Traditionally, for Thanksgiving, my family cooks the entire
meal and then invites all of my extended family over to our house. My dad and I
stay up the night before making the pies and preparing side dishes for the next
day’s meal. Then, on Thanksgiving day, my whole family comes over to celebrate.
We eat, play games, catch up on each other’s lives, maybe watch some football
and then everyone goes back home. It’s great…but it was nice to switch it up
this year.
Our team decided that we would make a large pot of chili and
buy some bread to take into one of the gypsy villages we visit about every
other day. Lauren wanted to take her guitar and sing to the kids too.
We chose this specific village because we felt uneasiness
within the community that was not as apparent in the others. There was also a
silence that was holding the people back from talking to us, singing and
dancing with us. Actually, that silence sort of rubbed off on our team for a
little while too. But, there was just a lot of spiritual darkness that covered
that village. So, we decided we wanted to bring some light and joy back into
their community.
Like I said in my previous blog, it’s been really hard for
me to enter that village because of the heaviness I feel. Whenever I walk into
it, I automatically feel all the energy leave my body and feel my joy and love
flee as well. It’s rough.
But on Thanksgiving, that all changed.
I don’t even really think it was the food that made their
joy return or defeat their silence. I think it was the music we played for them
and the songs we sang. I actually got to dance with one little girl, who, just
days before would not even let go of her mother’s hand. One of the older girls
(and my older I mean about 15 or 16 years old) actually played Lauren’s guitar
and sang Jingle Bells in their own language! It was so beautiful to have that
silence broken. After she played and sang, all the other children slowly, one
by one, came up to try to play the guitar too. I think at once point, everyone
in the village was either singing, dancing or just smiling.
When we left, everyone gave us hugs and even waved to us as
we walked down the street. (Something that has also never happened before)
Now, I can’t wait to go back to see them all again. It’s so
refreshing to know that village has joy and can experience what real love feels
like now.
