Drums for Christ
  • Home
  • Blogs
  • Engage
  • Newsletters
  • What We Do
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Media
  • Giving Tuesday
  • Christmas 2021
  • Link Page

Blog Posts

No place like Home for the Holidays!!!

11/28/2016

2 Comments

 
Picture
You might be celebrating the holidays ‘away from home’ if…
  • ...if you have become obsessed with trying to find a turkey to cook for the big holiday meal.  Buying a whole turkey is not a common thing here!  The local grocery stores have looked at us like we are complete aliens when we have gone in and asked if there was a way to purchase a whole turkey.  “Why?!  It’s not Christmas yet.  We don’t sell whole turkeys until Christmas.”  Okay… I get that Thanksgiving isn’t a holiday here and it’s not customary to cook an entire turkey at any time other than Christmas Eve, but I would really like a turkey for Thanksgiving.  Not only for us, but for the three North American families who will be celebrating together.  By the way… forget a spiral cut honey baked ham!  That’s not happening, either!
  • ...if you cheer and throw your hands in the air when you finally find a corner butcher who has a whole turkey!  First, he thought we were nuts.  Then he thought it was cute. Then he realized we were from the States, and he was excited for us.  Then he gave us sausage as a bonus gift for his ‘new Texas friends’.  I think the butcher is my new best friend.
  • ...if you have to create your ingredients for the big meal from scratch… like, EVERYTHING!  Today, we made homemade brown sugar.  There is no such thing as a can of pumpkin - we’ll have get a real pumpkin or fake it with sweet potatoes.  Forget the refrigerated pie crust.  No box of Jiffy cornbread here.  No can of chicken broth.  Nope… no Velveeta, no Cool Whip, no Karo syrup, etc.  Cooking Thanksgiving and Christmas meals requires lots of planning and preparation!
  • ...if you have to juggle school schedules with your meal plans and holiday festivities (because this holiday is NOT a day off here).
I won’t lie… that first two years here, doing Christmas without family, THAT was hard.  And last year, we were back in Texas for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  We had a time to celebrate with family, to cook the foods we miss, and to participate in the traditions that we love.  But, here’s the thing.  Although we do miss being in Texas for holidays, we also have great traditions in our Spain home, too.

We love that we can be surrounded by friends and new family here.  Last year, Thanksgiving in Texas was a juggling act of trying to juggle people’s schedules and football games and work.  In the end, only the three of us and our mothers were able to have dinner together.  This year, 16 of our friends and family gathered in our home in Spain for dinner.  We celebrated with a family from Puerto Rico (USA), a family from Mexico/Texas, Billy’s mom, and a family from Spain.  The Spain family are commonly referred to as “Sarah’s Spanish Family”, as they adopted her (and us) years ago and they are never not involved with us.  If a day or two goes by without contact, they check in on us.  If Sarah has a cold, they want to take her to the doctor or bring her a home remedy.  In fact, each of these families is so special to us and is so closely connected to us that we consider them family. So, when I say that we celebrated with friends and family, I mean it in every sense of the word!  I’m thankful for these great people.
There are several things that I’m especially thankful for during the holidays in Spain:  
  • I’m thankful for the street scene in Spain for the holidays.  It is so wonderful to stroll down the sidewalks, bundled up in big coats and blanket scarves and boots, with the warm glow of the Christmas lights.
  • I’m thankful for chestnuts! Remember the Christmas song, “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire…”? Well, I grew up singing that song and NEVER in my life saw a chestnut actually roasting on an open fire.  Until now!  Chestnuts being roasted on a fire are common on every street corner.
  • I’m thankful for a warm fire and lots of blankets.  Okay, to be honest, the warm fire is a major necessity and not just an nice little winter touch.  We do not have heat in our home.  Each night, we reach lows of freezing and below.  It is a rare morning that our yard is not covered with frost.  Scraping ice from the windshield is a daily occurrence.  So, the fire is important!  
  • And I’m thankful for candles!  We have family Advent candles on our dining room table.  Every day at lunch time - because lunch is the daily big family meal in Spain - we gather to read an advent reading and share a moment together and light the candle for the day.  It’s a nice moment in the middle of the day where we can be together, focus in, and feel grounded and centered.  Somehow, the stress just melts away in that moment.
We are VERY thankful for YOU!  Because of our partners in ministry (THAT’S YOU!), we are able to continue to work here in Spain.  Because of you, we are able to help empower church leaders, to train Sunday School teachers, to lead youth bible studies, and to connect with adults in intentional discipleship and community.  Because of you, we continue to train new mission workers and to coach and counsel cross-cultural workers in Europe and the Middle East and other areas of the globe.  Because of you, we continue to reach out to immigrants in Spain, to serve refugees in camps in Greece, and to help build cultural bridges of understanding among many people.  YOU are effecting change and making a difference… your prayers and your sacrificial financial giving are MAKING A DIFFERENCE! For that, we are truly thankful! 
Pray for us as we spend another holiday season away from Texas.  It won’t be easy.  It never is.  We miss our boys.  We miss our mothers / brothers / sisters / friends more than ever during these times. And thank God that He has surrounded us with friends and family here in Spain that help us to have new traditions and feel loved and connected.  We are home for the holidays, because home is both in Texas, and in Spain - home is where you have relationship roots, home is where you are loved!
~ Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas from
                        Laurie, Billy, and Sarah


2 Comments
Irene Keating
11/28/2016 04:15:40 pm

It's such a joy to read your letter and to be able to serve with you as you share God's love. What a blessing to have those dear friends in Spain. Blessings for Christmas and the new year!

Reply
Pam Thomas
11/28/2016 05:14:57 pm

My first year in Thailand, was also my first time ever working on Thanksgiving. It was odd, but everyone gathered and celebrated on the Saturday after. It was also my first ever sitting at a table with a large group of people, that was very different. Someone from the states had sent candy corn and candy corn pumpkins and I remember LOVING my two candy corn pumpkins yum!! Thanks for your heartfelt Thanksgiving blog. So thankful to be praying for you and all that you are able to do

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    Laurie Drum

    In my USA life, I was a teacher in Texas for 15 years.  I was also a professional photographer, a soccer mom, a horsewoman, and the neighborhood hospitality queen.  I did "Joanna Gaines farmhouse style" before Chip and JoJo were even a thing - we restored an 1884 Victorian farmhouse in small town Texas and did shiplap walls until I thought I'd go crazy. I taught at NASA, scuba dived with astronauts in training, and studied animals at Sea World for educational purposes. I've tried just about everything, because I have an insatiable need to know if I can do it! Never underestimate a Texas girl in cowboy boots!

    ​In 2006, my husband Billy and I became cross-cultural workers (CCWs) with TMS Global.  For five years, we served in three rural Quechua Wanca villages in the Andes of Peru.  And when I say rural, I mean RURAL - like no potty!  I spent my days in Peru learning to live a Quechua lifestyle in a rustic adobe house - cooking Peruvian foods, sewing with Quechua women, raising my chickens and goats and pigs, and planting my gardens. Now I live my life in small town Spain, serving other cross-cultural workers via teaching and training and care, and helping displaced people to navigate their new reality in Europe.

    I'm passionate about fostering personal growth, growth in community, and growth in The Kingdom. Walking alongside others and helping them to use their unique design, their gifts and strengths and maximize their abilities to fulfill their God-given purpose - that's what makes my heart sing! 

    Archives

    November 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    October 2021
    August 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    September 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    February 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    January 2012

    Categories

    All

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • Blogs
  • Engage
  • Newsletters
  • What We Do
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Media
  • Giving Tuesday
  • Christmas 2021
  • Link Page