So much to be thankful for

Lately we have been so thankful for little children. A lady in the branch babysits the cutest little Chinese baby every Sunday. A couple weeks ago Grace was not at church, so the baby's mother was in a bind. She asked if I could watch her baby while she went to work. She was so good during the remainder of church and behaved so well. She felt comfortable with me, probably because I resemble a Chinese person! I felt so bad because I didn't even know her name! Her mom left in such a hurry that she was only able to give me the baby bag, car seat, and take down my phone number. David said he thought her name was "Ohm" so for the rest of the day we called this little girl by the name of Ohm. It was so nice having a little one at our apartment that Sunday afternoon- she even fell asleep on David's lap! When her mom, Debbie (It's funny how Chinese people come to the states and change their names to easier pronounced American names), came to get her she told us her name was Keying. I have no idea where in the world David got the name "Ohm" but we still refer to our adopted Chinese baby as little Ohm.

The following Sunday was our primary program at church. The primary is quite small, but the children are so adorable. They worked so hard trying to memorize their parts and songs. I had the pleasure of playing the piano while they all sang. It brought back so many memories hearing Love is Spoken Here and I'm Trying to Be Like Jesus. It reminded me of when Emerald and I used to sing while Asialene played the piano. The Spirit was so strong at church and we enjoyed every moment of the program.

On Friday David went to the tennis club to meet up with a friend to play some tennis. A big school bus pulled up and tons of children came running out. The teacher said, "Are you going to teach them tennis?" We felt bad because whoever was going to teach them did not show up, so David played with them for a little bit. They were so full of energy and David was so cute with the kids. When David and Mel played a game, the kids cheered, "Yay!" every time they hit the ball over the net and yelled, "Awww," when it didn't make it over. It was fun to watch. One thing we are very for thankful for here is how schools are able to bring religion into the classroom. These kids were from a public government school and they were singing, "Jesus on the telephone, tell him what you need. Tell him what you need right now. Some want silver, some want gold, but I want Jesus in my soul." It was adorable. People out here express their religion so much. In the classifieds you can always find a post saying, "Looking for a Christian minded roommate." Every Sunday we drive to church and love seeing all of our Caymanian brothers and sisters going to church as well.

We were thankful to be able to celebrate Thanksgiving with our American friends. Both David and I had to work, but we did have a little Thanksgiving dinner that evening with some friends and the missionaries. We had turkey sandwiches with homemade rolls and all of the sides. I am not a huge fan of turkey anyways, so this was perfect!

I was a bit sad that I wasn't able to participate in all of the fun shopping on Black Friday, but we ended up having a great day anyway. The branch participated in a fast for missionary work and then held a Thanksgiving dinner that evening. It was such a big deal. They rented round tables and had center pieces and all. The food was delicious and we all enjoyed one another's company. I'm thankful that even though we are living on a British Island and the branch is mainly Caymanians and Jamaicans, they still celebrate America's Thanksgiving.

We are thankful for Christmas and all of the traditions. Olga, one of the employees at Del Sol, invited us over Saturday evening for dinner and to decorate her Christmas tree. David has never had a Christmas with a fake tree, and neither of us have had one with a white tree, but it was still very special to participate in decorating it. She made lobster salad and sebiche which is raw Conch with onions, green peppers, and tomatoes in a vinegar sauce. It was delicious! 

We both love the holidays mostly because of all the time that we spend with family.  This year David and I will be celebrating our first christmas together as a family.  Although our brothers, sisters, parents, and just about everyone else that we know are far away, we are excited to start our own family traditions, and are so happy to be together.