As I woke up Friday morning, my heart and mind were still asleep. The day before I took a very early bus ride to the capitol with Miguel, I was still reclaiming the hours of sleep that I lost from trying to keep the blaring music out of my ears while on the bus.
“Lord, give me strength for today…and joy…and help me get out of bed”. My prayer weakened and gave way to a yawn…I wondered, “Will five more minutes of sleep wrinkle the days schedule…wait, what is today? Friday, I think…wait, today is our Thanksgiving celebration day!”
After a wonderful breakfast of pancakes, scrambled eggs, fruit, bacon and orange juice, we broke the news to the group that class was canceled for the day (along with any other ministries) and that we were all going to play kickball instead. Some were excited for some kickball action; others wanted to go back to bed. Nevertheless, we all went and had a great time kicking, cheering, and running in the cool morning breeze.
After everyone was showered we gathered at the base (the Santiago’s house) for lunch. Even though many of our favorite Holiday snacks were MIA (missing in action), no one seemed to notice as we talked and laughed with each other. Some minds were occupied with thoughts of Thanksgiving and what it means to them and their family, saying phrases like “In my family….”, or “My mom makes….” and an occasional comment about Grandmas special treats.
Personally, I can say that this was a family celebration that I will not easily forget: the food was spectacular (props to the girls, with Carrie and Kristina leading the
way), the kickball game filled the void of the missing traditional American football game.
Having people laying around on the futon reminded me of older family members who require naps to digest (so as to gain more room for a late dessert). Hand made decorations adorning the walls let everyone know that we wanted a fun family event where we could be free to take a nap, watch a ongoing movie, make decorations or play a game like chess. Part of being a family is loving and accepting one another for who we are and were we are all at with our walk towards “christ likeness”. Love entails alot of things but this day I see it is also accepting others for who they are, and not by what they do.
Family love was in the air like the glow of our little Christmas tree which provided a nice glow for all during the candle lit dinner.
Isn’t it great how 13 people who have known each other for 2 months can have such a great family celebration and not miss their own families enough to not be missing from this one we have here.
