I'm so thankful for the community God has hemmed us into. I haven't laughed that loud and hard for a really long time, nor have I seen twenty other people laugh so hard.
We got all the official "thank you" and thoughts out of the way at the beginning this time, and then launched into games.
I wasn't sure how into it everyone was going to get, but trust me. Ain't NOBODY was trying to look cool...this was all about winning!
There was so much screaming and yelling and stomping and laughing it was out of control.
Ethan made it to the top four, but Simeon and Maxi were like professional don't-get-your-balloon-stomped experts.
They held each other off for a good five minutes before they both ended up on the floor...
I couldn't breathe. I wish you could hear everyone laughing here.
In the end, they both got a prize, and were still friends :)
Then, we went into a detailed explanation of playing limbo, a totally new thing to everyone. A few practice rounds, and everyone started off...
There was Christmas music playing, but there was no way you could hear it there was so much cheering, advising, clapping, disputing and back-slapping.
This is a side note, but I'm so incredibly proud of who are neighbor kids are. I mean, Lily and Sofie grew up here. This stuff is normal. They've never experienced anything else.
But Ethan and Haylie MOVED to Haiti as pre-teens/teens, and just a year later, they are not only helping set up and baking cookies and blowing up balloons and helping with the kids for the party beforehand (without complaining), but then they're ALL IN. They're limboing in Creole, for heavens sakes. They were as one with our staff as anyone, and I was just so proud of them for not just "living in Haiti" because their parents moved here, but for LIVING life in Haiti, Knowing everyone's names. Speaking with everyone in Creole. Dancing with everyone, laughing. Looking silly. Loving well.
Proud of them.
Anyway, our watchmen (the running joke is that it's almost a requirement that you are near deaf, near blind, over 80 and under 100 lbs. to be a security guard at Emmaus) had a hard time with the back limbo thing (I love how so many are "helping" Joseph go under in this picture :)
But some of our tallest guys totally were nailing it! Junel might have a bad heart, but he's a limbo king.
Haylie rocked it (and in a skirt, mind you!), and at 5'6", it's not because she's short :)
The whole night was filled with Lily and Sofie squeals of laughter...so good.
Lucner was the Lucner of our youth last night. It's like we three were 24 again...yelling and laughing hysterically. As he works on his doctorate, is the Academic Dean, is the head pastor at a huge church, now has two little ones...it's easy for him and Matt to get weighed down by all of the responsibility at work and at ministry and at home. We have a lot more responsibility than we all had when we started working together in 2007!
But it was SO fun to have the old Luke last night.
In the end, Lucner, Haylie and Junior tied for "Limbo Stars", all being unable to make it under the lowest setting. It was VERY impressive.
Then, we played "Christmas Voler" in which everyone opened a gift and others could steal it or open a new one. You've never seen a group so giddy over stealing :) VERY fun.
As we got ready to close, news was brought to the house that one of our first year students father's has been kidnapped in Port-au-Prince, being held for about $25,000 USD, an impossible amount. She is obviously and completely distraught, and it was a harsh welcome back to true life in Haiti...not many balloons, limbo bars and cookies. Lot's of hard parts. Lots of parts that feel hopeless.
But because of Christmas? It never is. It's not hopeless. Not even in Haiti.
As we prayed together urgently for our student and her family, I was blessed by this family...
who can work and work and work and work together, despite all our differences,
who can play and dance and laugh and love together as true friends
who can hurt together (and have, many times)
and who at the end of the day, can lift up holy hands with hope
because we are His.
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