Thursday, November 27, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Thanksgiving here is obviously a little different...for one...it doesn't exist ;) 

Believe me, we spent time talking about all the people and things we are thankful for, but there's some differences. 
1. You're eating turkey. We're seeing them rummaging around the garbage heap downtown. (pigs too incase you're eating ham, they're here in the garbage too).

2. You're watching (or playing football). We've got no TV, and we're working hard! We've got a couple weeks before we leave for Christmas break, and today was a big day for me! Finished the 3rd and final day of the training for the 1st Nuru Health Reps! 25 graduated today, and cute is an understatement!!!! It was AWESOME!

3. You're eating Sweet Potato casserole with the marshmellows on top. We've never once seen a marshmellow here, but we HAVE seen Sweet Potatoes. And people eating them RAW! Straight up apple style. Jake did say in a moment of unconsciousness while dreaming of SPC, that he could "make" marshmellows...how? ;)

4. You're having dessert and passing out on the couch. We ate out because we have no gas for the cooker (in 2 towns for 3 days we haven't been able to find any) and we ate chai and andazi (a type of bready donut like thing) for "dessert" and came home to watch an episode of West Wing on our less then overstuff couch with several pounds of dust on it.

5. You're riding in cars and maybe listening to Christmas Carols, and seeing the Macy's day parade. We rode in a car today (to the dispensary to get stitches in Nicole's hand - random stretching accident with a deep cut caused by the iron sheet roof on the choo) and we saw some Christmas decoration... Garland, on the heads and necks of some girls coming down the road in a HUGE celebrating parade - These girls had just been circumcised, as is the tradition here. 

But for all the differences...the commonality is ... I'm thankful! I have incredible things to be thankful for. My incredible relationship with Jesus, my gift of a life fully lived through the knowledge of God's awesome love and grace for me, adoring family and friends who are partnered with me in this journey through prayer that unites us and connects us across the miles, an AWESOME team I live and work with - simply incredible people - the kind that inspire you to live excellence, a friend who seems to get me and so eloquently lay out BIG things in amazing writings - Emerson!, a beautiful life that I wouldn't change ONE thing about, a crazy life here in another country that seems to be such a fulfillment of a deep promise in my heart. I am alive! I am loved! I am God's kid! I am aware that I am blessed beyond belief. It's a good day to be thankful - as is everyday! 

{{If you are interested in using your resources to support Nuru please visit our website www.nuruinternational.org We are in need of financial support for our programs. We are seeing the results, and we are so thankful to be here doing this work. Even thankful to "miss" thanksgiving day, as it seems we are living it everyday.}}

1 comment:

Andrea said...

You beat me to it! Happy Thanksgiving! You are one of the first people I thought of when I woke up because I wondered how you would "celebrate" the holiday or if you would miss anything from home. Honestly, eating ridiculously HUGE meals, watching TV, laying around being lazy and looking at ads for Black Friday are not important in life at all (as you well know)...but the work you are doing is nothing short of AMAZING! I am so happy to read about it and see how fulfilled the Lord is making your heart each day, much as mine is when I wake up to a brown-eyed little boy and dream of his baby sister who continues to grow in me :) We are truly blessed, and prayerfully, always thankful :) Love and miss you!