Christmas was different this year but it was wonderful! The day started with finding a Christmas stocking on my door handle. Heidi and Nick also received one so we opened them together after our pancake breakfast. Someone from church had come and put them on our doors. It was quite touching to be remembered!

This morning I played flute on the Christmas carols. It's been so long since I've been apart of planning a worship service! It was fun to be able to use the gifts God has given me to serve him on this special day. After the service we ate our Christmas dinner together. This was a mix of food, culture, and traditions. It included sushi, pizza, pasta, octopus, Christmas cake, etc. After filling our bellies we started playing bingo. What were we playing for? All of the things that did not sell at the church garage sale! Yep, we kept playing and playing until everything was gone! (That's one way to get rid of things.)

During the evening seven other Americans came over to my apartment for a Christmas party. We ate lots and lots of food, enjoyed sitting by the Christmas tree and lights, laughed tons, and had a $5 gift exchange. It was a great success!

Oh, and just to remind me that Christmas is just another day on the calendar here, the postman came with a package from home. My Christmas presents arrived on Christmas day--wow!