Christmas: Mongolian Style Part 2

Ah! Christmas Morning! What a blessed day it is when we can celebrate the most precious gift of all ages! It is also a time of remembering the laughs, food, friends, and family of celebrations in years past. This Christmas Morning was no less special. We awoke refreshed and in a cheerful mood. Jennifer fixed a wonderful breakfast! We ate homemade biscuits and gravy with Mongolian bacon (different than what we are used to but yummy non-the-less). As we feasted we listened to streaming Christmas music over the Internet from the Nashville radio station that we used to listen to when we lived there. It was a nice taste of home! After breakfast, we Skyped with Joshua's parents. So that they might take part in our joy, we waited to open our Christmas box from them until we were talking with them. Technology has made it possible for us to share in the holiday together even though we are a world away! Following our conversation with them, we opened the few presents that we had gotten for each other. It was a wonderful time! Jejeg even got a new toy from Grandma that he enjoyed playing with all Christmas day.Our main meal of the day was a Barbecued Brisket with Sweet Potato Casserole, Green Bean Casserole, and Dressing. Apple Pie and Ice Cream topped the whole thing off. It was a delicious meal! Jennifer did a wonderful job, especially considering that she had to make a lot of it from absolute scratch. Ever tried making your own cream of mushroom soup and fried onions so you can make a green bean casserole? Just another of the joys and challenges of living in Mongolia.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing. We read for a while, watched a movie, and overall did as little as we could. It was such a wonderful time of rest and reflection! We were so thankful for the opportunity to rest that we had been given. Later in the evening, we Skyped with Jennifer's family. After a good time with them, we headed off to bed.

The day after Christmas, we had our all team Christmas party. For lunch, pizza and salad were on the menu. The pizzas had been ordered from the restaurant below our apartment, so we picked them up and got a taxi to the west side of town where our party was at. Almost everybody was there. We had a great time of fellowship while eating! After the food, an announcement was made that some people in attendance had received holiday mail; however, in order to get the mail the people to whom it belonged would have to do a crazy performance. Unfortunately, one of the cards was for the two of us, so we had do something to get it. Once all the mail had been handed out, we did a gift exchange. We then shared what gifts we had received. Afterwards, we had a long time of sharing and uplifting. People played a few games, we ate sweets, and we loaded into taxis to go home. The time went by fast, but we enjoyed the opportunity to be together and celebrate with our friends.

We hope that Christmas was a joyful time for all of you as well. Thank you so much for your thoughts and well wishes during this season! We love an appreciate you all! May the true joy of the season fill your hearts throughout this new year!!