Thanksgiving-American Style

As many of you know American Thanksgiving was last Thursday. Sister Christina is an American citizen so she invited us over for Thanksgiving dinner…We gladly accepted and even bought pumpkins so we could make pie (which Sister Anne did!). All the sister’s from the surrounding villages came, as well as the Bishop. The meal was wonderful and it reminded us so much of the holiday season back home. Jessica even had her most very favorite dish…mashed potatoes. Yes it was glorious and reminded her of home. She asked what their secret was…and the sister replied ‘All it takes is a little elbow grease’. That reminded her of Grandma Barker, since that is something she would say! It made us appreciate how thankful we are to be here celebrating with those that matter to us.

Thanksgiving was actually our last night at the convent, so it was nice way to say goodbye. The next morning we madly cleaned the guest house, packed all our stuff and unloaded into our new digs. We are getting pretty good at moving! So now we are living in with our American friend, Tyler…. Tyler was living with 2 of our other friends Dan and John , but they left about a month ago. The place is huge, and closer to the school (about 15 minute walk). However, it was definitely a bachelor pad. We attacked it full force with bleach and scrubbers. We re-organised a few things and threw out the empty bottles that had been collecting in random cupboards. We had very peaceful sleeps in the new house and new beds!! Lianne had actually been sleeping in a single bed with her feet hanging over the edge…and for the first time in 5 months she fit in her bed! It is also nice to be living in another area of Mongu. Moving to another area always give you a different perspective, feels like we are living in a different city! This place is also located really close to the majestic Mongu Flood Plains. You can bet we will be heading down there to watch a few more sunsets before we leave…