Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays.  I think it's such a great idea.  You get to eat delicious food -- turkey with gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potato casserole, pumpkin pie, apple pie, and pecan pie.  And you spend the day with people you love, family or friends.  And you relax and remember all that God has given you and give him thanks for it.  I realize that even all of that is another blessing from God...family and friends and a feast.

I can't let Thanksgiving pass without posting my own little list.

Number One.
I am so thankful that God gave me the chance to come to Honduras.  I love being here, I love the people I've met, I love the landscape, I love the weather, I love the language, I love my jobs.  I know I've learned much, and gained so many friends, and have been able to experience so many special things.

Number Two.
I'm thankful that I live in the middle of a hospital community.  It makes being sick so much easier.  Nothing quite compares to having your own personal nurse come check on you in your room.  Miss Penny, who should probably get her own number on here, is a nurse at the hospital and the grandmother of the two kids I teach.  When she found out I was sick, she came to my room and made sure I had everything I needed.  She even took me to the hospital the next day to get checked out.  That was cool, because I can now say that I've actually been to Hospital Loma de Luz.  I even got my blood drawn and didn't feel faint (or at least not more than I already did).  Success, I'd say!

Number Three.
I think technology must be my third.  Being able to Skype with my family and Facebook my friends in the States and take pictures of my home here is so amazing.  I keep thinking about how hard it must have been to travel years ago, when communication meant letters and maybe a rare and expensive phone call.  So thank you, God, for giving some people the brains to come up with all of this crazy stuff!

Number Four.
This past week, all the kids finished up at W-RAGAR (the bilingual school).  They took their exams... Ok. Interrupt: I'm thankful for geckos.  They might leave droppings everywhere (I do mean everywhere), but they're handy insect killers.  One little fella just caught a giant fly, which is now buzzing madly.  Betcha can't guess who I'm cheering for!  Anyways, exams are over, and some teachers are filling out paperwork, and I'm glad that they let me be a part of their school this year and still want me to come back next year.

Number Five.
Getting to spend time with Delmy, a teacher from W-RAGAR and a leader in her church, is such a treat.  Delmy always warmly welcomes, and makes me laugh, and helps me learn Spanish, and cares about deep things.  Thursday afternoon, after we finished up some exams and worked on a little paperwork, Delmy stopped a truck and we rode in the back of it into town to her house.  Her aunt made us lunch.  It was chop suey (who would guess that the first time I would try this would be in Honduras?), coleslaw (a typical food), and white bread.  Delicious.  We talked about school and our families and things we like and don't like in our lives, and we taught each other Spanish and English, and laughed at ourselves.

I'm sure this list could go on forever, but I don't have time to write everything down and I'm sure no one has time to read everything, either.  So I'll leave it with this: "What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me?  I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord...I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord." ~Psalm 116:12-13, 17