Last year we almost didn't have Thanksgiving and this year we had THREE Thanksgiving celebrations!
On Monday, 17 of Nov 2014, three zones gathered @the Tagbilaran District Center for the Cebu East Mission Celebration on Bohol. First we had a Thanksgiving devotional. Each Zone provided a choir and two speakers.
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| Valencia Zone Choir ""I'm Trying to be Like Jesus" |
All of the speakers spoke on gratitude except one.
His talk was on ingratitude and he shared a recent experience that taught him a powerful, personal lesson.
He and his companion had had a particularly bad Sunday. First, an investigator that had promised for several Sundays that he would come to church but never came, promised again that he would, for sure, come this Sunday. They waited for him but he never showed...again. Then another investigator that had committed to baptism on a certain date cancelled his baptism. On the way home they saw a less active tatay (father) that they had been working with on a word of wisdom problem. He was trying to carry a load of firewood up a hill and was having a very difficult time. The elders could tell that the tatay would never make it up that hill in the condition he was in.He had backslided on his commitment to keep the Word of Wisdom. He called out and asked for their help. It was the "last straw" and the biggest disappointment for the day. This young elder said, "I loved that Tatay. We had worked so hard with him and he was making great progress and then to see him like that." He told his companion, "I will not help him. I don't want to help him. Let him struggle" and was turning away when his companion whispered in his ear, "We should help him."
Grudgingly he went back to help and as he picked up that heavy load of wood and put it on his back and labored and struggled to climb that hill the Spirit brought to his remembrance the Savior carrying the cross to Golgotha. It helped him to realized how ungrateful he was for the Savior's Atonement. He was reminded that in spite of all of our "backsliding" the Savior still carried that cross for us, and we should do the same for others. Gratitude flooded his soul as he served - gratitude for the Savior's love, gratitude for a companion that listened to the Spirit, gratitude for the lesson learned and gratitude for the love he still felt for that backsliding tatay. His counsel - when you are feeling ungrateful, serve, and gratitude will come flooding back into your heart.
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| Our beautiful sister missionaries enjoying their Thanksgiving treat - homemade apple crisp and vanilla ice cream. |
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| Blue Beast & Big Blue - our twin trucks (Ours is the Beast because its always dirtier than theirs. LOL) |
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| Elder and Sis. Halladay our newest Senior Missionary couple. We love them! She has an identical twin and loves the idea that we have identical twin trucks! |
Our next Thanksgiving celebration was held on 24 Nov 2014 @the Tagbilaran District Center but it was just for Tagbilaran Zone. It was going to be turkey and all the fixins' until we realized how mahal (expensive) turkeys are in Bohol. So we settled for chicken and REAL mashed potatoes, rice, mixed veggies and watermelon provided by Sis. Loy, our caterer. For dessert I made pumpkin crunch and she made a flan cake. Lami!!
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| The gwapo elders of Tagbilaran Zone always ready for the camera, if they're not nose down in the food. |
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| Full and content |
And our last Thanksgiving Celebration was on Thanksgiving Day, 27 Nov 2014 @our apartment.
We had a long day of apartment checks and baptismal interviews in the Valencia Zone on the other side of the island and made it home just in time to pop some homemade rolls in the oven, whip up some mashed potatoes and fry up some bacon and green beans and warm up our "small turkey" (code for roast chicken) before the sisters came over for our Thanksgiving feast. We even had pumpkin pie this year! w/ whipped cream!
As I reflect on my blessings, I am grateful for the small and simple things, the routine things. Getting up in the morning, seeing the rise and fall of my husband's chest as he breathes deeply in his sleep, or hearing the strong beat of his heart as he pulls me in for a hug. Kneeling in morning prayer to thank my Father for another day. Being able to move my body when I exercise, being able to stretch and bend and jump and rest. Being able to breathe. You don't know how wonderful it is until you have struggled to breathe. Drinking a glass of water. How wonderful it is to have a clean glass of water! Small and simple things, routine, everyday things and there are a many more I could name. I hope I will remember, especially during bad days, to look for these small and simple things, and be thankful.
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