[en español]

by Leanne Guenther and Sharla Guenther

Some shepherds, who lived near Bethlehem, were out at night in their fields watching over their sheep.  They were worried a bigger animal might come and hurt the sheep, so they sat on a hill visiting and watching their sheep together.

Suddenly, there was a bright light.  Now this wasn't just any bright light. The light was so bright that the shepherds had to close their eyes for a minute because the light hurt their eyes.

When they opened their eyes to see what was going on, a beautiful angel was standing in the air just above them with his arms opened wide.

The shepherds looked at each other in disbelief, but realized it must be real because they were all seeing the same thing.  All at once they were very afraid, but they didn't run because they were too stunned.

Then the angel spoke to them: "Do not be afraid.  I'm here to bring you good news for all people.  Today in Bethlehem, a baby has been born, He is the one that will save the world.  You will know the baby because He will be wrapped in cloths, and laying in a manger."

Suddenly, just as quickly as the first angel came, there were a large group of angels who together said, "Glory to God, and peace to all people on earth."  After they spoke, they floated away.

The shepherds were amazed and excited. Did everyone know this news, or just them?  They had to go see this baby the angels were talking about.

They ran as fast as they could, and soon found Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus.  The shepherds fell to their knees when they saw Jesus. They were filled with joy that they had found the Lord.

The shepherds only stayed for a few minutes because they realized that Mary needed to sleep.  As soon as they left, they began shouting in the streets and telling everyone they met about what they had seen, and about the arrival of baby Jesus.

Mary sat and watched Jesus sleep. She was so happy.  She was thinking about what it would be like when her son got older, and what an important person He was.

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