Our first Christmas in Uganda...

Since all of our students are at home for the holidays, things are pretty quiet around here. Fortunately, we do have Madame Grace and Madame Merabu with their children and the 2 security guards, Bernard and David.

On Christmas Eve we used the projector to show Home Alone. We watched a more serious movie a few weeks ago that was about Jesus, so this one was just for fun. Several neighbors came to join us, so we had at least 20-30 people in the room. Everyone had a good laugh!

I love the wrapping paper here. All this paper cost me less than $1. :)

On Christmas morning we slept in a little bit, then after breakfast we opened our gifts. They were very small and practical, but everyone loved what they got. Tyler got 2 big boxes of his favorite cookie here in Uganda. Troy got a case of Funfruiti soda (a local favorite that he loves) and a couple of his favorite candy bars. Raegan got a case of apple juice and a couple of her favorite candy bars. Floyd and I also got a favorite candy bar as well. We will all taste and see that the Lord is good. ;)

Only in Uganda does every child pull out their large pocket knife to open the gifts. :)

We had a small church service around midday. Since there aren't many of us, we just gathered on the porch again. We did have a few extra children from the village come join us. After church, we all changed out of our good clothes and the preparation for supper began.

The little ones did not make it through the whole service. 

First, we had to catch and slaughter the rooster. He was getting too old anyway, so we had decided to eat him today. Chicken is a local favorite! Once he was cleaned and ready, Grace and Merabu prepared him the Ugandan way.

We had several sides to go along with the chicken, most of which were local dishes. I did make deviled eggs, which they had never seen before. Just as I was finishing the eggs, the girls came asking if they could help me. I still had to make dessert, so Cathy, Karungi, and Aida were my helpers. We made a birthday cake for Jesus and banana bread muffins. Since they had never baked before, it was quite an adventure! While we baked, all the boys, Edgar, Monday, Prosper, and Andrew, played in the kitchen floor with legos and magnetic letters on the fridge (Tyler snapped a pic).

 We finally sat down for supper with 16 people in the house. This was our first time to not be with family for Christmas, but we were blessed with a full kitchen! The security guards were also far from their family because they are both from Northern Uganda. Fortunately, we were all able to enjoy the special day. Everyone had plenty to eat and Troy even took some of the extra food over to some construction workers who weren't far away.

After dinner, the ladies did the dishes, Tyler dried and put them away, and all the kids sat around with books and legos. It was a successful first Christmas in Uganda!

The older girls were reading on their own.

Love those happy faces! Troy was reading them a story and they caught me taking a pic.

Everyone was busy!

Merry Christmas!!