 It is that time of year again when it brings me great pleasure to wish you all the best for the season. Merry Christmas to you and your family and I pray that God blesses you with all that you wish for in 2017. This year has been a very challenging but interesting year. Many of us will recall with some degree of fondness the events of the past six to seven months in particular. I must acknowledge the support, the prayers, the encouragement and the good counsel of the people of Miku North who I represent. Because of you I am afforded this opportunity to serve you and our beautiful country. Over the last couple years you have stood by me, you have labored with me, you have worked alongside me and you have now afforded me and my government the opportunity to deliver to you and your families. I thank you for that opportunity. I pray that in 2017 we can double our efforts to deliver on the promises that we have made to you. Christmas time is a time for quiet reflection. It is also a time for us to share, to give of ourselves, our talents and our resources. Let us give with a cheerful heart. Some of us perhaps believe that we do not have much to give by way of material gifts. But I tell you, there is great value in sharing of our time. Visit the homeless, the poor, the sick, the shut-in. Share a kind word. Do a kind deed. That is what Christmas is all about. I want to wish all people here to express their love for the people of Miku North in a beautiful Christmas. Christmas is a time for us to reflect, but also a time for us to share, to give of ourselves, to give of ourselves, to give of ourselves, to give of ourselves, to give of ourselves to the people of Miku North in a beautiful Christmas. But always, if we are able to receive a lot, to experience the goodness of the community, There are many who, unfortunately, who did not make it to the end of the year. Let us remember their families as they continue to mourn the loss of their loved ones. There are some who are ill, who require our prayers. Do spare thought for them. Alanea ki ka vini mwensh sav on shai setlisiye, kaya spewe ki magai kai kumaseh mashyeh dom maniyeh ki kai meneh benifis puneh tut, but for that to happen, we are all required to put our muscle to the wheel. I ask of all of us, double our efforts to give back to our community and to our country. Allow me, please, to express my deepest gratitude to the staff of the Ministry of Education, Innovation, Relations and Sustainable Development. I joined you a mere couple months ago and I must say that you have welcomed me with open arms and an open heart. Because of you, we have stayed the course. You have enabled me to learn very quickly the things that I need to understand so that I can deliver to the people of St. Lucia. I thank you for your guidance, for your encouragement and for your good counsel. I trust that in the new year, we will continue to deliver to those who continue to depend on us. It is indeed a noble call to serve the public, to serve one's nation. I thank you for your tremendous sacrifice as public servants and I pray that God will continue to bless you and your family. May God richly bless you and your family with health, strength, compassion and wealth.