An Early Thanksgiving Dinner

Things I Did This Weekend:
1. Roger and I took Pauline (the Harrie children's 91 yr old grandmother)to breakfast. She's amazing for being 91. She's still in her home, goes every Monday to the senior citizen's center and goes to lunch on Thursdays with a group of friends (this group of ladies started meeting each week for lunch in the 50s, 5 are still alive with Pauline being the oldest). We hear the same stories, and we smile. She wants to 'pass on' desperately. She can't understand why she's the one left behind. She still manages to get up every morning, she's so grateful for a telephone call or a card. She is a living example of 'enduring to the end'. I don't know if I would be so gracious if I were in her shoes. She's a petite woman, weighing only 105 lbs, but she's a pistol. We felt good spending the morning with her. (picture below taken this summer)

 

2. Went grocery shopping...had to go to 4 different stores to get the right ingredients for Sunday's Thanksgiving meal. We're celebrating the holiday early...cuz we will be going to the condo on Wed-Sat.....hooray for a holiday. Roger gets 2 days off for Thanksgiving and only 1 for Christmas....so spending Thanksgiving together in Midway is a real treat for us.

3. SPENT FIVE HOURS IN THE KITCHEN....yuk! But I couldn't complain because Roger spent the same amount of time working in the yard; raking leaves and pine needles and power washing the garage floor (yippee).

4. We attended our monthly study group and heard a talk by Elder Kim Clarke, Pres of BYU-Idaho on pride. Roger and I didn't participate much in the discussion, cuz we thought the talk was too 'Mormon nazi'. OK, call me prideful. I'll have to work on that!

5. We attended our Sunday meetings at the juvenile detention center. Roger and I gave the lesson on repentance and forgiveness. Seven young boys between 11-14 quietly filed into the classroom. Each was dressed the same...red sweatshirt, navy blue sweatpants and white rubber sandals with white socks....1 African American, 2 Hispanic, 4 caucasian. We are humbled each week as we become instruments in bringing God's love to these children.

One boy, Juan; his story breaks my heart. He's been in the U.S. 4 months. He was in Kansas City for 2 months, then managed to get to Utah. You see, he works for the Mexican mafia drug cartel. He was caught 2 months ago in SLC distributing cocaine. He had swallowed a 'balloon', so it's called. Juvenile boys are recruited in foreign countries to distribute drugs in the U.S.. They are instructed, if they get caught, just swallow the balloon of cocaine to dispose of the evidence. The young boys know that some may die....because sometimes the balloon gets caught in the digestive system. I can only imagine what life was like in Juan's native land of Honduras for him to get involved in such activities. (A couple weeks ago, the counselor, showed us what was excreted by Juan. On the office bulletin board was hanging the 'balloons' found that day.)

You can tell Juan doesn't understand English. I introduce myself in Spanish...he smiles. His expression, especially his eyes, look soft and kind. In a flash, I remember that the speaker in sacrament meeting was a recent return missionary from Argentina. I asked another volunteer to track down the speaker and ask if he would translate today. In a few minutes, Trevor, the returned missionary, walks in and is anxious to help. Today is the first time Juan hears the lesson in his native language. Juan looks interested during classtime. Even now, as I write this, I can hear Trevor's soft voice resonating in my head. Juan is reponsive. A spanish bible is given to him so he can participate in some scripture readings about the Savior. After the closing prayer is offered by one young boy, I ask Trevor to say a prayer in spanish for Juan. Trevor asks, "he doesn't know what prayer is, can I quickly teach him to pray?" The room is quiet as we listen to Treavor teach Juan to pray. Then Trevor offers a second closing prayer in spanish. Juan leaves class smiling. I felt peace AND sadness. I asked myself, 'how can I feel 2 conflicted feelings at the same time?'....I am humbled ....

6. Roger and I make the journey home in silence, savoring what we felt.

7. The silence is quickly interrupted as I walk into the house....Thanksgiving dinner needs to be on the table in 3 hours...and I start to complain. With a cheerful voice, Roger asks, 'how can I help?'....my complaining stops as now I can no longer be the martyr. Roger snaps the beans, peels the potatoes, sets the table (napkins and all)..and asks again, 'how can I help?' Roger is always so helpful. Three o'clock arrives....hooray, our dinner guests have arrived....there's Courtney, Drew, Greg and Paul. It was fun talking with everyone...AND, I'm thrilled that they enjoyed the dinner....turkey, mashed potatoes & gravy, mashed sweet potatoes nestled in halved oranges, fresh green beans, delicate gourmet baby carrots (with the tops) bathed in an orange/pineapple glaze, tossed salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, sugar snap peas and avacado, fresh rolls AND pumpkin pie....whew!

Everyone helps cleaning up, but I think Courtney and Drew handled the majority of the task. Thanks Courtney and Drew! It's funny observing the dynamics of these events. When Greg and Paul are here eating, they clean up....when Courtney and Drew are added in the mix, Greg and Paul defer to the later....I guess it's a pecking order. Nevertheless, everyone enjoyed filling their bellies. And all of them were sent home with leftovers and some pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.

 

 

8. After everyone leaves, Roger and I retreat to our 'serenity room'. I wonder to myself.....'why did we just gorge on a big dinner'....what was REALLY accomplished. We didn't go around the table and ask each person what they were thankful for. We just inhaled a big dinner. I felt empty (not my stomach...my soul) AND exhausted.

9. Roger asked if I wanted to view the netflix video we had...Mother Teresa. We were mesmerized for the next 1 hr and 50 min. Olivia Hussey stars as the fearless Mother Teresa. We journeyed with her as she inspired the hearts of people around the world. She had such exquisite faith as she served the poor. She spent a liftime of helping the downtrodden. I am humbled once again. Now that's TWICE today I've been compelled into humility. I've concluded, I AM PRIDEFUL and NEED COMPELLING EXPERIENCES TO HUMBLE ME. I end this day with the determination to serve more and complain less. Here are some of Mother Teresa's quotes....get the video and watch it with someone you love.

Service to Humanity: Mother Teresa Quotations
Get to know the poor in your country. Love them. Serve them.
God: Mother Teresa Quotations
I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much.
On Peace: Mother Teresa QuotationsIf we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.
On Poverty: Mother Teresa Quotations
The most terrible poverty is loneliness and the feeling of being unloved.
On Love: Mother Teresa Quotations
It is not how much you do, but how much love you put into the doing that matters.
On God: Mother Teresa Quotations
Let's do something beautiful for God.
On Love: Mother Teresa Quotations
Love is like a fruit in season at all times. Love can warm three winter months.
On Love: Mother Teresa Quotations
There is more hunger in the world for love and appreciation in this world than for bread.
On Peace: Mother Teresa Quotations
We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature -- trees, flowers, grass -- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence to be able to touch souls.
Love: Mother Teresa Quotations
If we want a love message to be heard, it has got to be sent out. To keep a lamp burning, we have to keep putting oil in it.
Happiness: Mother Teresa Quotations
Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love.
Love: Mother Teresa Quotations
Let us not be satisfied with just giving money. Money is not enough, money can be got, but they need your hearts to love them. So, spread your love everywhere you go.
Work: Mother Teresa Quotations
There is always the danger that we may just do the work for the sake of the work. This is where the respect and the love and the devotion come in -- that we do it to God, to Christ, and that's why we try to do it as beautifully as possible.