Christmas is truly in the air. The shops are starting to decorate, and the local kids got out of school on Friday. I went to the church today and they were asking for people to volunteer for setting up the church after the last service, I decided to stay awhile, but 20 other, older and stronger, people also stayed, so I left. With such a large group of strong men, I wouldn’t be needed. But in a way, I wanted to feel needed, so I went back. A few older ladies, probably wives of the men, had me watch the children while the tree was put up. They gave me some art supplies to use, so I had the kids make Christmas ornaments for the tree since I figured not many families that came would have many ornaments. Glue and paper were stuck to the walls once we had finished. With the help of some of the older kids, I got it all cleaned up in time.

The faces of the little children really cheered me up. One of the girls particularly liked me and had the best behavior among all the kids. The parents later told me that most of the time she was a little devil. Her little golden locks really needed to be curled and put up nice and her tiny body needed a fancy dress, but I knew it would be a long time until that would ever happen. She wore very old and tattered hand me downs, and the clothes her frail mother wore were even worse. I felt terribly bad for the little girl. Her other looked as if she was dying hunched over in that chair, her skin sunken in, her face a dark pale. Seeing the little girl and her mother almost made me cry. It made me think about how lucky I am now. I wish there was some way I could help them.