Thanksgiving has a completely different meaning in the Philippines than in America. The Thanksgiving we celebrated was more like celebrating the anniversary of the church than an "American Thanksgiving." Service was held as usual, with the addition of a time of testimonies and a special "Birthday Offering." Testimonies ranged from pregnancy announcements, to gratefulness of life, to family, friends, and health. The Birthday Offering was a special offering in which everyone was asked to give 1 piso for each year they have lived [40pisos = 1USD].
But Thanksgiving still meant a feast. Much of the congregation lived in the worst parts of town in shacks and structures that you would not believe sufficed as homes. Theses families were lucky if they got three meals a day, most of which probably came from trash picking. So this meal was not just any feast. It was one of great fellowship.
Banana leaves were spread on all the tables and the food was placed down the middle of each table right on the banana leaves. There were four or so types of meat, rice, glass noodles, watermelon slices, and juice boxes.
Then, the whole congregation gathered around the tables and everyone indulged, no utensils. There were no statuses to be made known; everyone was on the same level, enjoying the same food in the same manner.
It was such a great experience [probably not the most sanitary, but we tried to push that aside as we joined in the fun]! We cleared almost all the food in front of us and had to ask our host if it was rude to ask people to pass us more food.
Well, we didn’t need to ask; they just started passing handfuls of noodles down to our end of the table for us to enjoy. Everyone was looking out for each other.
There was enough food for everyone to walk away satisfied and there were still left overs. At the end, some people started bagging up food to take into the barangays and hand out to their neighbors.
That day was such a great example of the body of Christ. It took teamwork to set up, clean up, and entertain the children. It only last an hour or so, but man! It was such a blessing to be a part of! It's not something you would ever experience back in the States!
