This is a special time of the year for those of us who love America. We are some 10,000 miles from home yet the meaning of Thanksgiving has pierced my very soul this past week. We are truly a blessed nation, government, people and families. We are all aware of the covenant Father in Heaven awarded the Americas “…if people keep my commandments, they will prosper in the land of promise….” And while the Savior visited the Nephites on the Americas, he reminded those faithful saints “…Father will remember the covenant to his people of this land of promise…” I have felt this covenant more reverently over the past weeks as we prepare for a Thanksgiving day celebration in the bush of Africa. We are a truly blessed couple with roots in the history of building an America we love today even more. We are standing on shoulders of those who fought for freedoms anchored in a strong belief of God’s grace on the land from sea to shining sea. We are so thankful for the land of promise we have claim that is so many miles away during this season.
We have made preparation for a gathering here in Abomosu on Thanksgiving Day. We will have a feast of fellowship, duty, songs, words and prayer for our beloved forefathers who carved out a life so many years ago. We will also feast upon a fully prepared turkey that was strutting his stuff just a day ago. Our missionaries have not had this privilege to eat turkey since they have come to Ghana so their mouths are watering with anticipation. Turkeys are not very common here so to find and dress a large tom was a feat. I searched for over 2 months and right outside our home one morning I heard a familiar gobble. To find the owner has been a real adventure and at one time even convinced myself that the taste of a poached turkey was the same as a purchased turkey. I just couldn’t live with myself if the Devil had won that battle. After some miracles of finding the owner, the negotiations lasted for 3 full weeks and finally a handshake was shared by both of us. Today we went to market in Nkawkaw for the last of the traditional “fixings”. There are only a few things that will not be on our table this year, cranberries, pumpkin pie, celery in the stuffing, pickles, egg- nog, cool whip and candied yams. We just figure Mr. Turkey was the most important guest at the table anyway. We did find 12 potatoes for mashed potatoes, green apples for apple pie and fresh peas and carrots. We have also added a favorite of all the village people here, Red Red. It is a bean and Plantain dish with peppi to light your fire. We even brought home a plastic bag filled with Ghana’s version of ice cream. It will be a grand day we hope our good Elders will forever remember. Doc Fife and the Medicine Woman will be up from the Area Office as our special guest along with Stephen and Margaret Abu, and several others from the branch. Two widows will participate for the first time in their lives, in all of the festivities. We look forward to a humble home filled with joy and love. Only a couple of hours for a handful of Americans who have given so much for the eternal truths these wonderful Ghanaian people thirst for. Ghana also is a blessed land, a temple of the Lord basks in the beautiful sunlight of Accra. It beckons to all African people to enter worthily and partake of the sweetest fruit offered to man.
Sister Dalton and I offer our testimony of the truths we are so blessed with in these latter days. We know Father knows our names and faces and we continually recognize His hand in our lives. We serve a living God who knows each of his children whether in America or here in a humble home in the bush of Africa. May your Thanksgiving Day remind your families of the covenants we live for as a blessed nation and people.
Happy Thanksgiving to all!
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