Blessings From Above

When you think of Thanksgiving, what are the things that make Thanksgiving...Thanksgiving for you? For me, it has always been a turkey and lots of friends or family (or both). This year, we were unable to justify paying $90 for a 12 lb turkey, so we found a place that makes rottisorie chickens. David was so bummed about not having a turkey that he went to his savings and pulled it all out and offered to help pay for it. Of course, we couldn't take his savings for something that was going to disappear in 10 minutes.

We celebrated with Tim and Karen Chase, our co-workers, and then another person, Paul Seavers. Paul is a single-young man, freshly landed in Nepal and has ties to a second cousin of Stan's. He is living with a Nepali family and eats daal-bhat (lentils and rice) twice a day, so we thought he would appreciate a nice, western dinner. Needless to say, he accepted without hesitation. :-)

Between Karen and I, we were able to make quite a feast, minus the turkey. Karen was bemoaning the fact that we couldn't find any cranberry sauce. Thanksgiving, for Karen, must have cranberries. Above is the flower arrangement I made with the help of Karen's fall decorations.

We didn't grumble or complain...we did miss our friends from Kalimantan and our individual families, but we enjoyed the company that we had and the food was great. Because of that, I think the Lord blessed us amazingly through another American woman here in Kathmandu. This lady works with US Aid, a government agency. A few weeks ago, she had invited us over for dinner and we accepted. So last night, Friday after Thanksgiving, we went to her house and were absolutely spoiled. She had overheard us at church talking about how expensive turkeys were and so had her cook bake up a turkey AND a pork roast with all the trimmings...that included cranberry sauce! We were totally amazed and humbled at how God had, in the end, blessed us with two wonderful Thanksgiving Dinners and wonderful fellowship with friends in Nepal. Oh, if you are wondering where she was able to get cranberry sauce, it was from the American commissary that is here in Kathmandu. There is an American Club here and because she works for the government she can do shopping there without having to pay the high membership fees. Lord, we are so thankful for your many wonderful blessings and how You continually amaze us with your love and care.