CHRISTMAS PIECES HERE AND IN UGANDA!

     About the December of 1992, Dave and I chose a Jesus born stretch.  It was very big and was being set aside by the shop.  I guess they didn't think people would want it in their home.  We did then, and often we do it now.  I just took this photo a couple days ago.

        AND the coffee table is filled with it!  We have to be careful when walking from the kitchen or bathroom area, b/c we could stumble against it when it's so wide.  But we love it and watch carefully.
       When we were going to Uganda in '94, we thought we'd be there forever, so other than the stable piece we had, the others were taken.  When we had a home in the Kampala area [Katelemwa] right before Christmas, and we had been given 4 kids from one family to teach ... Dave did computer and piano and other things, and I did a bit of the English class situation and teaching books ... and, even though we didn't have couches or anything people could sit on, we sat on the floor.  And we put this piece then.  And their brother didn't sit there right then in the living room.  The girls were excited and filled with joyfulness to be right there!  Never had anything like this in Uganda.

From the red-ish color on the left to the right portion with the door portion was all the living room then.  Quite wonderful. 

                           Here's one we did on a door area!

           About a year later, we were at New Hope Uganda in the house that the teacher for the Jay and Vickie Dangers kids.  We were doing what we could do.  AND the house was a lot smaller than our previous one.

      When we had just gotten there, and had our stuff to put in the place, it was quite a bit of stuff.  And this was our kitchen room and our living room.  You can see that brown seat on both of the pictures.  One on the left side in the kitchen and the other on the right portion.  Actually, that was at our table. It was quite a time.
       Well, we had our Christmas piece with us, and we had put it on a table back in the corner.  Eventually, a few kids were brought in and we held the kids and we showed all of it to them.  It was on a small table, right back in that corner that you could see.  Anyhow, one thing happened then, when a young kid grabbed one of them and broke a piece of it.  I cried.

And it's on our table, as usual.  Just thought I'd remind you.

        A miracle is that we still have used it in our homes for all these years.  It's been 20 years now since that happened. So, this is what it still looks like.  I don't cry again, but I always smile!  And I'm amazed and grateful how the Lord let us keep it.  Here it is!  I'll show the group again, and then the last piece of the men who had come to give gifts to Jesus.

  

[OH, and the rock piece is what Dave and I got in Canada at Thunder Bay, Ontario.  A week after our wedding we were at that place for a couple hours and got that rock.  We've smiled at it forever!]