So, as many of you know, Thanksgiving was Thursday. It was my first ever holiday away from home and my family! I really thought it would be super hard for me considering Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. However, I don’t think that I realized how much actually giving thanks lifts your spirit.
Before I left for the race, I was told by someone, maybe a staff member of Adventures in Missions, that when you feel sad or down to write a list of all the things you’re thankful for to help lift that sad mood. I believed it because it made so much sense to me but I’ve never experienced it for myself… Until Thursday.
I’m going to be honest for about 5 seconds, I cried a little bit on Wednesday just thinking about Thanksgiving without my family and with my new family that is my squad. I thought about all the things my family does on Thanksgiving. The Macy’s Day Parade is always on the TV, we sit around the house just chatting and enjoying each other’s company, the turkey, that usually is started a few days before is sending it’s delicious smell throughout the whole house making everyone’s mouth water. We dress up, take pictures, get anxious for time to eat the delicious turkey and delicious sides that are always present for Thanksgiving. I can see it all in my head because we do the same thing every year! So to think about it this year made me sad because I imagined it with all the happy memories and then realized that I don’t get to be a part of those memories this year… It’s hard to think of life at home in the times that are the happiest and know that you can’t be a part of it.
Thanksgiving went well for us all though! We got to worship Jesus before any of us had the chance to be sad about not being home for Thanksgiving. We all reflected on things we’ve done that we’re thankful for since we’ve been in Guatemala. As I see it, Thanksgiving came at a good time for us, the end of our time in Guatemala. It gave us a chance to reflect and thank God for all that we’ve done here and more importantly for all that He’s done here! Starting the day of with gratitude was really the way to do it.
Turning our eyes towards Jesus and keeping our eyes looking in front of us rather than behind us and where our feet are NOT, we were able to enjoy our first Thanksgiving away from our families at home. This is also our ONLY Thanksgiving together as a new family in Guatemala. Being away from home only creates more gratitude for home. So, in the midst of the hard, we’re still able to be thankful!
My squad had a big Thanksgiving meal for lunch. We had a big table set up outside with a pretty handmade runner. Lots of food was made by different people on the squad. We planned for this day for a week and it took us all about 10-15 minutes to eat what we wanted. I find that funny, but in a way it’s that way at home too. It was really special to celebrate with my new family! We took lots of photos together since almost everyone dressed up real nice.
With Thanksgiving being here and us already being in the thankful attitude, the next day we had to say goodbye to the people we’ve poured into the last 3 months of our lives. My team struggled with this immensely. We love our ministry and our hosts and all the children we taught. There were tears shed, laughter spread one last time and so much gratitude for what we were able to do for our people. Our family.
A lot of people wouldn’t say that when it pains you a lot to say goodbye that’s a good thing. It is a good thing though. That means that you really invested in that person’s life and they really invested in yours. For me, saying goodbye to Brayan, our 17 year old ministry host, who spent every day with us for 3 months, was the hardest goodbye for me. We may have come to pour into the people here, but the people here really poured into us just as much! Brayan said that we stole his heart when he stole our hearts too! We took him to one of our favorite places to go after ministry for the first and last time and bought him whatever he wanted from there. We got to pray for him before we had to go our separate ways. Lots of tears shed for all of us. We didn’t want to leave him here, we wanted to bring him to Ethiopia with us! Unfortunately we can’t do that… But I know that God will use him here for the next squad that comes to Guatemala and eventually he will get to chase his dream and go to the Middle East to spread God’s word.
Another hard goodbye for me was with Brandon, my adult, advanced student in Chimaltenango. I had to say goodbye to him a few days sooner than Brayan. Brandon’s English is so good that my team and I had the idea that he could be a translator for AIM because we need more translators! It just so happens that he doesn’t have a job at the moment either so I believe that God is possibly opening a door for him to walk through. He just has to choose it! I’m praying that God really uses him, even if it isn’t for AIM! Brandon is awesome!
Everyone connects to places and people differently and it’s interesting to see the different ways. It’s also hard to not compare yourself to how others around you connect. Something I’ve honestly struggled with. But I know I’ve made the connections I was supposed to make here and God will use those connections for the good for both me and them! It’s hard to walk away and move on, but… When God closes one door, He opens another!
Some would say that the next time they had the chance to get close to someone they’ll hold back so it isn’t so hard for the next round of goodbyes, but if you hold back, what do you gain? The comfort of no pain? Correct me if I’m wrong, but that’s so selfish! At least when you walk away hurting because you got so close with someone, they walk away in pain too, transformed by the way you loved them, like Jesus loves! It’s inspiring for both sides!
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. ~1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
