Top 5 Things Missionaries who are Stateside miss about a Thanksgiving Overseas

I've read several posts this season about what missionaries miss about Thanksgiving while overseas, so I thought I would write a short list looking at the same issue but from the other direction.   Here we go with my list of 5 things I miss about celebrating Thanksgiving while overseas:

1) The very clearly defined and deep sense of a truly thankful heart - (There are many things for which to be thankful, but here are a few highlights from those living and serving overseas: your sustenance in lands where plenty is rarely an option; for safety and not from the "Black Friday" mass of holiday shoppers; for signs of movement toward a relationship with Jesus among your people group; for the closeness that being in a foreign culture brings to your immediate family; for the wonderful opportunity that God has given you to truly see and learn about the real world we live in.)   

2) The closeness of your mission "family", gathered together somewhere in true koinonia (fellowship) and worshiping God.

3) The substitute turkey - in the form of chicken if you are lucky.

4) The introduction of your favorite holiday to your "National" Christian brothers and sisters - who always immediately sense its importance, and then watching them introduce this same holiday into their culture.

5) The almost frantic pre-thanksgiving holiday search for any of your favorite thanksgiving foods that you might prepare in order to remind you of "home."

Blessings and be truly thankful for what we have been given.

Steve