Candles, Hello Kitty, & Glue

Last Saturday marked the first of many Christmas parties to come. About twenty children from the community came to the Youth Center to have a Christmas party. The festivities began with a candle light service. We lit the advent wreath and some of the kids held lit candles. We sang Christmas Carols and a story of Little Santa Claus was read. It was a simple but beautiful service.

After the service we split up into groups. In my group there were two other volunteers and four very talkative 8 year old girls. The craft for the day was to make stars of bamboo rods, paper, and lots of glue. The children were told to bring things that they could use to decorate the stars. So the girls in our group brought thousands of cutesy stickers, beads, and jewels. Before we even started making the stars the girls were trading their stickers with one another. One of the girls gave one of the volunteers and I some of her extras. I am now the owner of hello kitty stickers…woohoo! Gluing the paper onto the bamboo rods proved to be a bit difficult and very messy. There was glue everywhere; I even found some in my hair. While making the stars, I had a blast talking with the girls all about things they like and music they listen to. They were so cute and eager to speak English with me.

Once everything was said and done, the kids made some pretty awesome stars. Some of the kids had time to make extra ones. These extras were sent as gifts for people in the north effected by the natural disasters of last spring. The event was definitely a success. I can’t wait for the next one. I hope that you enjoy the Season of Advent.

God's Peace,

Katie