Thursday, November 27, 2008

Thanksgiving

Keeping in the spirit of doing new things this year, we decided to celebrate Thanksgiving by running a Turkey Trot 5K and then volunteering at El Buen Pastor/Latino Community Services.
A friend of ours (the trainer for the women’s soccer team) wanted to run this 5K, but didn’t want to do it by herself. We ran the course with her last weekend so she could get a feel for it, but we didn’t really want to fork over $50 for race day. We compromised with the agreement that we would run most of it with her – just skipping the official start and finish. While she didn’t quite meet her goal to finish in under 28 minutes, she did set a personal best, which is awesome!

After the race, we went to El Buen Pastor (where I tutor and coach Girls on the Run). Our church, First Presbyterian, has been involved with this sister church for several years, but just recently began hosting a Thanksgiving celebration to introduce the Hispanic families it serves to this American holiday.

The day began with a short program in the sanctuary with some parts done in Spanish and some in English. A group of kids (including several of my GOTR girls) sang “Dad Gracias” (“Give Thanks”), and a group of fully costumed adults did some readings as William Bradford, a Native American girl, and then Abraham Lincoln (with his initial proclamation of Thanksgiving). As the families moved from the sanctuary to the food line, the children came in the classroom where I was in charge of the hat-making craft where they made either a feathered headband or a Pilgrim hat (or in some ultra-creative instances the two-in-one version: Pilgrim hats with feathers.) I’m not a big fan of promoting the stereotypical fairy tale (often inaccurate) version of the First Thanksgiving, but that’s what I was asked to do, so that’s what we did. (If you’re curious about my stance on that subject, please read the chapter on Thanksgiving in the book, “Lies My Teacher Told Me” by James Loewen. It’s a fascinating book – especially as a teacher of American History.)

Chris helped clear dishes and then sat with a couple of the kids while they ate (because their parents hadn’t come with them). It was precious to hear that the things they were thankful for included family, friends, teachers, and Jesus.

They had turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes/gravy, sweet potatoes, green beans, and cranberry salad all catered in, while they had asked us to bring pies or “congealed salads.” I assumed that meant anything made with Jell-O, but I wasn’t sure, so I made a pie just to be on the safe side. I had already purchased a bag of pecans (oh yeah, another pronunciation change: PE-can (short a), not pe-CAHN), but on Wednesday, a coworker brought in a bunch of those fresh nuts right off the tree in her backyard. How cool!

Anyway, the youth group made 25 pumpkin pies all on their own, so needless to say, there was an ENTIRE ROOM full of pies (which meant leftovers – yum!)

After the meal, Mary (the woman in charge of LCS) wanted them to play football – the American version with a brown, oblong ball. But, football to them means soccer, so they were greatly disappointed. Chris and another guy had to try to teach them the rules on the go because they really didn’t know how to play. Kids were throwing the ball multiple times on one play, running before anyone said hike, etc. etc. At least it was a perfectly beautiful day – sunny and 60-some degrees.

It was kind of cute to watch them try, but they really love soccer. And it’s no wonder when they start playing at such a young age. I don’t think this little guy is barely two! But, man, is he talented with a soccer ball!

So it wasn’t exactly home-cooking and naps on the couch afterwards, but it was definitely a fantastic experience. I’ve never celebrated Thanksgiving with some 200 people (and probably never will again); nor have I had to think so hard about how to translate thoughts and words into Spanish over Thanksgiving dinner either. Hopefully they picked up the message of being thankful more than the storied version of the Pilgrims and the Indians, which I’m sure they probably did. Every family there was so gracious and kind. To know how thankful they are in light of knowing some of their families’ situations is amazing. It truly gives us a new perspective on being grateful for the overabundance in our lives. Happy Thanksgiving!

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