This is going to be a fun week! My parents are coming Wednesday to spend 5 days with us.  Thursday begins our annual women’s conference. My mom will kick off the daytime session and my dad will kick off the Thursday night revival. This weekend we will also be trimming the tree, baking sugar cookies, and working on our Christmas Card photos.

This is our second year doing Christmas in the Mole. We moved to the property last year and had high hopes that all our Christmas decorations (that have been in storage the last 4 years in St. Louis du Nord) would still be there. We were really sad to see that ALL OF IT – at least 300 strands of lights, extension cords, and 5 feet tall wired decorations were gone. It was really sad for me because I had been collecting these things for 10 years.

So last year we weren’t able to decorate very much. We just had some strands in the cafeteria. We spent this year collecting lights and thanks to my parents – we even got a beautiful nativity scene too!

Growing up our family went all out for the holidays.! When we lived on main street in Calhoun, KY  – we actually plugged our lights into the city’s light poles! We would spend a week decorating the house – many times cutting 20 trees and planting them in our yard to do a winter wonderland. We would have kids writing us notes and knocking on our doors asking us when we were going to start decorating.

Though we moved to Haiti right after college – when we fly out for the December Board Meetings – we still try to make a quick trip to KY to help my parents put up their Christmas decorations.  I don’t do it for them – but for the kids who look forward to it every year.

It’s that same love I grew up with – watching the smiles & the twinkles in their eyes – that made me want to bring a bright Christmas to Haiti. We decorated the St. Louis courtyard and would let the children come in and watch movies. We served popcorn, hot chocolate, and a large Christmas Rice & Bean meal! Just like in the states  – around the end of October  – street kids would be asking when we were going to decorate the campus.

Though we still have a long way to go – we have already started the tradition here in the Mole. The children & adults hang outside our gates staring at the lights. The children told us it’s not as scary to walk past the cemetery now because we have lit up that dark corner. The police even thanked us for decorating for the community. I’m always amazed by how little it takes to amaze here……and yet I still want to do so much more.

Now we see the trucks & mottos slowing down to look at the manager scene & decorations. Tonight I watched as some of our staff sat and glared at that Nativity for over an hour……no doubt realizing what that precious baby did for this world.

I get excited for the little things…..the smiles and the raised eyebrows…the bright eyes as they peer through the gates…. the staff coming out of stuffy/hot homes to sit & look out on a peaceful campus….how light can push back the dark & make a walk home a little less scary…..how an angel placed high above the trees can remind everyone that God’s watching over them…..how a simple nativity scene can bring to life the very meaning of our existence…..

Maybe I’m still just a little kid at heart…..but that’s okay! It’s what allows me to appreciate the beauty of simple things.

Here’s a bunch of pictures – at all kinds of different angles! Not all the photos turned out great – sort of hard to capture the lights just right. Trying to let those of you who’ve been here before get a clear picture of where everything is at!

When you buy your Christmas decorations this year….think about us! Especially those after Christmas sales! Just think what all we can add next year!