Thanks.

I’m sorry.

 I’m sorry I haven’t written down every precious story, moment, and miracle that I have seen here.  I am sorry that you aren’t here because even though I am going to attempt to write some cool experiences down, I could never do them justice.  But, God is telling me to get off my lazy butt and try.  

Today is Thanksgiving.  That super-cool American holiday where all of your crazy family gets together, eats way too much, laughs a lot, watches some football, and then passes out from gluttony-exhaustion.  For us here in Uganda some things were different, some the same.  We started out the morning with some serious cooking.  I am close to a lot of folks that can cook.  My Mom is a master.  My cousin is literally a chef.  Mallory can bake the pants off of Martha Stewart.  And then there is me.  I mean… I got by in college, I can manage to throw stuff in a pan and it still be edible after all is said and done.  But, the art of cooking does not come easy for me.  I like to watch and eat.  It was a lot of fun to all be together in the kitchen, laughing, talking about family tradition, and trying everything as soon as it was done.

We set the table for the multitude of Ugandans coming to eat with us.  Set out the food, explained what it was, prayed, and ate.  I would say for the most part the mac and cheese was a hit, along with the rolls…green bean salad totally freaked them out.  I felt like I was sitting with family, like I was around my crazy aunts and uncles, all laughing and just enjoying being with each other.  Being that our team wanted everyone to know the true historical facts of Thanksgiving; we decided nothing would do better than Charlie Brown’s “Origins of Thanksgiving.”  After that history lesson we made hand turkeys. Thank you Charles M. Schulz and every 1^st grade teacher that ever lived.  In short, today rocked.

I know that it is cheesy to make a “thankful” list on Thanksgiving, but who cares I’m thankful. 

I am thankful for…

1.      I ate mac and cheese today.

2.      That my best friend Mallory is patient with me, even when I set things on fire during the cooking process.

3.      That we set a table for 12 people today, and every seat had a beautiful person in it.

4.      That no Ugandans were fatally harmed after eating American food.

5.      That I got to skype with my family in America! 

6.      The thought of having even more chairs at next year’s Thanksgiving extravaganza.

7.      The fact that I couldn’t ever come up with a life as cool as mine, Thank you God.

8.      That no matter where I am on the globe, my Daddy in Heaven is there with me.

9.      That I am never lacking another hand to hold.

10.  That the sun rises and sets and I have nothing to do with that.

Anywho… I miss my family back home, and that’s always going to be the case because I love them.  But, as I looked around at our crowded table I couldn’t help but smile and well up with love and thanksgiving.  I also couldn’t help but think about all our brothers on the street- did they have anything to eat today?  Did those boys with the fevers feel better? 

I seem to have all these ideas about how I want my life to look.  Today I just kept thinking- “I just want a family.  I want a husband after God’s own heart, I want to cook for my children, I want to tuck them in and baby them when they get sick, I want them to have a bed to lay in, I want them to lay their heads down at night without fear, I want to say bed time prayers with them, I want them to wake up in the morning and trust they will continue to be loved and cared for.  I want them to smile, laugh, and be silly just because they can and because they are kids.”

I want simplicity.  I want the same things for my children that my mother and father want for me.  I am thankful God has given each one of us the ability to love.  I am thankful that he taught us how, through his Spirit and Truth.  I am thankful that when I am not the best at loving, he shows me further still.  I am learning more and more what it means to give thanks to God.  I learn it through the weak, the hungry, the poor, the meek and young.  I learn through Timothy who worships with all his heart, gives what little he has in the offering at church, and protects me as we walk down the "not so nice area" of Kampala.  I learn it through every child that bows their head in prayer before their meal of the day.  I learn it through the other believers here that pour out themselves daily for individuals in great physical and spiritual need.  

My prayer for our world is that we can offer ourselves to God because we are thankful, and we know  the safest place to be is in His arms.

“Our steps are made firm by the LORD, when he delights in our way; though we stumble, we shall not fall headlong, for the LORD holds us by the hand.  I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.  They are ever giving liberally and lending, and their children become a blessing.” Psalm 37:23-26