Hey everyone,
Just wanted to wish you all the happiest of holidays this Christmas morning, and let you know that you've all been in my thoughts and prayers today. I hope you're all enjoying the day with family and friends and feeling my Christmas love all the way from Tacna!
I've had a wonderful 2nd Peruvian Christmas so far, sharing in many beautiful moments (and meals) with both my outgoing and newly arrived community mates, all my Peruvian friends and adoptive families, and of course my real family that came to spend this Christmas with me here in Tacna. It's been so special finally sharing this place and these people with them after living here for over a year. We enjoyed a lovely Christmas Eve mass last night in Habitat (and I even got to sing a song in English this time-Breath of Heaven, one of my all-time favorite Christmas songs), passed out Christmas baskets to some of the poorest families in Habitat while singing carols, avoiding stray bottle rockets that were being lit all over the neighborhood, and simultaneously inflating Fr. Fred's flat tire, then headed uptown to Greg's host family's house with him, Gabe, Seamus, and the entire Regan clan who is also here visiting. That family has always been wonderful about opening up its doors to all of us volunteers, so it was really nice to spend the evening with them. I'll be spending a quiet day here in Tacna today with my family, then tomorrow we're hitting the road to spend the rest of the week in Cuzco and finally see Machu Picchu. I'll be home New Years Day but only for a matter of hours, then first thing in the morning on the 2nd we're off for Mes de Misión round 2, the month-long service trip we do with the high school kids every year during summer vacation. So you may not hear from me again until February, but when I'm home for good I'm sure I'll have lots of stories and pictures to share so stay tuned.
Thank you all for your continued support, love, and well wishes from afar-it really means the world to me to know that I have so many people thinking of me back home, and in JV sites all over the world too. Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and many many blessings for 2011. Cuídense mucho, I love and miss you all!
Un beso muy fuerte,
Mo
P.S. I haven't been able to upload any of our Christmas pictures yet, but here's one of all 12 volunteers with our good friends and neighbors Carmen and Charo a couple weeks before Christmas. More to come in February, chau!
