Christmas 2018

                                                                                                                                                                   Christmas 2018

Don & Raquel Major 

803 Red Leaf Ct.

San Francisco, CA 94134

Dear kin and friends,

We hope your 2018 is leaving you with all that you desired, or at least with some.  Our wish for your 2019 is a year rich with wonderful experiences and great relationships.

A little leak caused 4 months of
a "broken" home

Our 2018 was defined by a “broken” condo caused by a corroded pipe under our kitchen floor. Thus began 4 months of digging, hammering, taking down walls and taking up year-old laminate floors in the kitchen, bathrooms, part of the living room and the hallway.  Mold was found in some areas and there was suspicion of it in others. The kitchen cabinets had to be pried off and their contents spread all over the untouched areas of the condo.  We set up a temporary kitchen on our deck, and much as we were terribly unhappy with our difficult situation, we were thankful we had a deck that had a faucet and electric outlets to plug in a rice cooker and a skillet. After a month of having to eat out every day, we were content with whatever home cooking we could do in our makeshift kitchen.

Little did we know that from this unwelcome and unsettling experience we would learn so much.  Approximately 15 workers came and went from our home for four months and we got to know them.  They told us the stories of their lives while putting our “broken” condo together. They worked hard. We learned what granite, quartz and marbleized were. There were many details we had to learn about bathroom fixtures, kitchen cabinets, nickel-plated pulls and handles.

The workers somehow found out that we were people of faith, so we were able to talk about things of God.  One carpenter had recently lost his grandmother and his mother was also in the hospital.  We prayed with him. There was a diversity of nationalities that came in through our doors – Irish, Cambodian, Hispanic, Middle Eastern, etc.  We talked about our various cultures and learned from each other. 

Roc in Kenya

You can tell that the four months of our home’s “brokenness” and restoration defined 2018 for us.  But there were other noteworthy things.  Our short Hawaiian vacation; my sister Ruth came and stayed with Lu while we were away; a few days visit from Matthew, Helen and the girls; Jon & Kristy and the kids are doing well.  Roc has grown to be quite a young man.  He’s had the chance to go on a mission trip to Rwanda; Shekinah is so much taller than this grandma and R. Mateo is still as handsome and nice a kid as ever.  On Don’s side of the family – Pat seems to be doing better from the recent  medical attention she’s been getting.  Barry is doing well after his medical crises last  year.

Frida Mae & Grandma

I thought I wouldn’t say it this year, but sometimes I just can’t help myself.  Time, it is a-flying.  It seemed just yesterday when Frida Mae, our littlest grandchild was born but here she is now, a good year and a half  young lady singing "Ole MacDonald had a farm, e-i-e-i-o" with Grandma.

We pray that 2019 brings you rich experiences, great blessings and 365 days full of God’s touches on your lives.