33 Degrees Below Zero

Fireworks, family dinners, and BBQ, to someone from the USA these things remind us of the 4th of July. To Uruguayans they are traditions of Christmas. Over and over again I had to remind myself that we really were at the end of December instead of the beginning of July. I'm told by other missionaries who live in the Southern Hemisphere or climates which are warm year round that we will adapt. I even had a friend from Cambodia write to tell me that this year they were drinking Hot Cocoa and wearing coats...in the 60's. It's a little hard to believe that Christmas in the summer will become normal but even North Carolina had some heat this year. So I guess I can't rule it out.

Christmas Eve was really nice. Archie and Ruth Perez invited us over for a traditional Uruguayan Christmas, which they celebrate on Christmas Eve. Archie joked that we were the only ones in the country opening our presents on Christmas morning. Below are some pictures and explanations of our Christmas. Enjoy.

The Perez' oldest son Mark was the asado (BBQ) chef and he did great. Notice it's not like our BBQ. They light the wood and once they have coals they move them under the meat and cook it very slowly, usually several hours. We ate about 9 pm, much earlier than the typical midnight meal. The meal was served with beats, salad, and cornbread, green beans, macaroni and cheese (our North American contribution) and mashed potatos, brownies, cake (for Adeline) and the Asado (Beef, Chicken and Sausage). The meat is covered with a wonderful sauce called Chimmichurri. Those of you who have eaten with us have already tried a version of this.

Simeon REALLY enjoys the chocolate candy bars here. This was his before dinner treat.

The little children put on a play about the Christmas story. Bethany was Mary, David Perez was Joseph, Isabel an Angel, Nehemiah, Adeline and Priscilla Perez were Wiseman, and Simeon was a Shepherd. They did a great job too.