Christmas in Baja
Randy and I arrived at Sonshine Hacienda just in time for the Christmas madness to begin. And we still have a week of it as we prepare for the "Day of the Kings" on January 6.
Christmas opens peoples hearts to want to give, and to make sure that others have a wonderful Christmas too. Which is why our phones and emails and doorbells have been buzzing constantly with people who want to help. We've been overwhelmed by people's generosity this year!
Every week, sometimes every day, sometimes twice a day, we've had people and groups and churches come by to celebrate with us. We've had firefighters and off-road racers and youth groups. We've had clowns and Noah's Ark and piñatas. We've received new clothes and new shoes, a new kitchen play set and more soccer balls than we can count.
And just yesterday a local family stopped by. Three little girls handed me a trash bag full of stuffed animals. They said they got new ones from Santa this year and wanted the children to have their old ones, so they would have something to play with too. So sweet!
Randy and I have also experienced some of the traditions and customs that come along with a Mexican Christmas. One of the traditions is that everyone stays up all night. You go to midnight mass on Christmas Eve, then come home and eat a huge meal, build a bonfire, set off fireworks, and smash piñatas.
Since most of our kids are under the age of 10, we had to modify this a little. We went to Christmas Eve caroling at 4 p.m. Then we drove around town, checking out people's bonfires and fireworks (and picking up a Santa suit for Papa Randy!). We got home around 8 p.m. and had a huge meal of tamales. Followed by a visit from Santa and one last opportunity for the kids to plead their case as to whether they've been "naughty" or "nice." We told the kids they could stay up all night, but most of them fell asleep watching a movie and were carried off to bed around 11:30.
This is when Randy and my night really began! We took all the toys out of our playroom and replaced them with wrapped presents. We set up the new play kitchen and a tool station. We replaced all the old bean bags with donated new ones. We laid out stockings (donations from our church, Mission San Felipe) for each child on the couch. And Randy hung piñatas from the ceiling. And we crawled off to bed around 3 a.m.
The kids were supposed to wait until 7:30 the next morning to come in and see their Christmas wonderland, but when Randy and I came down at 7:15 the boys were already peeking in their stockings. The girls arrived shortly after. But before we opened gifts, we went around the room and everyone had an opportunity to share what they were grateful for. And we all couldn't help but smile when 3-year-old Nidia said she was grateful for Santa and all his gifts.
After a prayer, we said "uno, dos, tres" and all the kids ran to open their stockings. Three minutes later new clothes were on, pages were being torn out of coloring books, and Nerf guns were being shot at siblings. It could have been Christmas anywhere in the world!
Following stockings, we had reindeer pancakes, washed the syrup off our hands, and then opened the rest of our presents. Randy and I even got gifts from the children!
The next several hours went by in a blur. The older kids had earbuds in, listening to music on their new MP3 players. The younger ones were cooking and building with the new play sets. Mamas were looking at each other like "where are we going to put all this." And Randy and I were exhausted but relishing our first Christmas in Baja.
While it seemed like the perfect day, the reality of what we do hit late in the afternoon. Our doorbell rang. While it wasn't visiting day, we assumed some of the kids' families may have wanted to drop by to wish their children a Merry Christmas. Instead it was a dad, stepmom, and 10-year-old girl. Dad explained that his daughter had a half-brother who lived with us. Stepmom explained that the girl had an attitude problem. Dad explained that his daughter had been in and out of children's homes. Stepmom explained that she didn't want to put up with the girl anymore. Our administrator explained that you can't just drop off your child because she has a bad attitude. That there are processes and regulations, patience and understanding that all have to come in to play. This would have been heartbreaking any day of the week, but especially on Christmas day.
While the little girl didn't come live with us that day, she may one day in the future. And hopefully we'll have the opportunity to love her back to the carefree childhood that every kid deserves.
Randy and I are in San Felipe on a volunteer basis, which means we rely 100% on your support to continue to live and work here. Consider a year-end donation to our ministry by donating through PayPal. Be sure to include "For Randy and Katie" as your purpose for donating. Visit www.sonshinehacienda.org for a link to donate.
