Oxford, Y'all!: An Oxford Thanksgiving

Last week was Thanksgiving, and I have to say it was a little strange that it was just another Thursday here in England. There are enough Americans here that people know about it, but the British just don't celebrate it.

Actually, several British friends mentioned to me that they think it is a great idea for a holiday and said they wished they had a similar holiday.

We certainly missed our family during this time, but we made the most of it. We did not have our Thanksgiving meal on Thursday because of Amy's class schedule, but we did go to a "Thanksgiving Tea" with some new American friends. It was fun to be with new friends and celebrate British-style with finger foods and tea and coffee. There were several kids there too, so Emily had a lot of fun.

Then on Saturday we had our family meal. I had gone to the local butcher down the street and found a turkey for us - topped with bacon for some good flavor - so that was a fun cultural experience. We put together the rest of the sides, but were not able to pull together ingredients in time for a pumpkin pie or pecan pie. But, we still managed just fine as you'll see below.

When I look back on the past year, it is easy to see how much we have to be thankful for. It was a year ago that the Lord began to nudge and encourage us to take the first steps in this journey of faith to be cross-cultural witnesses. Since then we have seen His faithfulness and provision at work in our lives time and time again, and it is humbling to sit here at this desk in Oxford today and know how far the Lord has brought us on this journey. The most exciting part is this is still just the beginning and we are thankful for what is on the horizon, and most of all for Who is with us every step of the way.

Here's Amy preparing her family's famous brown rice for our meal...