Merry Christmas

1. Christmas Day

Christmas Eve started with breakfast outside on the terrace for us. And then we started preparing. Martin put the finishing touches on his church services, and I decorated the house and the yard in a Christmas theme. There are plenty of flowers here. I spent the afternoon in the garden while Martin had the family service at 4:00 p.m., which was well received as the children were involved. At 6:00 p.m., we had the Christmas Eve service together. There were also several musical contributions. It was a very, very beautiful service, and it was the first Christmas in the church for the Peruvians after 2 years. They have longed for it here. Afterwards, we stayed together in the courtyard for a while as it gradually got darker. We have been warmly welcomed here, and the congregation is so grateful that we are here. They would love to keep us here.

At home, we had a Christmas meal that was given to us by a staff member. And we used the time to read the many newsletters we received. We were already warned that the night could be loud because Christmas Eve is celebrated more like New Year's Eve here, with lots of fireworks. Nevertheless, I slept well. Since curfew was imposed for both Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, meaning no one is allowed out on the streets between 11:00 p.m. and 4:00 a.m., people celebrate from one curfew to the next. This officially complies with the Covid rules but still allows people to meet.

We will soon meet with our children and grandchildren on Google Meet, which we are very excited about. This way, we can at least see each other and exchange greetings. And afterwards, we have been invited to have dinner with friends. While it is 10:30 here, it is slowly getting dark where you are (at least in Germany and Switzerland). Today, we also received a photo of a walk in the snow in sunny weather. The sun hasn't shown itself here yet, but it won't be long. We wish you a blessed holiday season and hasta pronto.