Evendays

You’ve heard the story of the preacher’s family with a load of folks over for Sunday lunch. When they finally sat down to eat, the preacher asked his little daughter to pray. She was embarrassed and said she didn’t know what to pray. “Well, just pray like mommy!”, he replied. So everyone bowed their heads as the little girl started her prayer with: Dear Lord! Why did I invite all these people over for lunch today?

We ended up being 29 for a wonderful Thanksgiving evening. Wife made 4 pies, prepared the 17.5 pound turkey, fixed enough dressing, green beans, home-made rolls, mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes for everyone. Our guests brought desserts, salads, appetizers, drinks, bottles of wine, flowers and chocolates.

After all that work, and it’s a lot of work as most of you know, the Children and Wife and Laura (guest) and I were finishing up the bit that was left to do when Wife exclaimed: Look at all this stuff people brought us. We made out like bandits!

Now there’s a thankful heart. Hope your thanksgiving was thankful too. Even during clean-up…

(And don’t forget to pray with us on Saturday-Sunday.)

—Brad has a new post up at Biblos on Yancey’s book. Please check it out!— 
—

Historically, people have “done missions” in many different ways. There are those who “go native”, completely leaving their home culture behind, dressing, eating and speaking like the locals. (Some don’t even speak to their kids in their mother tongue.) Others adapt, keeping some of their own culture and mixing it with the local culture.

Then there’s going Colonial. Not advised, but exactly what we’re doing this week. Thanksgiving is not a Swiss holiday, but we import it every year and invite as many of our friends and contacts as possible. On Thursday evening, we will be 27 sitting down for a good ‘ole traditional Thanksgiving meal. We’re talking about a 17.5 pound turkey and enough salads and desserts to warp the serving table.

The goal is not to eat, but to give opportunities for lives to change… That through communion and hospitality, windows to God are opened and people see, just a bit more clearly, who God is.

Happy Thanksgiving, my dear friends!

There is no official Thanksgiving in Lausanne, unless you come by our house. The 20 pound Turkey was just enough (we’re thinking maybe it wasn’t 20 pounds) and there were all the veggies and the sweet potatoes, which Wife found I-don’t-know-where because they really DON’T exist here. But they were on yesterday’s table. 29 people enjoyed each other’s company and the food. I truly believe it was in that order.

Those present? Some Americans, some travelers, Son 1’s group from Marseille, Let’s Start Talking contacts, here a person… there a person… Pecan pies and pumpkin pies, plus a Lausanne Thanksgiving Tradition: Agatha’s Chocolate Mousse. If the Pilgrims didn’t have it on that first Thanksgiving, they definitely should have.

A few people were missing who should have been there. But some were sick. Others have moved away. Others have gone on to be with the Father. And we missed them all.

How can it really be Wife’s favorite holiday? She plans for weeks and cooks for days. She makes sure that everyone who needs to be there is there, and if they can’t make it, why she just schedules another one (next week, Friday night at 7:00 pm). Do come on by. Just call ahead of time, please.