Thanksgiving

Alaska, though apart of the United States is a great distance away from the lower 48. The cost of a plane ticket to the lower 48 can be $700-$1500 dollars depending on the area. With this in mind residents of Alaska do not always make trips for family gatherings at the normal major holidays. It’s not time effective, nor cost effective.

I found that many people within the congregation do not travel for the holidays so instead families from my internship church put together alternative gatherings. For Thanksgiving there is the “Orphan Thanksgiving”. The title implies that those who attend are “orphans” but really we all have family, but they are just a distance away. So instead we all gather as one large extended family for a day of food, fellowship, games, and of course a walk in the snow.

This year the Thanksgiving feast was held at Forrest and Geri’s house. The festivities began at 2:00pm. Everyone brings a dish to share and there is never a shortage of food. The meal consisted of both turkey and ham, potatoes, green bean casserole, several jello concoctions, broccoli and cheese casserole, creamed corn, multiple salads both leafy and otherwise, and a plethora of desserts.

Vern & Forrest assessing the food situation

We ate until we were uncomfortably full. The group then went out for a walk. On this Thanksgiving day it was snowing and rather warm; a cozy 4˚F above. I opted not to walk in the snow but instead took the time to call home. A lengthy phone call as I was passed around to all the aunts, uncles and cousins, retelling the same story and answering many of the same questions. Perhaps next time I will use speaker phone.

Some of the group...

More of the group...

After the walk everyone gathered back at the house for dessert. There were several pies, cookies and bars. I opted for chocolate brownies with ice cream on top. When dessert was completed everyone gathered for games. Taboo, Apples to Apples and Scategories.

More still...

Thanksgiving was fantastic and very ful-filling (get it? Filling?) Thanksgiving, I’m Thankful for a wonderful fiancé, Adam, to visit in person, my family back home and a wonderful extended family at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church.