Christmas opens peoples hearts to want to give, and to make sure that others have a wonderful Christmas too. Which is why our phones and emails and doorbells have been buzzing constantly with people who want to help. We've been overwhelmed by people's generosity this year!
Every week, sometimes every day, sometimes twice a day, we've had people and groups and churches come by to celebrate with us. We've had firefighters and off-road racers and youth groups. We've had clowns and Noah's Ark and piñatas. We've received new clothes and new shoes, a new kitchen play set and more soccer balls than we can count.
And just yesterday a local family stopped by. Three little girls handed me a trash bag full of stuffed animals. They said they got new ones from Santa this year and wanted the children to have their old ones, so they would have something to play with too. So sweet!
Randy and I have also experienced some of the traditions and customs that come along with a Mexican Christmas. One of the traditions is that everyone stays up all night. You go to midnight mass on Christmas Eve, then come home and eat a huge meal, build a bonfire, set off fireworks, and smash piñatas.
Since most of our kids are under the age of 10, we had to modify this a little. We went to Christmas Eve caroling at 4 p.m. Then we drove around town, checking out people's bonfires and fireworks (and picking up a Santa suit for Papa Randy!). We got home around 8 p.m. and had a huge meal of tamales. Followed by a visit from Santa and one last opportunity for the kids to plead their case as to whether they've been "naughty" or "nice." We told the kids they could stay up all night, but most of them fell asleep watching a movie and were carried off to bed around 11:30.
This is when Randy and my night really began! We took all the toys out of our playroom and replaced them with wrapped presents. We set up the new play kitchen and a tool station. We replaced all the old bean bags with donated new ones. We laid out stockings (donations from our church, Mission San Felipe) for each child on the couch. And Randy hung piñatas from the ceiling. And we crawled off to bed around 3 a.m.
The kids were supposed to wait until 7:30 the next morning to come in and see their Christmas wonderland, but when Randy and I came down at 7:15 the boys were already peeking in their stockings. The girls arrived shortly after. But before we opened gifts, we went around the room and everyone had an opportunity to share what they were grateful for. And we all couldn't help but smile when 3-year-old Nidia said she was grateful for Santa and all his gifts.
After a prayer, we said "uno, dos, tres" and all the kids ran to open their stockings. Three minutes later new clothes were on, pages were being torn out of coloring books, and Nerf guns were being shot at siblings. It could have been Christmas anywhere in the world!
Following stockings, we had reindeer pancakes, washed the syrup off our hands, and then opened the rest of our presents. Randy and I even got gifts from the children!
The next several hours went by in a blur. The older kids had earbuds in, listening to music on their new MP3 players. The younger ones were cooking and building with the new play sets. Mamas were looking at each other like "where are we going to put all this." And Randy and I were exhausted but relishing our first Christmas in Baja.
While it seemed like the perfect day, the reality of what we do hit late in the afternoon. Our doorbell rang. While it wasn't visiting day, we assumed some of the kids' families may have wanted to drop by to wish their children a Merry Christmas. Instead it was a dad, stepmom, and 10-year-old girl. Dad explained that his daughter had a half-brother who lived with us. Stepmom explained that the girl had an attitude problem. Dad explained that his daughter had been in and out of children's homes. Stepmom explained that she didn't want to put up with the girl anymore. Our administrator explained that you can't just drop off your child because she has a bad attitude. That there are processes and regulations, patience and understanding that all have to come in to play. This would have been heartbreaking any day of the week, but especially on Christmas day.
While the little girl didn't come live with us that day, she may one day in the future. And hopefully we'll have the opportunity to love her back to the carefree childhood that every kid deserves.
Randy and I are in San Felipe on a volunteer basis, which means we rely 100% on your support to continue to live and work here. Consider a year-end donation to our ministry by donating through PayPal. Be sure to include "For Randy and Katie" as your purpose for donating. Visit www.sonshinehacienda.org for a link to donate.
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