I just had my first Thanksgiving in another country yesterday and it was quite the experience! It’s hard to even begin to explain how it all happened because it feels like such a blur now. I guess the best way to start is from the beginning. On Sunday of this week, both groups decided they would like to have a really big Thanksgiving here at the orphanage and share one of our American holidays with the kids here. Jacinda (another girl on my team) and I decided we would take the responsibility to plan and prepare the meal. After realizing that there would be 80+ people to cook for, we really kicked it into high gear. We headed to Rivas, which is located off the island, so that meant taking a 3 hour round trip ferry ride and a few taxis to get there and back.
While in Rivas, we bought 56 pounds of chicken (yes that is correct), 40 pounds of potatoes (not even all the potatoes we would need), and a few other things that we could only find off of the island. We had our friend Daniel that teaches English here at the orphanage come with us and we hauled all the meat and potatoes in his suitcase bag all through the streets (we definitely got some weird looks). This doesn’t include the few other trips we had to make into Moyogalpa (larger city on the island) to get everything else we needed…and we haven’t even made it to the cooking part yet.
The day before Thanksgiving, Jacinda and I made the carrot cake for the next day so there be less to do the next day. We found out that night how temperamental the oven was and that it was the only oven that worked…that was a nice surprise. At this point, I’m thinking that there is no way we can cook 15 chickens and countless other things (banana bread, roasted garlic, 150 rolls) and be ready in time, but God really gave both of us a peace about the whole day and everything came out really smoothly. We started at 6AM and through more than 7 hours of cooking, we finished in record time.
We made everything from chicken of all flavors (rosemary, lemon pepper, garlic) to squash and pineapple casserole to garlic mashed potatoes to homemade gravy to garlic rolls. Oh, and don’t forget the banana and carrot cake. Another cool thing about the meal was that EVERYTHING was made from scratch. Nothing came from a box or can…every pineapple, every potato, even every clove of garlic was peeled by hand for the meal. I appreciate so much more how much work goes into making a real homemade meal. Both teams also helped to prepare everything for the day by prepping vegetables and helping in the kitchen.
Everyone really enjoyed Thanksgiving at the orphanage and I also found out that it was their very first one. It was such a blessing to be able to share this occasion with them and show them how thankful we are for them and the hospitality they have shown us. I am still so exhausted from yesterday, but feel so blessed by my whole experience here at the CICRIN this month. This will definitely be a Thanksgiving I will never forget!
