We started off the fun by playing basketball with a bunch of the girls. Here Brendan shows off his sweet moves and the girls are in awe of how well he plays and his height (he is almost double a Timorese teenage girl’s size).
On the sidelines we had a game of our own, called try to get the shy girls to be in a picture : ) The girl in the middle is part of a refugee family that still camps out next to the convent after the violence of 2006. They have been integrated into the convent community and came to the basketball game and Christmas party!Before dinner all the girls and Sisters met in the chapel for evening prayer and we watched the whole movie The Nativity, which we had never seen. It was very good!
Bernadette checking out the Christmas feast! There was white rice and yellow rice and vegetables and because it’s a special occasion…lots of dishes with meat! So we tried a little bit of everything and it was delicious.
Sister Aquelina, who I work with at the clinic, rocking out! She had no idea how to play the donated drum set, but after I helped set it up, she kept coming back to it. They had me play too since I played a bit in high school and I think the girls were impressed, but it was Sister Aquelina who impressed me because she hit things at random and laughed her head off and it sounded good : )
Shall we dance? To represent, I taught them the Cotton-Eyed Joe dance and a little swing dancing with Brendan, and the Australian girls and I taught them the Chicken Dance. In return they taught us some traditional Timorese dances that had some intricate stepping in circles and group coordination. It was great!
Then came the Secret Santa gift exchange. Each of us had brought a small gift and then we drew a name out of a hat. Then as a group we all sang: “I love my bonita yes I do, I love my bonita yes I do, I love my bonita yes I do, I love my bonita, but I won’t tell you who!”One person started and they gave their present to the person whose name they had gotten, then that person accepted the present and gave their present away. It took quite awhile and we got very good at singing the song, but eventually all the presents were exchanged. Each of us received a tai, the traditional East Timorese cloth. Different patterns represent different parts of the country, so you can tell what area a tai comes from.
Here we show off our tais with Sister Maria on the left and Sister Sonia (our caretaker) on the right. Sister Sonia is from the Philippines and is very respected here. Her English is perfect and she’s been the perfect teacher and hostess since our arrival in East Timor.
Besides the Secret Santa presents the Sisters gave each girl a bag with some games and gifts in it. It was a very special moment and the girls loved it!
The Sisters and us livin’ it up for Jesus’ birthday!We hope that you did the same! Love you all!
Love,
Rachel and Brendan
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