For missionaries, holidays have the potential to be difficult.  It can be hard being thousand of miles from family, living in a country with different customs, and not eating what you expect!  We will miss the parades on television, live football, and the day-after-sales.

But we are thankful.

Today is not a holiday in Moldova.  You don’t find Butterballs in the grocery store.  Nobody even knows what a sweet potato looks like.  Pumpkins are used to feed the pigs.  Cranberries are an unknown food.

But today we have them all.  (Does my typing reflect the big grin on my face?)

Friends from Moscow brought the turkey and sweet potatoes.  It wasn’t cheap, but it was worth every penny.  Friends from North Dakota brought us a couple cans of pumpkin this fall.  And a wonderful saint of God mailed me a Packer football game.  What more could a guy ask for?

The value of things increases with rarity.  When you can’t find a food you love, you are willing to overpay.  When you are thousands of miles from family, the cost of a phone call is not important.  And the value of a winning Packer game is priceless (especially with the rarity this year!).

So if I may encourage you this Thanksgiving holiday….be thankful.  Each of us is so blessed with many rare and special things:

*Food.  I live among many people who may eat only one meal a day.
*Plumbing.  Hauling all your water a 1/2 mile daily gets old.  Rural Moldovans have no choice.
*Heat.  Our heat came on a week ago.  We are truly thankful.
*Hospitals.  Try a week in a Moldovan hospital and you will never complain about America’s medical care.
*Stores.  My biggest challenge is finding something to buy Nancy for Christmas.  I never thought I would say it but…I could use a mall now.
*Blood.  The drops of blood Jesus shed for you and me are enough to give us life.

This Thanksgiving holiday, we find ourselves filled with gratitude…toward those that pray and support the work in Moldova, to the wonderful friends and believers in Moldova we have come to love, and to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Eternally thankful,
Andy Raatz