A deep breath before a very interesting week

Merry Christmas everyone! Wow, I think that is actually the first time this year I have said Merry Christmas. Weird. Hopefully you are somewhere warm and enjoying the snow. It is hard for me to believe that there is actually snow somewhere when it is so hot here. And I also cannot believe that in only 5 days my parents are coming on Christmas and in one week is the wedding!!!!!!!! This past month has seemed like a blur. Thankfully all the wedding stuff has been coming together ¨poco a poco¨ (little by little). We still have a pretty hefty to do list, but I know this is inevitable the week before the wedding. :)

This past week has been a challenging one. Wedding planning stress, culture shock, and missing my family, friends, and home have all been very difficult. But I know that this is a process. And I know that God is teaching me. I am so thankful for His patience and love with me. I am also thankful that He has given me many solid friends here who are so encouraging. And I am especially thankful for David, who has been so supportive and loving. He just brought me an avocado sandwich and chocolate milk yummmmmmmmmmm

And I am super excited that the Biggerstaffs are coming to Venezuela soon! I was tempted to type that the Rednecks are coming to Venezuela, but I decided not to. Speaking of Rednecks, Braulio, the missionary, has become OBSESSED with everything in the culture of the south (of the US), especially the concept of a ¨ redneck¨. The other day we went about an hour at his house watching youtube videos from O, Brother Where Art Thou, Beverly Hillbillies, Johnny Cash, and other Bluegrass videos… He has become obsessed with bluegrass music, so I think he will get along good with Dad. And Dad can also educate him a bit about the definition of a ¨redneck¨hehehehehe

Yesterday, I went to Kathleen´s house for a ¨bachelorette party¨. It was SO good to see her and catch up on things. I am so thankful to have an American friend in the same city! We had salad to eat. This was a special treat for me because rarely do the Venezuelans have a traditional salad like we eat in the US. We made some Christmas decorations (paper snowflakes). The first one I made came out looking like it has a piranha’s mouth in the center…see for yourself! Luckily the other ones turned out a little better...