Happy Thanksgiving!

The smells of Thanksgiving are filling the air as my turkey cooks in the oven. On the counter waiting to go in, I have cornbread dressing and carrot souffle. The cranberry sauce is in the fridge and the potatoes are cooked and just waiting to be mashed. Cindy is next door cooking a wonderful pumpkin crunch. It is truly Thanksgiving. The only thing missing is a nip in the air and family gathered around our table. We will have a great meal this evening with our friends and partners, the Nelsens, but this day is a day I long to be home or at least with those closest to me. If only I lived in the Star Trek world, I could say "Beam me to my Mom's house, Scotty". Last year we had a great time with my parents celebrating here with us. The year before, our first in the PI, we ate alone and I broke down and cried at the dinner table. (The children just love to bring that up) I guess this will be a different Thanksgiving from the last 2 years--no family and, I hope, there will be no tears.

This morning we did a Bible study as a family on Thankfulness. We studied Exodus 15. It is a song of praise by the Israelites just after crossing the Red Sea and having it crash on Pharaoh's men. I love verse 11 that says: "Who among the gods is like you, O LORD ? Who is like you—majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?"

This song of thanksgiving goes on for 21 verses, yet just a couple verses later, the Israelites have forgotten all the good God has given them and are grumbling and complaining because the water they have is bitter. Our goal as a family is to be Thankful of the Lord's blessing regardless of the circumstances in our lives. We want to live out Ephesians 5:19-20-- "Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

I hope your Thanksgiving was a time of thankful reflection of the Lord's blessings to you.

Thanks, also, to all of you who help make our ministry here on the other side of the world possible. May God bless you richly in this holiday season!

Because of Him,
Ginger, Allan, Emily, and Will