Is It Thanksgiving Yet?

 We delivered more little cakes today.  But we walked for most, and that was a good thing.  It was marvelously cool - 48 degrees.  We bundled up and off we went through the streets of this fair city.  It was crowded today.  Probably because it is Saturday and people just wanted to get out.  But there were a lot of crowds, people standing in groups and close together.  They were happy.

The BBC said today that Boris Johnson will probably keep us on the tier system until Easter Monday.  That is a sobering thought.  April 5 is Easter Monday.  The tier we were in just before lockdown was Tier 2, which means nothing much changes.  No intermixing of households, no meeting in groups even outside (apparently few got the memo on that for today), but nearly all businesses will be open, and we can meet - following COVID guidelines for church.

I think we will just have to get very creative.  If we are really truly going to be on household arrest for that long, then we will have to find ways to visit with these young people.  Delivering cakes has been quite enjoyable because invariably they stand and talk to us for awhile, and we can get a sense of how they are doing, and perhaps even things we can do to help them.

Our young sister missionaries set up and appointment to give us a message today.  It was just like a visiting teaching visit from so long ago!  They sat together in the church library looking into the screen, and we sat at our table looking into the screen.  We visited about all sorts of things, a very pleasant conversation.  We all opened our scriptures and they had us turn to 1 Nephi 17: 12 - 14.  In these verses, the Lord tells Nephi how he will help them as they cross the wilderness.

He tells them that the food they will have to eat will be sweet, and that He will be their light in the wilderness, and that He will deliver them from destruction.  

These cute young women told us how that can be likened to today.  Then they asked if they could help us in any way and we wished each other goodbye before signing off.  And our day was brightened.  

After that, the rest of the afternoon was spent fixing our Thanksgiving dinner.  I put a turkey breast in the oven, that was (don't laugh or make fun) in the freezer since last November.  We purchased it on sale, and the expiration date was actually July of this year.  So we decided to give it a try.  If we end up in the hospital, I'll let you known, but I think it was OK because it tasted very good.

I made dressing after a fashion, mashed potatoes (SK was in charge of scrubbing, cutting and mashing them.  He did a fine job!  I also made gravy (again, after a fashion) and the not-to-be-done-without-orange-jello salad.  I had everything except the frozen orange juice concentrate.

It really needs the orange juice.  But it wasn't bad, and if you had never had the real thing, you would think this was just another jello salad from Utah.

I think he is happy to finally be eating!


I saved a little carrot cake for SK which he will eat tomorrow.  He really filled up on potatoes and jello!

One lovely thing today was that Dave called and we talked for an hour.  He is so tired.  He has had 2 grueling weeks.  He loves these young missionaries, and he is so dedicated to helping them in every way possible to be faith-filled and faithful to their calling.  He could delegate much to his counselors but he feels a need to be personally involved.  Obviously most everything he does these days is online, just the way we are getting by, but it can be wearying.  But he knows these missionaries...every single one by name, and can tell you where they are from, their family situation and their background.  He remembers all that.  

Serving with him and Deb has been a blessing beyond my ability to express.  I have always loved him, but seeing him in this light, so driven to shepherding these young people through their time of serving makes him even more endearing.  

We have - even in lockdown - seen several dear people - communicated with others by internet and phone - had a Thanksgiving feast - put up our Christmas decorations and have paused to thank the Lord for our many blessings.  How can we not be grateful for these?

Comments

melissa said…
I would to have those types of interactions with Dave and Deb. What a blessing!!
November 28, 2020 at 7:52 PM
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