Well Christmas is finally here and I had no idea what to write about. I did not want to regale you with tales of a Zengel family Christmas. That would have included the normal craziness that occurs in all houses on Christmas day, most likely a bit more intense seeing as how there are six kids. So, I started to think about what really puts me in the Christmas spirit, and one thing came to mind: Operation Santa Clause (OSC).
If you are from Philly or a JOP (Just Outside Philly), you may have heard of this event, or you may even be involved in it. Every year, on Christmas Eve, hundreds of high school students dressed as Santa and elves depart from locations around Philly and bring toys to underprivileged children. When I was in high school, I became involved with OSC. Now, as a college student, there is nothing more fun than returning as helping out as needed. My youth group sends a team down to Philly every year, and this year, I was a navigator for the second time in a row. My mom was the driver, and three of my siblings were also in the car. Two were on a team as Santa and an elf, and my older sister, Susan, came along just for fun.
This year was a little chaotic. Being a navigator is no easy job, and within a few minutes of leaving Penn (where we picked up the gifts), we were completely lost. I was in the front seat with directions and a map, and I had no clue where I was or where I should be. This is where it becomes no fun; especially because with five Zengels in the car, we are begin to yell at each other, causing even more confusion. We finally found out where we were and delivered all the gifts. I get a lot of enjoyment out of watching the faces of people in the other cars when they see Santa and three elves running in and out of a VW Bus. People have no idea what to think. We get a lot of stares and tons of Merry Christmases.
After all the toys are delivered, all the teams return to a huge banquet hall where there is food, followed by Mass. I love coming to the reception and Mass, because there, I am reunited with Scranton friends. So many people who were involved in the program in high school either come back to visit, or have siblings involved. It is awesome to see how many Scranton students have been and are associated with such an awesome program. At the University of Scranton, there are many opportunities to be involved with the community and to do service work, and I can see why such a program has flourished at our University. The University always says that we are people who care, and I think this point is illustrated beautifully by the amount of Scranton students who give up their Christmas Eve just to return to a program that they were involved in during their earlier years. We most definitely do care about others which is one of the many reasons I love this campus.
I hope that you and your family had a very blessed Christmas and I look forward to writing more and sharing more of my experiences with you. My next blog will come from my trusty dorm room back at the University, where I will be doing intersession. Until next time…Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!