SIX THANKSGIVINGS IN FOUR TOWNS IN THREE MONTHS

This year we were asked to prepare six Thanksgiving presentations in four different towns. This is always done as an outreach activity by local churches. What a perfect time to talk about Christian roots and being thankful to God for all his blessings.
It is a very time consuming but rewarding activity. Ken does all the shopping and preparing which takes two weeks and Linda presents two slide shows about the history and modern traditions surrounding Thanksgiving. We also have a craft where we add "thankful" feathers to a turkey and share with those around us what we are thankful for over the last year. We already have dates on the calendar for three Thanksgiving presentations for next year.

We had two Thanksgiving meals in Usti nad Orlici - one on Saturday for special guests and guests of church members and one on Sunday after the morning service which included guests from Teen Challenge. This was less work for us than normal because we had taught the church members how to cook a Thanksgiving dinner and we only had to supervise. Linda gave two slide presentations - one on the history of Thanksgiving and one on modern Thanksgiving traditions including the insane shopping on the day after Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving in Chrastava

For a week in December we were able to host a newly married couple from California who wanted to experience what it was like to be a missionary, Josh and Faith Saar. Faith is the daughter of long time friends, Les and Joyce Carlsen. One of the projects they experienced was preparing, serving and leading worship at our Thanksgiving celebration in Chrastava, a small town near Liberec.

Thanksgiving in Chocen, Czech

Chocen is a small town in eastern Bohemia. To prepare the meal we had to use two kitchens in two apartments one floor apart and then transport everything to the church. Isn't the vegetable turkey creative? Ken parades the whole stuffed turkey so everyone can see it before he carves it. No one has ever seen a turkey cooked this way before but all agree that it is delicious.

The Chocen Church rents a large room from the local Boy Scouts. But tonight it is made into a banquet room for a Thanksgiving celebration.

Each group makes a Thanksgiving turkey and share what they are grateful for.

Two Thanksgivings in Liberec

The Christian School in Liberec has an after-school cooking class for Kids. They asked Ken to teach the kids how to make stuffing and stuff a "turkey" and tell them about Thanksgiving.

Ken lets the children see, smell, taste and touch all the ingredients that go into stuffing chickens.

The children in the cooking club prepare a modified Thanksgiving dinner for their parents. Two stuffed chickens with extra stuffing.

While waiting for the chickens to cook, the future chefs color pictures about Thanksgiving and share what they are thankful for.

The new English Conversation Group at the Konopna Ministry Center in Liberec loved experiencing Thanksgiving. Ken sweeps through the room to make sure everyone is satisfied. THEY ARE!

Experiencing American culture can be delicious. Not only a full turkey meal but look at the apple crisp waiting for desert.

Ken, the chef, dishes up a Thanksgiving meal for the newest English Conversation Group in Liberec. Who cares that it is the middle of January!