Merry Christmas From Paradise

Merry Christmas to all our friends and family!

We are counting our blessings today as we celebrate our Lord’s birthday, though we have lost count of all the blessings we have received….

Yes, we are in Paradise, literally….While life is a balance of boat maintenance and home school, we have been quite happy with afternoons on the beach, by the pool, diving with sea lions, horseback riding and simply enjoying time with family like we never have before.

This morning, we opened gifts that were placed under our 1 foot Christmas tree,  enjoyed the lights hung by the mast, and reflected on our recent experiences in a foreign culture and how they celebrate Christmas.

Christmas in Mexico is rather understated. There is very little gift giving (getting) and instead the time is dedicated to family and food. The time of gifts comes on January 6^th, Kings Day, in remembrance of the three wise men's gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh.

We plan to spend the 6^th with Families de la Esperanza - a missionary team that has helped families rise up from shanties in the dump in Puerto Vallarta.  We visited them earlier this week and it was a touching experience, one that made us appreciate the blessings we have and thankful for those that give their lives to sharing the Lord’s message and helping others.

Merry Christmas All!