We set aside one day a year to give thanks for a year of blessings. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, there is no pressure of gift giving or special decorating; it’s just a day of enjoying the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, good food, fellowship and some football. I must clarify right away…..when it comes to gift giving and decorating our home, I learned a long time ago just get out of Janet’s way and let her do her thing.
We are both from relatively small families, but during the holiday season, we would invite people that had no family in the area to spend the day. So we just added another plate (or several plates) to the table and celebrated the day with them also. We always had a house full of adults and children to spend the day and into the evening. Sometimes it was total chaos….but a joyful chaos!
One fact about our family was there was never a shortage of food on the table; there was turkey, ham and all of the trimmings. Not just a couple of homemade pies, but several….everyone had their favorite. Janet’s mother was a fantastic cook, and so Janet had a great teacher and she learned well. The only problem I had was enough room to eat some of everything. Both mom and Janet put all their love into each dish that was passed.
Over time, families moved to different parts of the country, mother is cooking dinner in heaven now, so things change in all of our lives. Our small family has gotten even smaller. Not really, over the last few years our family has grown; by the hundreds and we are so blessed. So this year, Janet and I will be spending Thanksgiving with Pastor Isel and family in Mayari, Cuba. In 2018, we will be with Pastor Jose and family in Sancti Spiritus, Cuba.
Yes, Thanksgiving is an American holiday and it’s all about family and loved ones; and we will be with family and loved ones in Cuba. Maybe the food will not be as plentiful or what we are familiar with on Thanksgiving, but it will be a blessed time with our Cuban families.
For the latest on the Southwest District Mission Program, Inc. check our website at: www.christforcuba.com.
In Christ,
Dan Christopherson
christforcuba@gmail.com
941-468-7209