Sunday I pulled out some of my Christmas CDs to listen to while I cooked dinner. My favorite is one that you cannot buy in a store and that there are probably less than 500 copies in existence. It was made in 2000. Now that was a Christmas to remember.
For Christmas 2000 I was in Brasil on my mission. It was my second Christmas as a missionary and I was feeling very at home in Brasil by that point. The mission had organized a large mission choir that was going to be performing at various places around town the month of December. I had planned to be a part of it, but was transfered out of Curitiba to Ponta Grossa in October. I was training a new companion and it was going to be her first Christmas in Brasil. She’d arrived in the mission the day before Thanksgiving.
As December progressed we’d been asking everyone what their Christmas plans were as a point of discussion. So many of the people we talked to were having different problems and were not looking forward to a wonderful holiday. We decided we could do something to help. I had discovered that the majority of people liked my sugar cookies, so we decided to take everyone a plate of cookies. We used all our sugar plus the more we bought making them. We spent all of the 24th and 25th pretty much delivering cookies, not even sure when we were going to fit in phone calls home. We did get the calls in though.
I had a few things in a package from home so we decorated my tiny tree and I put out some gifts for my companion before she woke up. It was fun to do that for her.
That day was a Monday, which in the mission meant district meetings. So we went to that in the morning, just like always. There was nobody else on the bus. We wished the bus driver a Merry Christmas. For our meeting that morning we went to the hospital and went to all the floors and sang Christmas songs. For 12 guys and 2 girls, we didn’t sound half bad. It was a wonderful way to spend Christmas morning. When I sing those hymns I think of that morning.
The Christmas CD I like listening to is the music from the mission choir that year. I was not a part of it, but some of my dear friends were (Balsters, Lindsey). And when I listen to that CD, I remember that Christmas.
It’s just not Christmas without those songs. And I’ll often listen to some of the songs during the year too.
I’ll have to see if I can scan in some pictures from that Christmas later.
I am an educator and PhD. I quilt, belly dance, run, read, and try to grow things. I am a Mormon. I am infertile. I am a daughter, sister, aunt, grand-daughter, friend, wife, and mom.
Brett L. Dennis
Mama g
Giggles
AmandaStretch
