This past Thursday was our first major holiday on the Race: Thanksgiving! We were given the day off from our regular ministry and instead got to celebrate as a squad and also get some rest in.
Typically we have all our meals provided by the base– breakfast is at 7:00 every morning, we pack sandwiches for lunch, and then we have dinner at 5:30 back at the base. We have two Guatemalan cooks that make our meals for us every day, Sandra and Theresa, but instead of our usual routine on Thursday, we invited them to come have an American Thanksgiving with us that we cooked for them. Each team made 1-2 dishes for the whole squad that made up our main meal, and then each team was also in charge of getting chicken for themselves.
Overall we had an insane amount of food– green bean casserole, macaroni and cheese, chicken and dumplings, stuffing, sweet potato casserole, rolls with honey butter, string beans, mashed potatoes, and then brownies, cake, cookies, and apple dumplings for dessert. Even with over 50 people we had a lot of left overs.
We also dressed up, made decorations, and put all of our tables outside into one long line so we could eat together.
Thanksgiving at home looks somewhat similar for my family. Usually my siblings and I all come home, we have a typical thanksgiving meal, and then we spend time as a family playing games, watching movies, going on walks, etc. I didn’t really feel homesick for this holiday, but then again it also didn’t really feel like Thanksgiving. The weather here still feels like the middle of summer, and most of us are preparing to leave Guatemala in two weeks.
This next week is our last full week of ministry in Bolo de Oro, and on Friday we have our presentation where the kids we’ve been teaching for the last three months will invite their families and present what they’ve learned. My team and I also get to share a little bit about why we’re here, what we’ve been doing, and the impact this ministry has had on us. After that we have our last short week of ministry (Monday-Wednesday), a leadership development weekend right after that (December 6th-9th), and then we fly out on the 10th.
We’re all excited for Asia and to explore new places, but most of us can’t believe how fast our time in Guatemala has gone, and how soon the Race will be over.
I’ve come to be so incredibly thankful for the things the Lord has given me in the few short months we’ve been here, including my new friends and family, my team’s ministry host and the children we get to teach every day, our team leaders who will be going home after Guatemala, the AIM staff who live here and constantly pour into us, and overall, Guatemala’s beautiful people.
