Thanksgiving Celebration!

I celebrated Thanksgiving Day on Friday. There were 14 of us, 9 adults and 3 children. We had a delicious meal, with more than enough leftovers to eat again in the evening!

During the afternoon most watched a football game and then most played Mexican Train Dominoes. It was relaxing, spending the day with my Missionary family.

Why am I Thankful ?

Photo by http://download-free-pictures.com/

Why am I Thankful?
1. I am thankful for Eternal Life in Jesus and that I know that "My Redeemer Lives"
2. I am thankful for physical life and health. I am a 4 1/2 year ovarian cancer survivor.
3. I am thankful for family. I have four married brothers, 8 nieces and nephews, a loving StepMother, 2 living step siblings with 8 step nieces and nephews and lots of grand nieces and nephews and of course an Aunt, Uncles and lots and lots of cousins!
4. I am thankful that I am a missionary in Africa. I've been here over thirty years and love what I do.
5. I am thankful for my missionary family. All my colleagues and also their children who call me, "Aunt Carolyn".
6. I am thankful for all my friends, prayer supporters, those who write me emails, those who gave to my new car, those who support me financially.
7. I am thankful for a new Nissan Patrol and that the title for the vehicle was finally issued!
8. I am thankful for cell phones in the jungle.
9. I am thankful for electricity in the jungle.
10. I am thankful for satellite TV in the jungle.
11. I am thankful for satellite internet in the jungle.
12. I am thankful for a Vonage internet phone in the jungle and that I have unlimited phone calls to the USA and Canada! WooHoo. I have a US phone number.
13. I am thankful for a bridge over our river. From 1977 to 1994 I had to cross my car from one side of town to the other on a glorified raft!
14. I am thankful that my cousin sent me an invitation to SparkPeople and that I opened it rather deleted it!
15. I am thankful that SparkPeople is FREE!
16. I am thankful that with SparkPeople I have been able to lose 20 pounds , rather than gain 20 pounds!!! WooHoo.

My list could go on and on..........

Thanksgiving Day Plans

November 21, 2008

Dear family and Friends,

It is almost Thanksgiving Day so in America people may be getting some Thanksgiving cards in the mail. Someone came towards me this morning with a pile of mail. Mail is that which comes through the post office and not the computer. Our Airmail arrives at the Bongolo Hospital about once a month. The U.S. will no longer accept boat mail for Gabon and several other African nations. Well, anyway, I got some mail today. I said immediately, “Oh, my Birthday cards have arrived”. Sure enough! There were four Birthday cards for me. Now my Birthday was August 16^th, over three months ago. These cards were mailed AIRMAIL in August! They just got to me today, November 21^st. Thanks Hamlet, Maple Plain, Irene and the C&MA! If you mail your Christmas card now, I should be able to get it by about mid March! We get Christmas mail for MONTHS! Now, I’m not asking you to send me a card. I’m just giving you the facts! Please do send one if they have a Christmas letter in the. It’s best to send E-Cards as they arrive instantly!

Before Christmas though is Thanksgiving Day! Each Thanksgiving here on the Mission field we get together for a meal. We chose a day that will allow us the most relaxation. Normally it is Friday so this year we'll be celebrating on Friday instead of Thursday. Thursday will be a regular work day.

We will eat at the home of one of our surgeons. He and his wife have two children, 6 y.o. Luke and 4 y.o. Sara. There is another family with 15 month old Rebecca. In addition there is one couple who's kids are grown and in the States and there are five single women right now. We'll have three visitors too, a doctor and his two teenage daughters.

We ladies got together to make sure that we'll be preparing all the necessary foods. We can't get turkey in town except for turkey wings. We have decided to have both roasted chicken and turkey wings. I will put turkey wings in the crock pot to take it off the bones. I will then make dressing and put the turkey on top and heat them up in the oven. We will have mashed potatoes (either real or from Mousline, a French made instant potatoes that is tasty), sweet potatoes, veggies, salads, etc and of course desserts. I plan to make a peach pie.

