Mcp and I both had separate plans for our twenty dollars, but things didn't work out as we planned. I had dinner with someone from my house, but she refused to let me pay for her. Mcp was going to help pay for food for a Thanksgiving dinner she hosted at her home for refugee families in Des Moines, but her dad paid for it. So after Thanksgiving Mcp and I were still sitting with $20. In the end, God multiplied our money, allowing us both to do our original ideas but still have the $20 left over to do something else. ;-)

We brainstormed together and decided to pool our money together and do something for Christmas for the international students. We decided that it was necessary that our international friends were exposed to the american classic ugly sweater Christmas party! Monday afternoon we traveled to the Pella Thrift Store and picked out ugly sweaters/shirts for all 9 of the lab assistants. I delivered them Monday night and had so much fun observing their reactions. I knocked on the door, invited them to the party, and handing them their sweater asked if they would "please wear this to the party" They were all shocked and laughed at their...beautiful...gifts. In the Spanish house (where I live) Miguel, Nadege, Sebastien and I spent a good hour laughing and trying on the sweaters.

Last night we had the party. The language assistants, and several other friends who live in the language houses, came in their sweaters. We took loads of pictures, decorated cookies, had crackers with cheese balls, and had an all around good time. Mcp suggested we give a toast, and we shared how blessed we were to have met all of them this semester and wished them a happy break. Nadege, who was scheduled to fly back to France today, was especially glad for the opportunity to hang out with friends one last time before leaving for break.

Having an ugly sweater party may seem like a small thing- no lives were dramatically changed last night, but we believe the Kingdom of God is about relationships. These are people we have spent time with and gotten to know all semester and we wanted this party to be an opportunity to let them know that we sincerely care about them and are blessed by their friendship. We not only had fun at the party, but valued the time we had to further connect with the international students and look forward to continue investing in their lives when they come back after break.

Emily De Penning and Mcp (Emily McPherson)