Well as I mentioned in my last blog we would like to share our Thanksgiving memories with everyone. Last year we decided to spend our Thanksgiving in Honduras. We invited our family to come over and were delighted when Randy's mother, grandmother, sister and her family, and our friend Chris DePass all flew over to be with us. We also had our Honduras family with us as well. Karen, Jen Wright, Jen Arnold, Katie, Joe and Rachel. We had a full house, full of friends and family, but also full of love and joy.

Thanksgiving morning began by passing out bags of food to the most needy of people in Monoloa (aka San Miguel). It was a truely humbling experience to see how grateful a mother of several young children is for a bag of beans, rice, some pasta and a few packs of tomatoe sauce. They were the epitome of thankfulness. We had a late Thanksgiving dinner at our house with all of the traditional favorites thanks to Randy's mom (Elina Whitmore) smuggling a few items into the country. Randy's grandmother (Joanna Tomlin) made her Grandmother Graysons cake with fudge frosting. The altitude here is quite a bit higher than Florida and the cake did not look very nice BUT I can tell you that it tasted better than ever and not one person let the looks put them off. Dominic kept everyone laughing until tears rolled down our faces and our sides ached from his larger than life discriptions of Honduras. It was a wonderful way to spend Thanksgiving.





The day after Thanksgiving I usually get up early and spend the day hitting the stores. Randy tags along to haul the packages and to curb my enthusiastic support of the econmomy. This year we got up early, but spent the day hitting nails instead of hitting the stores, and hauling wood instead of packages. We were able to build a safe and secure home for a lovely older woman who had helped different groups build homes for others in her community this past summer. Our group was small in number but large in heart and enthusiasm. The jobsite was easy to get to and we had lots of help hauling the wood and supplies down the mountain. We had to tear down her existing home that consisted of wooden pallets, plastic, and a dirt floor. She had removed her personal belonging and piled them to the side. When I first saw them I thought that it was a trash pile. She had a couch with torn upholstry, two damp and mildewed mattresses, and a baby bed filled with odd and end clothing, cups, blankets, and various household items. It really made you realize how blessed we are in materiel possessions.

It was a wonderful place to work. Everyone in the community was so excited for her. One gentleman brought everyone a tangerine. Randy's Grandmother was given a chair in a shaded area in which to supervise. Nikki, Alora and Elina all spent some time loving some children and painting nails. Katrina and Whitney organized games to keep the children busy and they had a great time. I am always amazed at how easy they overcome the language barrier and make friends. I guess laughter is a universal language. The house went up quickly and "honduras" square.

Randy's sister, Tanya, made a new boyfriend. I thought that the 25 year age difference was a little much, but they seemed quite smitten with each other and spent the day laughing and teasing. Thanks to Rachel and a few Hondurian guys we had no trouble with the roof and the house was finished.


























The woman was in shock, she entered the house and clasp her hands together in front of her. As she stood in the middle of the room sunlight streamed through an open window. She was bathed in rays of light and tears of amazement and joy streammed freely down her face. I was awestuck by the picture she presented. I tried to remember a time that I have ever been so very thankful for anything. I can only thank God for showing me the meaning of being thankful this past thanksgiving.