A Peruvian Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving Day here in Arequipa! We were on the go, morning till night, and I believe this is my first Thanksgiving that hasn't included a nap while watching an NFL football game. We had several key items that helped create a sense of home: a can of pumpkin that was turned into 2 pumpkin rolls, 2 boxes of Stove Top stuffing that were critical components of my casserole dishes, and one bag of the candy-corn style pumpkin candies that we rather selfishly saved to eat among the 5 of us at home that night! Here are a few pictures to tell about the day:

We started the day off by getting locked out of the house - which is an extra challenge when the house is surrounded by an electric fence and metal spikes! Our neighborhood guard found a latter for us to use and Dana made the jump onto our spiral staircase. But not without a good 10 minutes of the alarm blaring after our first attempt in hopping the fence from a man-made (meaning Tony, Mike and Bo stacked on each other's shoulders!).

We arrived at the orphanage to find all of the cooking well underway. Nelva is in the red hat here - she is the main cook at the orphanage and spoils us with excellent meals most every day. We've even been able to convince her to prepare 3-4 vegetarian meals per week!

Thanksgiving just wouldn't be Thanksgiving without some American Football, so Tony led the charge in explaining the rules and getting the game started. A few rules that weren't understood: no forward passing once the ball is in motion, the difference between a fumble and a dead ball, and "late hit", evidenced by every single team member jumping onto the pile once someone was tackled.

Here is little Jhon shivering by the pool after swimming with the other kids. We took everyone to a nearby recreation center with a field for football, swimming pool, and playground for the kids. The weather was surprisingly chilly and we received our first drops of rain since we arrived in August. It sprinkled for about
1 minute, but we enjoyed it anyhow!

Mike and Dana made an impression at the pool while doing back flips off of each others shoulders. All the other guests were cheering and shouting "bravo!" after each flip.

The older girls helped to distribute the food to everyone. Here is Sonya on her way out of the kitchen with 2 plates of: chicken (no turkey for some reason!), mashed potatoes, bean salad, fried rice, and corn on the cob. Yummy!

This is a classic shot of Milton, one of the workers at the home. He was happy to help finish off my food, Tony's turkey, and any other extras he could find!

Here is Carlos digging into his plate with a fork in each hand!

Later afternoon we joined some other American missionaries for Thanksgiving Celebration #2. We each brought several dishes to share and collectively had a delicious meal, complete with turkey and NFL football through their cable system!

The boys (Mike, Dana and Bo) were happy to get started on meal #2!

We ended the day with an evening church service, since Thursday is our usual mid-week Bible study night. Several church members remarked on what a great concept it is to have a holiday specifically for reflecting on the blessings in our lives and giving thanks to God. It is a great holiday and we have so much to give thanks for. We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Happy Holidays!