Thanksgiving 2011!

Thanksgiving 2011

I had the amazing privilege of introducing (along with my team of Americans) Thanksgiving to our friends here. We actually had two separate Thanksgiving meals. One was Thanksgiving eve with a small group of ladies we attend church with. Let’s just say it was “interesting” cooking for the first time. Not only did I stick my hand into a raw turkey….but I also cooked without my mother around for the first time ever! Here is a list of things that make Thanksgiving in England… “challenging”

-A 12 lb turkey cost roughly $40 and our fridge wasn’t big enough to hold him….

-A small can of pumpkin costs $6- had to go to a specialty store…

-No French’s onions for green bean casserole so I made mine from scratch….

-Pickles are rare in England… so I made my own relish for deviled eggs…

-Pie crusts do NOT exist in England. Neither do graham crackers or cool whip

-I used marshmallows my mom sent at Halloween for the top of our sweet potato casserole

-Ovens are very tiny… so cooking all of this food at once made for an interesting schedule!

Here is a picture of our first Thanksgiving. Just Katie and I at this one… so thankful we were able to pull it off!

Our second Thanksgiving was even bigger than the first! We had our Sunday night bible discussion group over and we had about 20 people all together. We even had pilgrims and Indians!!

The whole gang :)

Great Friends!

Prep in the kitchen-- through the window from outside

Preparing the mashed potates

The "set up"

So... we had a minor grill fire

Just a little charred- 

At the end of our second meal, everyone talked about what they were thankful for. It literally brought me to tears to hear each person somehow in someway thank God for bringing them to Manchester and into this fellowship of Christians. You have no idea how grateful I am for the opportunity to serve here! 

Our family photo at Thanksgiving- so grateful for Skype!