We will meet for lunch at 1 pm. After lunch our hostess says she has some "trivia games" for us. They also have a Wii and we'll play some Wii this year. Everyone brings games and favorites include Dominoes, Mexican Golf, Smarter than a Fifth Grader, etc. Some will watch a football game that will be prerecorded off of Satellite TV.

After an afternoon of games and football, we'll eat leftovers for supper. It is one of two days in the year that we spend together as a station, eating two meals together. This has been my typical Thanksgiving Day for over thirty years now.

I give thanks to the Lord for all He IS to me and for all He does for me. Praise His name!

1 Chronicles 29:11-13 (KJV)

"Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power
and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,
for everything in heaven and earth is yours.
Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom;
you are exalted as head over all.

Wealth and honor come from you;
you are the ruler of all things.
In your hands are strength and power
to exalt and give strength to all.

Now, our God, we give you thanks,
and praise your glorious name."

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Where are the Elephants?

In the thirty plus years that I have lived in Gabon Africa, have I seen an elephant? Not even!
I've seen what was probably "droppings" from an elephant. I've seen photos that others have taken of elephants. I've heard of elephants trampling Africans' gardens but never have I seen one. I've seen elephants in the Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo but not in Africa!

Exciting News!

(photo of "Super Berries growing on the bark of a tree)
Here is a PRAISE REPORT: In September I wrote a letter that our Bongolo Hospital maintenance man Henri had given notice and would be leaving us in a couple of months. The very same week that Henri gave notice we learned of a couple from the U.S. Midwest who were interested in coming out to Gabon to do maintenance for the Bongolo Hospital. Paul and Meladee Davis have now been appointed to Gabon and are about ready to come! Thanks for praying that their house sell. It did. They have had a garage sale to sell off their belongings and they fly from the USA on December 8^th, arriving in Gabon on December 9^th! Praise the Lord for their willingness to come join us in Gabon. Pray as they say goodbye to their family and friends. Pray for their travel to Gabon and their adjustment to living on the equator! Thanks.

The Memba Chapel was struggling with attendance running about 10-15 people on Sunday mornings? You prayed and last Sunday there were 35 people. This weekend, November 15-16^th we are going to have a Seminar with Pastor Guy Patrick and I as speakers. There will be two sessions for children and two sessions for everyone. On Sunday Pastor will give communion and then we’ll have a potluck dinner. Pray for a message preparation for Pastor and I. Pray for a good attendance for Saturday and Sunday. Pray that God will move hearts.

Some of you are praying for Tim and Amanda Kelly and their three children who should arrive at Bongolo about March 1^st to head up a Center for receiving visitors to our hospital. We just got word this week that Tim and Amanda are coming to Gabon the first week in December for a site visit. Please pray that they get their passports, visas and necessary vaccinations in time for their flight.

To the right is a photo of a Frangy Panny Tree that near my house.

Please continue to pray that my old vehicle get fixed and then sold. The Isuzu Trooper is located in Libreville problems with the motor block, the same problem as the summer of 2007 when it broke down for me. Arnie even tried to sell it “as is” at a reduced price but was unable to do so. I am thankful that the car did not break down in September when I drove it to Libreville! I need the money from the sale of that car to pay for my new Nissan Patrol. and Arnie Solvig is trying to find someone to fix it. He will then put it “on the market” for selling it. The problem is that it has serious

The Title for my Nissan Patrol still has not been issued so I am driving on an expired “temporary” document. Pray that the title be released soon and that Arnie find a way to get it from Libreville down to me at the hospital. Other than that and the fact that my car fund is still in debt, it runs beautifully! It is hard to know how much I still need since I have not yet been able to sell the Isuzu Trooper. Please pray that this all get regulated soon. Thanks.

You can tell by this blog entry that your prayers are being answered but that your prayers are still needed. Thanks for praying.

My Survivor Gabon T-Shirt !

I ordered a Survivor Gabon T-Shirt and it arrived in Gabon a week or so ago. I just thought you'd like to see that I've got the shirt. I watched the first night of the TV series but not the following weeks. I think that someone is taping it so I should be able to see the series later on.