys ages 10 through 12. When Daniel discoved his new soccer cleats he literally almost fell to his knees in excitement and kissed his new shoes with a face that cannot even be described by words. The pure joy in there sweet faces made my christmas one that I will never forget.

The following morning we as volunteers relaxed and ate large amounts of super yummy food, including fresh made bagels, cinnamon rolls, personalized omelettes, and yummy chocolate covered cookies, courtesy of a much appreciated christmas care package from my parents! After some technical challenges I also got to call my family back home and wish them all a very merry christmas.

All in all, this Christmas taught me that the joy and spirit of this magical season is one that truly makes the heart smile, and teaches us that it truly is a wonderful life!