Holidays on a mission are a little different.
Without the opportunity to be with family, or even in your own familiar comfortable home, it doesn’t feel quite right. And for the young missionaries– some of whom are away from home for the first time– it can be especially hard. Homesickness is real. We decided to throw a little Thanksgiving party for the missionaries serving in the Valley. Not only would it help them not be alone, it would mean we weren’t alone either.
One of my favorite Thanksgiving dishes is cranberry bread. I went to work.
Unfortunately we don’t have any mini-loaf pans. I used our muffin tin and baked the bread.
Well, I learned something: cranberry muffins aren’t nearly as good as cranberry bread. Why not? Because a bread can be pretty dense and sliced so it’s okay… but you expect a muffin to be light and fluffy. These were decidedly not light and fluffy, and felt a little like biting into a chunk of fruitcake. A failed experiment, and next time I’ll buy some pans.
Anyway, as Pepper prepared the bulk of the meal, I brought out the good china. Well, not quite… I went to the upstairs apartment (which the Church is renting, but no one is occupying at the moment) and stole a bunch of the nice furniture. The result wasn’t too bad.
Several of the missionaries had been invited to eat with friends and church members, so our guests were those who hadn’t. Dinner was great.
Afterward we chatted and laughed for a while. Although I’m sure none of them felt like it was the same as Thanksgiving at home with their families, I hope they all felt our love and admiration for them.
Happy Thanksgiving, wherever you are, especially if you’re not at home. Life is good.