One of our favorite Christmas traditions is making sugar cookies.
The event begins with all the kids sitting around Ginger as she reads The Sweetest Story Ever Told. In the story, the Cookie Maker shares the wonderful story of Jesus’ birth with the help of his cookie cutters: an angel, a star, a tree, a heart and a bell. This is a wonderful way for our family to start the Christmas season. After the story, we as a family get the dough out of the fridge and starting rolling it out. This year, not only did we get flour on our hands, Ginger and Jonathan tried to get flour on each other’s noses. When all the cookies were baked and frosted, we all enjoyed the sweet reward. Yummy!
Christmas is also a busy time for us in the village. This year we attended four different “Christmas Parties”. Every year our team gives a small gift to each student in Daycare through 6thgrade. However this year, a church and a school in Missouri sent us a gift for every student. The younger students received crayons, a large coloring book, and a new shirt. The older kids also received a new shirt and new backpacks. What a blessing it was to have these friends in Missouri to share generously to help our friends and neighbors in this way!
At each of these parties, we had the opportunity to share this Sweet Story about Jesus’ birth. All these kids know the name of Jesus, but very few know Him as their Savior. So, it is a joy to share with these kids and remind them that God has a gift, too, for them, if only they receive it.