I'm Marie. I work in a nursing home (养老院) and my job is to look after the old people. Alice is one of them. She's a very nice old woman.
This year, Alice had a difficult time. She went to hospital twice. In November, I finally could get her back to her "home".
Alice hoped that her daughter could come to visit her on Christmas Eve because she wanted to be with her family, like the old days. But her daughter was coming after Christmas, so she was very sad. I also felt sad because she would be alone on the holiday!
On Christmas Eve, I took her to a candlelight service (烛光礼拜) at church that night.
I didn't take her to my church. I took her to the church in her old neighborhood. We got there early and I let her sit near the door, so people could see her when they came in. Soon some of her friends came to the church and they all talked to her and sat with her.
Alice got a lot of love from her old and new friends there. She said she loved the gift like this. That night, I thought I got the best gift: the smile on Alice's face.
