Christmas Pageant

I'm very sad I missed your big performance, your "breaking of the ground" of "A Salinas Merry Christmas", so to speak.

As it turns out, I also performed in a Christmas play this year. It wasn't anything I was planning on, in fact, it seems the whole village was apart of the plan except for me.

As apart of our attempt to know everyone in Nuapapu, we have been visiting all the different churches here. This week we attended the Mormon church, where the people were exceptionally friendly, though the service was a long three hours. After the service we were finishing up a long lunch with the pastor, when a student of mine, a PK of the Wesleyan church, asked us to come to their Christmas lesson practice.

Not exactly sure of what a Christmas lesson practice was, and always eager to comply, we said yes.

When we arrived at the church, I was given a paper with my lines, and informed I was Mary, or Mele, here, and Mark was Sosifa. Ohhh those sneaky Tongans! I know for a fact that this Christmas lesson practice has been going on for a good month, and I haven't a doubt that all along it was planned that Mark and I would be the holy couple.

After a two hour practice, and a reminder to return at 5 for dress rehearsal, home we went. At the end of that day, our church time was at about 8 hours...a little much for me.

Of course the play went off fine. My only lines were about my virginity ( which people loved ). At one point mark and I walked in the wrong direction and people were hissing left and right, and I got to wear a headband type veil thing, which was pretty neat-o.

The highlight of the night was when we recognized the song "Silent Night", and amazingly, surprisingly, saw that someone had Christmas lights decorating their house. I definitely got a lump in my throat.

Everyone asked, do you do something like this around Christmas in Amelika. I couldn't help but smile as I thought of you, dad, and For Unto Ya"ll.....ya, something kind of like this.....

(but for all the Christmas "pageants" I've been in, this was my first as Mary. Geeez dad!)