Thanksgiving Celebrations Aplenty

Thanksgiving at our home has always included making the Indian cookies which reminds us of the Indians who saved the Pilgrims' lives by teaching them to plant corn and other vegetables and fruits as well as how to hunt for game. The first Indian cookies came from Grandma Hess who bought them at Mrs. Backers' Bakery one Thanksgiving in the late 1980s. Truth be told they are just fun to create and even more fun to eat. When some of our friends moved away from the neighborhood they told us what they missed most about not being neighbors was the Indian cookies. Fun to know!



The Jeffries sent this picture of the tradition continuing at their house. Kate, Emma, and Spencer were in charge of decorating the cookes. Emma and Margaret made and baked the cookies. Even Ellie was in on the act until it was her naptime. We just love to see this tradition continue into the next generation.

In Lima the FHE group, the missionary couples, continued the long tradition of holding their own Thanksgiving dinner on the Monday night before Thanksgiving. The food was so plentiful and so good, we all overate. The tables were decorated with colorful Peruvian cloths. However, we couldn't find a turkey ceramic, a picture of a turkey, or even turkey cookies anywhere.

The Lees, Lima Temple president and directora, just arrived a few weeks ago. They enjoyed their first Thanksgiving feast in Lima.

Look at that table--two kinds of sweet potatoes, two turkeys, homemade gravy, homemade rolls, green beans, cornbread stuffing, creamy mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and more--it was all so good we stuffed ourselves.

Two of the hermanas are from Peru. Two of our desserts were decidedly Peruvian, including this heavenly flan.

Because the dinner was held in the office comedor, we had access to professional equipment. This display of desserts like the offerings in a professional bakery but they were homemade.

One of the activities was for each one to tell what he or she was thankful for. I said I was thankful for family--Dad, our children and grandchildren, extended relatives, and the missionary couples who are like family here.

On Thanksgiving morning we gathered out on the soccer field for the Nash Family traditional Thanksgiving football game. Anyone who wanted to play football was invited to come play--the young Primary age children and the junior high and high school kids played the adults. The deal is they just play--every one wins.

Even touch football is fast and furious--the passes were long, and the young and not so young were running everywhere.

How's this for comradery--two Cougars, one Aggie, and a Ute playing together.

Our friends, Betty and and Dave Armstrong and their daughter, took time out for a picture. Dave had already pulled a muscle but he was determined to go in for a second game. Fateful decision--three of the five men who played that game were injured--a thoroughly pulled muscle, a dislocated finger which had to be reduced, and a torn achilles tendon which resulted in surgery the next day. Good grief! At dinner they talked about how fun it was to play the game in spite of injuries.

Later that afternoon the North Americans gathered at the home of the new comptroller. You are looking at the front door which is on the street. It looks like a front door to the house, but typical hacienda style has a formal gate and fence with a courtyard in front of the home and a spacious lawn in the back.

Again, the meal was scrumptious, the food was plentiful, and the visiting was such fun. There must have been twenty North American families there. Everyone brought a dish or two.

The adults ate under this floral pergola. The teens had their own area. The children were off in another corner at their own tables. It just concentrates the mind to think we were eating Thanksgiving outdoors in warm, scented air.

And swimming on Thanksgiving day? Hard to believe but the kids were loving it.

Then later that evening, the Armstrongs and we went the CCM for the traditional North American Thanksgiving dinner cooked by the Peruvian caterers who provide three meals a day for the missionaries. I heard one Elder exclaim, "This is the best day of my life," as he carried a plate heaped with turkey, potatoes, vegetables, salad and pie. The pumpkin pie was the best we have eaten in a long time.

The branch leaders sat together with President and Hna. Whetten who are sitting at the end of the table. Dad and I ate conservatively--we were still full from the afternoon meal. We eat together every Sunday after the three-hour block. We really enjoy the people we serve with at the CCM.

Super happy North Americans enjoying their Thanksgiving meal, they were happy to pose for a picture. The Elder on the left was in a cast for a sprained ankle so he is not wearing his suit. The doctors here cast sprains which drives Dad crazy. His cast was off by the weekend--he wasn't that injured.

This final picture is of one of the caterers. I love this picture because she is smiling so broadly. When we first arrived, she never smiled and hardly acknowledged us. Now she greets us and we exchange conversation. We have enjoyed getting to know her.