Feliz Navidad #10 in the 12 Blogs of Christmas



For two young boys, Christmas was always spent on different farms. Their parents, aunts, uncles, and cousins all harvested a variety of crops from Washington to California. Even though they didn’t have their own house, Mama always decorated for Christmas. 

She’d carefully tape pictures on the crude walls. There was Jesus in the manger, Joseph and Mary, the shepherds, and the farm animals. Carlos and Miguel knew the story but the pictures were an annual reminder.




But this year was different. The family had trekked to a place along the Snake River in Washington. They’d been told a good dueño de la granja (farm owner) lived there and had built real houses for the workers. 

The farmer’s smile reached ear to ear and he spoke Spanish to all the workers. He’d built a small community on the hill overlooking the river—naming it Vista Hermosa (beautiful view).

The big family was hired and even though school had already started, Carlos and Miguel were welcomed. The boys only had to walk a short ways on a paved street to get to school.






No longer a migrant family, they realized how blessed they were to live at Vista Hermosa. Their neighbors told them that the farmer knew at a young age he wanted to grow apples and give the money to people who needed it. 

So as Christmas approached, the families joined together and helped send packages of apples and clothing to families with much less. Never before had Carlos and Miguel been able to give things away. But at Vista Hermosa, a blessing is even better when it’s shared. Feliz Navidad.

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