Thanksgiving Day on Saturday?

It seemed very appropriate to celebrate Thanksgiving Day here in southern Mexico with our Oaxacan friends. So last Sat. we invited three families over to our house to share in a Thanksgiving dinner. We had barbecued turkey, rolls, scalloped potatoes, green beans, and a sweet potato pie! It was just like at home, without the traditional food ball game on the TV. We are grateful to our friends here for their patience with our Spanish,
for teaching us their culture and their recipes, for gifting us their time. We have prospered because of the generosity and help of these dear people.
We are simply grateful!

When the early pilgrims in the U.S. arrived to their new world, their food was scarce and the winter was fierce. By the end of their first year, close to half of them were dead! They survived in part due to the help of the citizens, the nationals, the locals who helped them, taught them, had patience with them.


We too are pilgrims here, new residents. We arrived with needs like the pilgrims of an earlier epoch. But there is no draught, nor starvation, like in the days of old. And we won't die in a draught of friendship; we have been gifted with many dear friends. We won't die from a starvation of loneliness, we have been well cared for and accepted; we have been befriended. We will survive!

We too wish to say, "Thanks be to God for what has occurred here."

FLEXIBILITY

7:00 a.m..
I'm sleeping in. The phone rings. It's my noon-time guests calling to ask if they can come 1 to 2 hours later than arranged, they had unexpected guests pop in and spend the night.
"Por supuesto!" (sure)

11:30 a.m.
My guests call back. The highway is closed. They may be even 2 hours later! Since there is no telling when the highway might re-open I suggest we cancel and reschedule. I'll be seeing them this weekend we can talk about it then.
"Claro, es mejor!" (Of course, that's better)

4:27 p.m.
They call back. The highway is open. They'll be here in an hour.
Esta bien. (That's fine.)

5:55 p.m.
Four women, with one of the husbands driving them, show up in a pick-up truck. 3 people in front, 2 older women riding in the back. They come in and visit. They have come from over an hour away to apologize for having to have canceled earlier in the day. We visit, drink coffee, eat banana bread and brownies. They leave at 7:30. I send them off with an extra blanket to wrap up in, in the back of the truck. Maybe I'll get it back, maybe I won't.

On again, off again! But in the end two groups of people gathered and shared together. Our days don't always go as planned. But then joys and blessing don't always announce themselves ahead of time. But when they do come- GRAB THEM!

Mexicans take a cold seriously!

Bruce came home Friday night from a trip to the southern part of the state with a cold. He was just beginning to recover but the 5 hour drive home plus an early morning run to the airport on Saturday morning made him relapse.
I ran into our pastor on Sat. night and told him Bruce was feeling bad and we probably wouldn't make it to church in the morning. He very nicely called before church to check on Bruce, and said they would be praying for him. After church he called again. The church is meeting in our neighborhood this month; they were only a few blocks away, so he asked if he could bring Dr. Hugo by the house to check on Bruce. Wow, how nice!!!! But Dr. Hugo is a BRAIN SURGEON!
Well, about 20 min. later Memo, our pastor and friend, Dr. Hugo and about 12 people showed up to see how Bruce was feeling. They chatted, drank water and visited as Dr. Hugo and Bruce talked. Thank goodness I had some cookies in the freezer that I quickly defrosted.
The prescription: a strong dose of LOVE, served up as needed! Oaxacans are good at that!

Introducing Jake and Shontee

One of the hardest things about living abroad is missing out on special times with family. Like celebrating with Jake and Shontee the anoun- cement oftheir wedding! Wow! We are excited!! Excited for our son who has found a PEARL of GREAT PRICE! And we are excited for our family, to be blessed by the presence of Shontee, adding to our joy and our strength.