Thanksgiving Gratitude

It’s that time of year again. Thanksgiving! My Thanksgiving is looking a little different this year and I’m guessing yours might be too. While I’d usually be hoping to see wild rice hotdish and canned cranberries on the whole lineup of foods being served, I know that won’t be on the menu this year. Typically the missionaries have a big Thanksgiving feast. Traditional foods are bought in La Ceiba, a big city three to five hours away, and the meal is shared with Finca employees, allowing them to experience a bit of American culture. Due to covid and the recent hurricanes, we are doing Thanksgiving on a smaller scale this year. We were lucky enough to get some crucial ingredients though. Brown sugar and butter was purchased in Trujillo (we usually don't have them). Sweet potatoes, green beans, and apples came with our weekly vegetable order. The turkey took a long journey through many hands included a man hired to carry it with him on a bus. He was denied access to the first bus because of the cooler so he disguised it in a different box and took a second bus. Marshmallows and bacon were purchased in Tacoa, about an hour drive away. 

Our lineup of food was quite impressive. Eight 20-somethings cooking a Thanksgiving feast is something to see. We used our indoor and outdoor oven and stove space and lunch was only 30 minutes later than our goal time. I made sweet potatoes with the marshmallows on top and a French apple pie using my grandma's and aunt's recipe. It took some substitutions like using manteca instead of crisco for the pie crust and using fresh pineapple instead of canned for the sweet potatoes, but they turned out delicious. 

Thanksgiving is a time not only for food, but also to give thanks. And boy, do I have a lot to be thankful for. Without further ado, I present to you a list of 5 things I’m grateful for.

1. First and foremost is my family. They say distance makes the heart grow fonder. I was pretty fond of you guys when I was living under the same roof as you, but moving to another country increases my love for you. I look forward to and enjoy our weekly chats and keeping up with your lives at home. I’m thankful for my loving parents who support me on this crazy adventure and who are my biggest cheerleaders. I’m thankful for the silly jokes between my siblings that still make their way to me via WhatsApp. Special thanks to my mom for answering all of my recipe questions and to my sister for picking up the phone when they were in the middle of making your own Thanksgiving feast. You guys are a good bunch :)

2. I’m thankful for my missionary community. This group of human beings is awesome. They make me laugh, they take care of me when I’m sick, they purchase chocolate chip ice cream that makes me cry because it tastes exactly like home, and they help me muddle through my Spanish. I couldn’t have asked for a better group to live with in the middle of nowhere Honduras. 

3. I’m thankful that we stayed safe during the hurricanes. Evacuating with a bunch of kids is an interesting experience to say the least. Thankfully there was not much damage at the Finca and everyone remained safe. One tree fell onto the clinic roof, but caused no damage to the medication room inside. Other trees fell as well and there was quite a bit of flooding in the school yard, but water recedes and I’m listening to the sound of a chainsaw doing clean up work as I write this. 

4. I’m thankful to God for His compassionate, Fatherly love. I’m thankful He called me here to Honduras to serve his people and grow in love. Yes, it’s challenging. Yes, I miss home. But yet I know this is the place I am called to be. I have a quote written on a note card that traveled all the way from Minnesota with me and I read it frequently when I need a little extra encouragement. It says, 

“If you know that the Lord is calling you to something, put all your guts into it knowing you’re not going to have it all together, you’re not perfect, and you’re going to mess up. Put all your guts into it, love fully, and know God will provide the rest”. -Fr. Agustino Torres CFR

I’m thankful that God knows and loves me personally and uniquely. He brings the people I need into my life at just the exact time. He shows me how the scripture applies not only to the lives of those living thousands of years ago, but also how it applies to my life today. When I take the time to read and listen, He shows me his tender love, and for that I’m incredibly thankful. 

5. I’m thankful for all the people at the Finca and the staff and volunteers in the United States. The leaders here do amazing work providing a safe home for these children and for supporting us missionaries. I wish we didn’t have to exist and that these children could grow up in safe, loving homes, but nonetheless I’m thankful for the kids here. They challenge me to grow and step outside of my comfort zone. They lovingly teach me over and over how to make a perfect corn tortilla (it’s a very different process than a flour tortilla...who knew?). They help me rake leaves which is the kindest thing someone could do for me and they allow me to sit in a little yellow room teaching them reading and math. I’m so very thankful for all of the kids here. They each bring life, craziness, and uncertainty to my days. 

6. BONUS! I’m thankful for YOU for reading this blog. It still seems weird to be putting thoughts to a blog post and sending it out for the world to see. I’m glad to share the experience with you. Thank you for your support. For your donations and prayers and your love and concern during the hurricanes. Thank you for the emails you write and the comments you leave. For all those who read these blog posts religiously and for the person who just stumbled upon this; thank you for being you and Happy Thanksgiving!

Also huge shout-out to the couple who just got engaged. You know who you are. Congratulations!

The 8 of us dressed as Native Americans and Pilgrims.

Us 4 Native Americans with feathers and bibs complements of Kelsey.

We completed a Turkey Trot in the morning by running laps around the soccer field. The kids sat on their porches and watched us be crazy and obnoxious yelling "Happy Thanksgiving!"

Preparing food for our Thanksgiving feast.

Our crew of 8 in our Thanksgiving best.

Our festive Thanksgiving white board. If you look in the upper left corner you will see that 7 mice have been killed within the missionary house within the last year. None have been killed since we arrived but we have seen both mice and rats and the evidence they leave behind (half eaten bags of oatmeal and bite marks in avocado to name a few).

My little yellow Special Ed room that I will use to teach elementary students who are struggling in reading and math.