Chirstmas Giving...

Hello, Everyone, and Feliz Navidad from El Salvador!!!

This has been a busy week and everything has been good. I spent two days with children at an orphanage. One day was to give out candy and the other, we cooked rice, turkey, salad and bread for them. That was a full day of cooking!!!!! Someone had donated cake for them and we had a wonderful time with the children. All the children in this orphanage are from abused homes and they are just precious!!!

I also had the opportunity to help give out over 250 sandwiches and gifts to children and their parents in a very poor community. A friend here in El Sal has decided to do this and recruited help. It was a wonderful experience.

Another opportunity came to put my hands to work. An organization here was giving away over 650 chickens and needed help!!!!! They had to work quickly because the chickens were frozen and it was hot here. So I helped bag and hand out chickens. Most of the people receiving these do not have refrigerators so we needed to give the chickens to them while they were still frozen. These were really big chickens....between 5 and 6 lbs!!!!! I had a great time doing it and thought about all the times of giving out food at TRWC. My experience paid off. Ha ha

My ant bites are almost healed. That is an experience I do not want to repeat. My brother-in-law said that is what I get for mowing in Dec....He may be right. ha ha I took all my papers to Immigration and everything is perfect except for one form....so it is back to the lawyer's office for this to be fixed.....

I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and to thank you for all your support and prayers that allow me to be here. I love every day here and love every opportunity I have to be a blessing to others. I am truly blessed to be a blessing. I also am thankful for the Lord allowing me to be here. May He bless each one of you this holiday season.

All my love,

Janis

Busy with Blessings...

I have had a couple of very busy weeks. And after surviving the ant bites and the bad milk, everything else has been going great!!! (With the ant bites, I guess that is what I get for mowing grass in December!!!!! Evidently these ants have a lot of venom and about 50 of them got in my shoes and on my feet while I was mowing at Abigail. My feet swelled up about twice the normal size. There is no harm, except for the pain and discomfort. Good thing it is warm here and I can wear sandals!!!!!) (And with the milk, we bought it fresh and then the next day, two of us had cereal and were sick within an hour. Come to find out, they do not use refrigerated trucks here to transport the milk from packaging to store.....a risk....)

BUT....on to other stuff. Monday morning I went early to Abigail and took a Christmas tree. I put it up with all the lights before the lady and her baby were up. It was still dark and when they came down and saw the tree, their eyes just lit up!!! The little baby just kept staring and smiling. She loved it!!!!! That moment was Christmas for me!!!!! The lady who is staying at the house is doing very well. Her husband did try to contact her through her mother, but she wants nothing to do with him. He drinks heavily and this is not the first time he has abused her. She had filed a police report in the past, but this is the first time she physically left. He was chasing her in the street with a knife, trying to kill her and the little baby. She also has two other children, 8 and 15 and they are safe with her mother. Accoridng to the police report, he was after her and they baby and not the other children. But we are so thankful that she is safe!!!!!!

I spent a day at an orphanage (and forgot my camera!!!!! UGH!!!) But it was great. In fact, we are going back this Friday and taking them lunch and presents!!! I WILL take my camera and post pics for you to see. So tomorrow will be a day of cooking and also getting ready for Abigail tomorrow night.

This afternoon, we are going to a gathering of about 150 kids to give out food and toys. They are all very, very poor children and my heart just hurts looking at each one of them. But they are thrilled with a smile, a hug and a piece of candy or a little doll.

My papers for immigration are FINALLY complete and I am picking them up today at the lawyer's office. Then it will be off to immigration next week. Soon, I will be totally legal. Look out, El Sal.... ;-)

I will give another update after the end of this week. So many way to be a blessing to other people and I just want to be God's hands extended. I thank each one of you for your prayers and support. I hope you are having a wonderful holiday season. I miss you and wish you were here to see what the Lord is doing.

All my love,

Janis