Christmas Eve

Here in Chile the really big Christmas celebration occurs on Christmas Eve. They start with a big family dinner and a party that goes until midnight. At midnight the kids open their presents and stay up all night playing with their new toys. Our friends, neighbors, and fellow Mission President invited us to join their family for Christmas Eve. President and Hermana Martinez are wonderful people. They have been serving for 2 1/2 years and will be released in July. They are from Chile and have been such a great help to us in learning the culture, knowing where to shop, etc. They have three darling kids - ages 6, 9 and twelve. President Martinez read the Christmas story from Luke and we sang some Christmas songs. The dinner was amazing. Hermana Martinez and her mother spent three days cooking! We were grateful to spend the evening in such good company.