Christmas Thanks (on Ash Wednesday)

It's february(sp) in Morocco, which means anything trusted to the postal system in December has finally arrived (send your cards for Christmas, they'll get there by Ash Wednesday). The last of a sea of Christmas cards and well-wishes trickled in last week, and I was simply floored at the number of people/families who took the time to offer their season's greetings! Though not all of them actually made it in what would normally be considered the "season," I consider myself lucky in that my holidays were stretched over two and a half months of letters and packages. I owe my most sincere thanks to any and all who sent cards, pictures, notes, and other bits of home that made my first Christmas abroad a little easier. To each of you, "llay jzeek bixir" (God reward you well, in arabic) and "ad-awn ihloo" (may all be well, in berber).

Thank you to "Plain" Grammy, Amie, Chuck, Meaghan, Erin, Biz, Kevin, Joe, Christen, Steph and Brendan, Fr. Jack and family, Jill and the Powers family and the Dussaults.

I would like to specifically thank the members of St. Denis community, who positively inundated me with Christmas blessings and prayers. Thank you to the Baldwins, the Hutchins, D. Scmitt, the McGraths, Avery Dunn, the Sylvains, Maurice Miller, Jim and Genie Dailey, Frank Ober, Mary Jo, Lynn, Mary and Ken, Dick and Sharon Marchi, the Shaw family, the Turgeons, the Parkers, the Burns family and Dolly's sunday-school class. I can't find the words in any language to describe how wonderful it was to receive that envelope of hand-made, crayon decorated construction-paper cards. "Llah-yrhm lwalideen" (God bless your parents, in arabic the most gracious thank-you in Morocco).

And of course, thanks to my family who made an appeal to the community to help ease the separation between me and my home, it will undoubtedly make future holidays that much more meaningful when I return.

I am truly sorry if I forgot anyone, it may be my absent-mindedness or it may be that whatever was sent was lost during transit, slipping through the many "cracks" of inter-continental mail. The major muslim holiday of Aid Al-Adha was roughly the same time as Christmas/New Year's this year, where everything is put on hold for a week at a time. They're still getting out from under the holiday backlog (so I'm told).

Thank you again for both the physical reminders of home and the prayers that transcend the vagaries of transit, they are both deeply felt and appreciated.

Take care all and be well,

Aaron