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High: Last night was the Community Christmas Concert. I must admit, I was very nervous at 5:45pm (start time) when only 3 people were in the audience, and only half the choir was there. So, we started a bit late, but it was a great evening. People loved it. The youth sang so well, the monologues were poignant, my talented husband gave a Christmas "thought" and did a third of it in Shona, the raps were awesome, and people came. It wasn't a full house (I have big expectations!) but I think people just weren't sure because it was a new thing (Joel thinks it's funny that I am the one to introduce Black gospel to our Zimbabwean church!) It was really cool to see the youth afterwards on the "high" that I always got during and after a UTGC concert. So many people were like, "It felt just like Christmas! We should have done this on the 25th!"

Low: Yesterday we found out that our friend Chenai's husband was killed in a car accident the night before. Chenai works in the office opposite mine. The day before we had been chatting about her upcoming 23rd birthday and sharing laughs. And then that night her husband was killed. And so now she is going to have to raise her child on her own. She's a widow at the age of 22. One moment can change everything. I felt so disturbed and saddened by this news. When people at work were talking about this, they were talking about all of the youth casualties in the country; and how youth are at risk. It's almost the same rhetoric as countries talking about "their boys" being killed in war. I guess our war is against poverty (things like making sure cars are repaired), HIV/AIDS, and hopelessness. Chenai's mother-in-law just kept saying, "This is my Christmas. This is what God gave me for Christmas." It is such a tough time of year for so many people....