Being in a Catholic community (With no access to internet or television) much time is able to be spent preparing for the Christmas Season (Advent). With morning prayer every morning, rosary on Tuesday, Catechesis on Wednesday, and Holy hour on Thursday all focusing on the Spirit of the Season, we had quite a bit of time to delve into what the birth of Christ truly meant. One of the topics most touched on was that of giving. So often we see that Christmas is turned into a season of desire: a season of “me” rather than “we”. As I (and many of my students) are not always auditory learners, my sights began to turn to other examples of what Christmas might truly mean here, and how I might better demonstrate that to the kids. My eyes did not have to look hard before I found one of the most real examples of this idea of giving here on the Farm.
Our children here live in houses according to their age group and gender; for example all of our youngest girls live together. A house composed of seven girls between the ages of 6 and 10. They tend to be a bit wild at times, have quite an attitude, love the color pink, dolls, stickers, oranges and flowers (at this age if one person loves it- they all decide they love it).
They absolutely LOVE receiving gifts; if you were to give them a coloring book and crayons- they would love you forever and say thank you for at least the following month.
Our children have a good home here, with all that they could possibly need- but sometimes they are lacking in “normal things” that children would normally be able to have. As a good example- they were recently prohibited from have balloons because a good chunk of them were using them to make sling shots to fight each other with. (Not that we are against slingshots, but when 40 children are running around with them- bad news bears.) So when they receive things that are all their own and not just to share with the rest of their house- it’s a pretty big deal.
Although their second favorite thing in the world is to receive gifts- it is not their grateful reception, but what comes of this reception that amazes me everyday.
As soon as these girls receive a coloring book- they are painting pictures to give to someone else. As soon as they pick a flower, they are sticking it in the hair of a missionary. Right when they have there freshly picked orange peeled- they begin distributing the pieces to everyone around them. When snacks and candy are given to them- they eat a bit or two and save the rest for a special friend or sibling. All of their dolls are named after people they know and love- and are shared and cared for by all of them. Cards are made daily for whoever will receive them- littered with stickers and colors, and messages reminding you that “Te amo”: I love you!
These little girls have so very little, and yet without realizing it, they give almost all that they have. A true example of how we are called to live as Christians: giving all that we have- not thinking about loss, but rather acting in Love and Joy.
