Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday -- being with family and remembering the gifts God has given us throughout the year, without the daily news reports of how the economy is doing based on spending patterns. I have a lot to be thankful for this year, not least of which is that being asked to state what I'm thankful for helped me to get over my most recent pity party! :-)
The above picture shows something I am incredibly grateful for. Silvia and Nora are two of my team members in Baradero and have become good friends. In this photo Nora and I have just arrived from Buenos Aires and we were greeted with a traditional Thanksgiving dinner (the day before the actual holiday). Silvia had downloaded recipes online -- she couldn't find any turkeys and doesn't have an oven, but she stuffed and cooked an entire chicken (for the first time) in the church oven. She even looked up traditional decorations online and you can see how pretty she made the table. We ended up having ice cream for dessert, a concession to the high-90s temperatures!
In the above picture is my cell group from church. I whined the week before about the holidays coming up and they immediately offered to come over for Thanksgiving supper and to bring most of the food since I would be traveling that day. Ask and you shall receive.... They said they were going to bring Argentine food and then surprised me with a turkey! They only American dessert they knew how to make was cheesecake which was incredibly satisfying on yet another hot and humid day.
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
