On Monday evening the staff and volunteers at La Finca shared a Christmas dinner. Ernest and Doris Soady, founders of La Finca, traveled from California to participate in this and other Christmas activities throughout the week.

December 23 was designated as the day to celebrate Christmas at La Finca. In the morning each child received clothing. Sporting their new attire, they liked posing for photos.
Piñatas were a highlight for all ages. Because of the crazy scramble for candy, many of the younger children ended up with tiny pieces of broken candy sprinkled in their hair like confetti.

Everyone, including the adults, ate lunch in the dining hall – Kentucky Fried Chicken delivered from Tegucigalpa. After lunch each child received a bag of presents.
In the evening many of the children (choir, tone chimes, etc.) participated in a program at the Vision Church (within walking distance of La Finca). Following this program, they returned to La Finca and gave another presentation. Following the programs, we drank hot chocolate and ate cookies around a large campfire.

On Christmas Eve Day we took the Horsts to the airport. They will spend several weeks in the States before returning to La Finca. In the evening we attended a Christmas service at a local church in Valle. The program consisted of a drama from the perspective of the angels on the night of Jesus’ birth interspersed with a choir singing Christmas carols.

On Christmas Day we baked cookies and delivered them to the staff and volunteers at La Finca. Baking Christmas cookies in 80 degree weather was a new experience.