So, you may have noticed the date on this post (11/30) and be wondering why Thanksgiving came so late this year. Well, this month we were paired with another team, Team Healing Hurricane and from the 24th thru the 27th two of their members and two of ours were in a little villiage called Slatina. There they preached the gospel, worked with children and youth ministries, and visited with local families, while the rest of us continued our ministries here in Draganesti-Olt and it's surrounding villiages. Since Thanksgiving is a season to celebrate and be with family, and since we couldn't be with our own back home, we wanted to make sure our World Race family was together for the holiday. And so, we decided to celebrate on Wednesday, November the 30th, instead.
Well, ironically enough, this was also the day that an American mission team from Jonesbourough, GA arrived in our little village. And with them, they brought a suitcase full of goodies from our parents. Christmas had come early! And what does Christmas look like on the World Race, you might ask? As we sat around our ginormous table, constructed out of a plank of wood resting upon a couple metal legs, practically comatose from, what back home would be considered normal portions but to our shrunken stomachs was overindulgence, of roasted chicken and vegetables, green beans, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, pumpkin bars, and coffee cake, Cory began distributing gifts from a banged up blue suitcase. As each item emerged, cheers rang from all around. Contact solution. yay!! Fiber pills. yay!! Chocolate. yay!! T-shirts. yay!! Beef Jerky. yay!! We were crazy happy about some pretty random stuff. It was probably the most exciting Christmas I've ever experienced.
The truely great part of the day, however, was not the amazing food, or awesome gifts from home, but rather the privaledge of getting to help the GA missionaries hand out thousands of dollars worth of food, clothes, and toys to the community. We went door to door, blessing people with these gifts and praying for them. I was honored to be able to participate in such a tangible, immediate, and concrete expression of God's love.
And so there you have it…
Thanksgiving. Christmas. And Giving the Love of Christ.
Christ-giving.
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I'm THANKFUL for ~
- God, His grace and forgiveness
- Jesus, His sacrifice
- the Holy Spirit, His guidance
- Freedom of Religion (Yesterday, we were chased out of a town called ________ by an Greek Orthodox priest.)
- Being an American (I've never truely understood what it means to be thankful for this until now! We are so blessed!)
- Family & Friends
- Food (Stuffing oneself means something different when it's not something you are able to do everyday.)
- Hot Water and Warm Clothes
