Thanksgiving

Within moments of waking up, I was acutely aware that it was Thanksgiving Day (even though it's just a normal day here), and I was nowhere near my recliner in my living room where I would typically be found comfortably wearing my sweat pants and t-shirts, and watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. I had and continue to have much to be thankful for, yet I admit I was a bit sad and rather melancholic. As a way of contributing towards the big meal, I agreed to peel about 10-15 pounds of potatoes for Bobby to make scalloped potatoes. Yes, you heard my correctly, Bobby was making the dish. Actually he made 2 or 3 dishes. Sadly enough...we're a strange bunch here. 3 gals, 1 guy, and the 1 guy can out cook all of us put together with his hands tied behind his back. (Another sad insight is that even though we come from Texas, Ohio and Virginia and there is 20 yr between me and the youngest missionary that just graduated form college, we all love college football and are stupid when it comes to computers.)

I'm afraid I greatly mislead all of you in my pre-Thanksgiving email. Wilbur Zehr is not the Ambassador here. He's like a secretary. However, he and his family are big wigs in my book. They are an outstanding Christian family and they certainly treated us well. We arrived near 1pm and were treated warmly from the moment we entered the door. Everyone dressed casual and the whole day was very comfortable. We had 15 folks around the table (actually 2 tables) that were moved to the carport-like porch. Remember that it's still 80ish degrees here. The Zehr family is from upstate New York and are here until next Oct when their 2 yr assignment ends and they will be sent to another country for 2 years. They have 3 very nice teenagers. Chiky, Wilbur's wife, is extremely pleasant, and is from Antigua Guatemala, but speaks English as well as you or I. They also invited 4 Peace Corp workers and a teacher from their kid's school. We had all the Thanksgiving standards. We couldn't figure out where in the world they got the onion rings for the green bean casserole, and then Wilbur let out the secret that he uses the commissary at the Embassy, and therefore can get most anything from the USA. For those of you who know my from my days in college, you may be interested to know that Wilbur comes from a Mennonite background and has 2 cousins that lived in my dorm with me in my sophomore year. It's a small world getting smaller.

After dinner and the option of several pies, we sat on the patio furniture (that's usually on the porch) out on the small yard and talked for hours. The Peace Corp workers had very interesting conversations. They had all been robbed and held at gun point. Yikes! But they acted like it was no big deal and just part of life. Hmmmm....

At days end we drove home through the city and saw all sorts of Christmas lights in the nice part of San Salvador. Looked as commercialized as any city back home. When we got back, we went and visited with the Benners for a little. Then we retired to our apartments. That's actually when my sadness overtook me for a little while. Another tradition surrounding this holiday includes decorating for Christmas. And I knew Kim, for the first time in 14 years, would have to drag out the decorations alone, set up the tree alone, try to pass the lights, garland, and other beads to herself as she tried to wrap them around the tree. What hurt me was that I knew she would be hurting. This transition of me living here has been equally hard on her. But I'm proud of her. I called her Thanksgiving night and she had struggled yet persevered and got all the decorations up. And I'm sure that she'll be thankful that I'll be around to put it all away after Christmas. We both reflected on the many reasons we have to be Thankful, and before my head hit the pillow I said an extra prayer of thanks to God for His provision and your friendship.