December is one of my favorite months of the year. I love the time with family, food and traditions. Christmas is a big deal for Andrew and I and we like to make it very special for Kai and Kael. This is the wonderful thing about having a family and loving parents that cherish time together. Sadly not every child experiences this, but we are privileged to be able to directly impact some of those children right here in Cancun.

At the beginning of the year, Casa Hogar San Jose only had 8 kids and by Christmas time it had already expanded to 16 kids. Most of the kids are not able to go home for the holidays, so, since our first year here, Andrew and I started a new tradition with them. We wanted to give them a family Christmas experience so every year we have Christmas with them at our house.

Our day started around 10:00 am. Andrew went to pick them up and brought them back to our apartment to have lunch together. Another tradition that we have with them is to teach them generosity through an experience. This year we bought groceries and Christmas gifts for a family that lives in extreme poverty. We took everything to their house and the girls were able to pray and share this time with them.

We also made a craft of baby Jesus. Through this craft I was able to tell them the story of Jesus’ birth. After I told them the reason why Jesus came to this world, I asked them if they wanted to ask Jesus into their hearts and they said yes! I was so happy to hear this. So, one of our goals this year is to help them grow in their relationship with God through mentoring and discipleship.

Later we had a traditional Christmas dinner, family style. We were a little crowded but had fun together. After dinner, the kids enjoyed a time with a violinist singing Christmas carols. They loved doing this, it was a good, new experience for them. Finally the time came to open gifts and, like every other child, they were jumping al over the place with excitement.  

We had such a good time with them, and we know that they felt special and loved.