Monday 8 October 2012

Thanksgiving Dinner: no rice?

As I was preparing the Thanksgiving dinner Sunday afternoon for our Peace Church gathering, I asked Darnell if I had to serve rice with the meal. Rice goes with EVERYTHING here- no meal is complete without a huge helping of it, but it just felt so strange eating a turkey dinner (minus the turkey- chicken seemed easier) with a side of rice! I feed our friend/language tutor, Bryan, everyday and I have gotten used to always serving rice (even with pasta!) but with turkey dinner? Surely that was going too far! Darnell felt that we needed to be culturally sensitive…. at ALL times:) I decided to ask the group once they arrived. They politely said they didn’t need rice although I made some anyways. But it turns out everyone loved my mashed potatoes so much that no one took rice! That’s BIG…. they were that good, I guess:)

Sunday evening was also our first time to have a bit of a service and as I watched Darnell lead the group in prayer, share about the journey that brought us here, reflect on scripture and lead a discussion, I was overcome by a deep sense of peace. Here he was- articulately, passionately and sensitively sharing the Good News of this upside down Kingdom Jesus called us to be, and I watched in awe and with deep thankfulness. What a joy it is to see him in the role God has so clearly called him to. We are certainly where we are supposed to be. 

We were so excited to share a Canadian Thanksgiving with our new friends here and have a meaningful time together. We look forward to celebrating Filipino holidays too and eating LOTS of rice! 



(missing 3 in this group picture)
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3 comments:

  1. Angelika8 October 2012 at 08:48

    what a blessing! how cool that you could receive that sense of peace as you watch your beloved do what he is called to do, what you have together been called to do.
    we didn't have rice either, by the way, but i think i wouldn't mind having rice with turkey. i'll certainly add it to the soup i'm going to make today. and i had apple pie and sharp cheddar cheese for breakfast. :-)

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  2. CyndyB8 October 2012 at 09:44

    Thanks for sharing a bit of your day with us. May you continue to have that sense of peace and call, even on days when it won't "feel" like it! Happy Thanksgiving!

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  3. Karmen and Greg9 October 2012 at 04:16

    So great! I love how things are coming together for you guys!

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