My Thanksgiving this year is obviously going to be a little different from all the ones in the past. For starters, I won’t be with my family and I will be celebrating in Thailand! I am heading out to a village to work in rice patties this week so I probably won’t have internet access on Thursday. And as I was beginning to come to grips with the fact that I won’t be having a delicious feast amongst old friends and family, it made me kind of sad. And I think this is just one of those things that falls under the “sacrifices” we are making to be missionaries for a year.
But how can I even call that a sacrifice?? I am living the life here! I have been given an opportunity not many people wil ever get and its AMAZING! I am seeing the world and seeing how our God is working in it and in myself. I am in my favorite contry so far, Thailand, and it is blowing me away. So I am want to tell you what I am most thankful for this year (in no particular order) 🙂
Numero uno: my beautiful Team Gozo! these are the 5 other people I have been sharing my life with over the past few months, and I feel extremely blessed to be counted among them. We have bee able to walk through this experience together and learn and grow both independently and as a unit. Each person brings a unique spirt to the team and we have so much fun! They all possess so much JOY and will be a perfect substitute family for this Thanksgiving and Christmas.
amy, samara, brian, me, sarah b, sarah o
Secondly, myyy family! You guys have been such a blessing to me, not only through this process, but from day one. I could not have asked for a more loving and supportive group. You have been beautiful examples of love an Jesus and I am so THANKFUL for you guys 🙂
sorry grandma, i didn’t have any with you in them!
c.) My friends at home: you guys are amazing! You have always been there for me, and thank you in advance for not forgetting me 😉 I feel so blessed to have kept you guys close for the past 4-5 years. You bring me such joy and it is an honor to have broken down the sneaky group 🙂 I love you and I can’t wait to see you when I get home! And to my newer friends, I love you guys so much as well. You have been my constant companions recently and I don’t know what I would’ve done without you… ALL of y’all are always in my prayers. Thanks for loving me 🙂
sorry rob and matty…i couldn’t find one with everyone, and to all you other guys…you know i love you
Last, but certainly not least (quite the opposite actually), I am most grateful to Jesus. You have given more than I could ever wish for…in every possible sense. I could write for days on all the things I am thankful for from You….so I’ll just stick to a few. Thank you for your never-ending love and grace. You’re always right by my side. Thank you. Thank you for Your mercies being new every day. Thank you for persuing me constantly and continually showing Yourself to me. Thank you for being bigger than poverty, slavery, addiction and any things of this world. Thank you for caring, and thanks for the cross. You’re beautiful.
This Thursday is gonna look completely different than every year previous, and our Thanksgiving will go unobserved by those we are staying with. but not by us! We feel like some of the most thankful and blesssed people out there because we have been given so much. So we will celebrate, and though we’ll be eating rice and not a delicious turkey with mashed potatoes and stuffing, I think this will be one of my best Thanksgivings to date. Another huge thank you to all of you who are making this trip possible for me through support and more importantly your prayers. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
PS we went ahead and had our Thanksgiving celebration today with another team based in Chiang Mai before we leave for the village. We went elephant riding, rafting down a river on bamboo, hung out at a waterfall and celebrated the Festival of Lights with all of Chiang Mai. I AM SO THANKFUL 🙂
