Happy Thanksgiving!

IM000086.JPG
Originally uploaded by waterlooHildreds.

Saturday morning I spoke to Tim on the phone in Sydney. He is staying in a hostel there, feeling a little overwhelmed (I guess that Sydney is huge) but otherwise fine. I hope that he reads this and makes his own post soon.
Saturday evening we had Lianne over for dinner and celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving. It was fantastic that she was here for our first month. She and Dianne went out shopping a number of times. It made my heart happy to see them giggling like schoolgirls over things. Dianne is my best friend and we have been known to have the whole family giggling like schoolgirls at dinner, but there is something about same sex friendship that is truly sustaining as well. We said our good-byes and she and her driver dropped Ben on the way at a soccer teammates house so that he could be at his 10:00 am soccer game and we could go to church.
We went to the Delhi International Christian Fellowship this week. This is a non-denominational congregation made up primarily of foreigners living in Delhi. They meet in the gym of the British school, just like Heritage Green did when we went there. No basketball nets though. There were other Canadians there who asked us to Thanksgiving Dinner during the passing of the peace. Turned out that the Ann the Canadian lady plays a rocking "He's got the whole world in his hands," on the piano. They had leavened baked goods after the service as well as tea and coffee that you could put your own cream and sugar in. We left with the minister after agreeing to meet at 6:00 at the gate to the Canada Club at the consulate.
The traffic was bad on the way back to Delhi, so we got there about 6:10. Barry Mackey, the Regional Program Manager for Habitat for Humanity and our host met us at the security guards office, and signed us in to the consulate. The dinner was awesome! Easy conversation, chicken instead of turkey but wonderful stuffing and pumpkin pie. Barry knows the McLeans from Knox Waterloo. The consular general also sends her regards to the McLeans. At the end of the dinner we went around the table saying what we are thankful for. Canada, the most blessed country on earth, my Grandma's good progress to recovery from her broken hip, the love of Dianne, Ben and Joel that they would accompany me half way around the world and the love of family and friends at home.