Thursday, November 15, 2012

Blessings and Thanksgiving

We have had a busy few weeks, especially on the weekends.  This past weekend, we traveled five hours by three different buses to a distant town for the wedding of one of Abraham´s cousins.  We arrived there Friday night, and the wedding was Saturday afternoon.  Many relatives had gathered as well, so both Abishael and I met several for the first time.  Abishael took the whole trip in his stride, only getting really fussy mid-reception when it was time for him to eat and sleep.  Thankfully, we found a couch a bit removed from the general activity where I could feed him and let him sleep.

Abraham, Abishael, and I left early Sunday morning in order to be back home in time for the kids´ club in the afternoon.  In addition to the normal Bible story - this time about Moses - and the story´s activity, the kids also made cards.  A pastor from the East Coast who has visited Dios es Amor several times is currently working with relief teams among people devastated by Hurricane Sandy.  Abraham asked the pastor how we could help, and he said we could pray and also send cards made by children.

On Sunday afternoon, we showed some pictures of the storm´s effects to the children and also explained what the pastor had told us about several people who had lost virtually everything.  The children worked in pairs to make bright, sticker-covered cards, willing to be a blessing to people they had never met.  The cards will go to the States with a  Puebla Christian School teacher who is going for Thanksgiving, and from there she will mail them to the pastor.

The previous weekend, Abraham, Abishael, and I enjoyed a Saturday outing with several Puebla Christian School teachers to Chignahuapan for the first day of the Christmas bulb fair.  We stopped first to see a lovely waterfall and eat lunch and then continued on to the downtown area.  The streets were bursting with people and store after store of an unimaginable variety of spheres, all hand-blown and individually painted.  It was difficult to choose among so many beautiful designs, but we all found what we wanted, and after several hours looking around, we headed home.  It was a lovely day and a pleasant way to spend time with friends.  I especially felt the blessing of being able to be with people that I no longer see very often, now that I am not involved with Puebla Christian School anymore.  At times being in Huejotzingo can be lonely, but I am thankful for the continued opportunities to be with friends.

This coming Saturday is another such opportunity.  Because Abraham is the PE teacher at Puebla Christian School, we can go to the staff Thanksgiving potluck.  I know from past Thankgiving gatherings that there will be more than enough to eat and plenty of laughter and fun.  On the actual day of Thanksgiving, we are hosting several Mexican friends in our home.  Some of these friends joined us last year for their first Thanksgiving meal, and they were happy to continue the tradition this year.

As Thanksgiving approaches, I want to thank especially those who support and pray for us.  You are a blessing!