Our First Thanksgiving in Russia

We gather together to ask the Lord's blessing;
he chastens and hastens his will to make known;
the wicked oppressing now cease from distressing:
sing praise to his Name, he forgets not his own.

Beside us to guide us, our God with us joining,
ordaining, maintaining his kingdom divine;
so from the beginning the fight we were winning:
thou, Lord, wast at our side: all glory be thine!

We all do extol thee, thou leader triumphant,
and pray that thou still our defender wilt be.
Let thy congregation escape tribulation:
thy Name be ever praised! O Lord, make us free!

What a glorious day!

You know, by the time you get to be our age you have become pretty set in your ways and your notions about what things should be like are pretty set in stone. That is especially true of holidays. So, as Thanksgiving day approached I was pretty apprehensive about how the family was going to react to our first major holiday away from home. For that matter, I was not sure how I was going to react. I like sleeping late on Thanksgiving morning and watching the parades in my pajamas. I like cooking a big turkey and smelling all of the wonderful goodies that Kellye prepares throughout the day. I like sitting around the table with my family and hearing all the things that we are thankful for. And, I especially like my afternoon nap on a big cushy couch while Kellye and the girls watch "It's a Wonderful Life."

Well, as you can imagine this Thanksgiving was different...but it was great. We spent most of the afternoon with our mission family here in Moscow. Including the children there were around 70 people, mostly missionaries, who gathered together in the cafeteria of the Christian school to celebrate the holiday. There was turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, green beens, and pumpkin pie. We sang songs of thanksgiving, talked about the things we were thankful for, and spent the afternoon enjoying each other's company. After dinner the kids went out to play in the snow while the adults and teenagers played board games. Hannah went home with a friend and SB went with the other teenagers to a friend's house to watch movies and hang out. When we got home our internet connection was working well enough to call home and talk to family, as well as some of our mission friends around the world. It really was a great day.

So today I am thankful for many things, including the fact that our first holiday in Russia was a happy one and not one filled with sadness and longing for home. As a matter of a fact, we are slowly able to call this our home...and that is something to be thankful for.

Some of the other things I am thankful for include:

~ My wife, Kellye. I adore her and am thankful to God for giving me such a wonderful woman to stand by my side.
~ My children. I know that one day you will have to move out of the house and live on your own, so for now I am thankful for a house filled with the noise of an active family.
~ Our family back home. We miss them all and appreciate their love and support.
~ Snow! Yes, it is beastly cold. But the snow adds a cheeriness to the otherwise bleak weather.
~ Small victories. Today on the way to lunch I was able to read a sign I had never seen before and understand what kind of place it was. (It was the post office.) Earlier this week I took the kids to McDonalds and ordered in Russian. This time there were only two items on my tray that should not have been there! You get the picture.
~ My two best friends, Mike and Neil. I know that the thought of me serving overseas as a missionary is still funny to you. But it is even funnier to me. Thanks for being my friends, no matter what the circumstance, for more than 20 years!
~ Our language teacher, Irena. I cannot tell you what a blessing she is to our family. Not only is she a gifted teacher, and she must be to teach me, but she has become a treasured part of our family. Although I am thrilled to have a four-day weekend, I will miss having her in our home tomorrow.
~ Ed Tarleton. I have known Ed for around two years now and every time I hear him speak to a group I am just in awe of this Godly man. I am proud to work with and for such a missionary.
~ Our Moscow family. We have a great group of IMB folks who live and work in Moscow. Every one of them has been loving and kind as we have made the transition here. I am especially fond of our team, but the entire mission family has taken us in and we are thankful for each of them.
~ Our FPO family. What a treat it is to get to chat with our dear brothers and sisters from FPO who are serving around the world. Kellye always knows when I am getting to talk with one of them because I am always smiling when she enters the room.
~ My pastor. What can I say. We would not be here today if it were not for my friend and pastor, Alan Floyd. I love this guy.
~ Email. I can't even imagine what it was like to serve overseas before email. I am sure that every letter from home was precious. While the method of communication is different, let me tell you that your emails are no less precious to our family. We love to hear from you and are thankful when you take time to write to us.

Fortunately, I am a blessed man and have much to be thankful for which means that I could continue to write about them for hours. However, it is getting late and the sounds of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" are coming from my living room which means that I need do go. Tomorrow evening we will pull a few precious Christmas ornaments (including a few dorky reindeer) out of a box and decorate our small tree for Christmas. While we do we will watch White Christmas and sing along. One of my favorite songs is in that movie and it talks about counting your blessings. I hope that tonight before you go to sleep you will take time to count your blessings and thank the God who has made every one of them possible.

Oh, and I am thankful that after six weeks you have continued to read our blogs! Happy Thanksgiving!

Blessings,
Marc