We woke up Thursday morning, thinking it was just another day. But it was Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving is not a holiday that is celebrated in the Philippines (which is a shocker, because they celebrate holidays constantly over here). But with 3 Americans in the house we figured it was the perfect opportunity to celebrate a day of Thanks!
We started with the pie, because thats the most important part. We had to use a Kalabasa, which is kinda like a squash, and peel it, chop it up, and pressure cook it. I was in charge of peeling it....mutilating it, is more what I did. I was thankful that I didn't lose a finger or two.  |
| The crime scene.... |
Then we continued to follow a recipe that Wendy had. It called for coconut milk, corn starch, vanilla, and cinnamon, all-spice, and ginger. We made a crust from scratch and put it aside to be baked.
We started cooking shortly after breakfast (7 am) and were finally ready to eat around 2pm. During the cooking process we had dirtied every dish in the house....twice...but we worked together nicely, each washing dishes when we had no other assignment. Which definitely helped with clean-up in the end. :)
As we were getting ready to eat and sharing old Thanksgiving stories, I realized that this is my second Thanksgiving in the Philippines. The more I thought about it, the more I realized...I didn't even really remember my last Thanksgiving in the States. Of course, as I was dwelling on this fact, I realized that this was my first Thanksgiving with No Family member present because last year I had my sister. It was then that I noticed my company. All 3 of us were away from family and loved ones on this very special holiday, but we were taking charge and making the most of it. 
Dinner was amazing! I was excited that LeAnne had gotten her appetite back for this special occasion. We ate until we were stuffed...and then ate a little more. :)
We ran into some problems while baking the pumpkin pie. For some reason, the pie filling didn't set. We would have kept it in the oven longer, but the crust was about to burn. So we took it out. It looked extremely questionable, but we gave it a try anyways. It was DELICIOUS! Though, it was nothing like any pumpkin pie we've ever had, it tasted really good. It kinda seemed like a pumpkin pudding on top of crust. We had no idea how it ended up that way though (which is sad, because it was really good! I want to try and mess it up again ;) )
That night, we attended our last L.I.G.H.T classe. It went by so fast, which isn't hard to believe since we stayed home for about a week of it. But for the nights that we did attend, we learned so much and had a lot of fun getting to know the teachers. I'm very happy we were able to come up for these meetings.
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| Davin sell the hammocks he makes to pay for his mission travels. |
As I was sitting in the meetings, I was reflecting on the MANY blessings in my life. I have been to the Philippines twice this year alone. I have gotten a lot of "miles" in this year, traveling to various places. It's been a lot of fun! I have a mission family, that teaches me so much everyday and who make these trips SOO much more fun! I have an amazing church family who are very supportive, both prayerfully and financially, of my missions. I have awesome friends and an amazing travel buddy! And at the end of the day I have an amazing family back at the home base, who are loving and supportive of all my decisions (I promise to not make a habit out of 'Thanksgivings abroad' :) Sorry for 2 years away :( ). Last but not least, I serve an amazing God who is always there for me when I feel alone and who gives me traveling mercies and adventures along the way. I am a very blessed little girl and I'm very thankful for all the blessings bestowed upon me!
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!
"Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever."
~1 Chronicles 16:34
so good!
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