I know Thanksgiving is one of those holidays were most people have plenty of traditions to uphold and follow. However this weekend I have been thinking about what Thanksgiving actually means and I am almost positive that eating lots of food until you are about to burst then laying around watching tv while you flip through the ads for Black Friday is not the only way to celebrate. Enjoyable to most but not the only way. This Thanksgiving I celebrated in a new way and it was such a wonderful day.
It started out by not having to work thanks to all the hard work the dental team did 3 days prior. It was not planned to take the day off however it worked out that way.
I woke up without an alarm which is one of my most favorite things to do. After waking up I talked on the phone to a dear friend living in Norway then I had lunch. After lunch I thought to myself oh my! my first day finished with the clinic and I am all ready bored. Then I remembered I needed to actually make a trip out to the clinic to check on one thing. So I got a car and set out for the dental clinic one last time.
On my way I remembered I also needed to stop and see Joyce and Jugo one last time. You might be asking yourself who are Joyce and Jugo? I blogged about them back on September 12. Here is the short version on them. Joyce the mom and Jugo the daughter came to the dental clinic on the first day back in February. Jugo needed a cleft palate operation and we did that for her back in September. From February until now I have developed a lovely relationship with this family. I have been to Joyce's store several time for visits and she would randomly stop by the clinic just to say hi and see how things were going. Over the months I have really grown attached to them.
So I thought Thursday would be the perfect day to stop by and say hello/goodbye. First I stopped at Joyce's shop where she has a small business. After visiting for a while we decided to go pick Jugo and her sister up from school. That was a treat in its self. They were so surprised to see me and not only to see me but to see me at their school. After picking them up we drove to their house. The ride was so fun. The girls had never been in a car and they loved it. Every little bump and pot hole that most people complain about they laughed about. On the way to their house we made a small detour at the tailor shop to pick up the dress they had made for me. It was so cute.. I love it. Once we got to the house they showed me around which took about 2 min. The house was 3 rooms one room had a bed on the floor, and one room was the kitchen/ toilet all in one. The girls changed clothed and then I took them back to the shop. I asked Joyce how late will she work tonight and she told me 9pm. She then said in Africa you must work hard so your children can have a little. By the time we arrived back at the shop it was time for me to go. We prayed together, said our good byes, and even cried all of us including Jugo.
You might think to yourself this seems like an awful way to celebrate Thanksgiving... but it was so wonderful. I was able to just for a few hours step into the normal every day life of a little girl who's life has been changed by what we done here on the ship. I was able to see the grace God has given them and myself. I was able to see that the people we are here serving are just that people with normal lives. People like you and I that are just trying to get by. While we were praying before I left Joyce said one line that I will never forget She said "Father Thank you for using Jessica to stop my tears. Thank you for guiding us to her, and using her to guide us to the ship. My tears are gone now and I thank her but PRAISE YOU for who YOU ARE.
This has been the best Thanksgiving ever and it was not because I had a nice spread of Turkey, potatoes, dressing, and pumpkin pie.....which I did have in case you were wondering. It was because I was able to see at the end of the day all politics and branding put aside, peoples lives are being touched and in most cases it turns out that not just the patients lives are being changed it is also ours. The crew members who are here to help but in the end are helped more than we/ I could ever imagined.
I hope you enjoyed your families and friends over the Holiday, I know I missed mine but none the less I had a day full of things to be Thankful for.
Joyce outside her small shop. 
Surprise pick up at school. The girls loved it. 
Jugo at home jumping on the bed. Typical kid. 
Outside the house just before we said good bye.
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