Mrs. Roosevelt still speaks... (thanksgiving greetings!!!)

so tomorrow is thanksgiving. That is just too weird. I hope all of you in the U.S. enjoy it. Don't really realize how much it means to you until you are in another country where 90 percent of the people have no idea what you are talking about. haha

But, there is one person who thinks he knows...

My host dad.

So tonight in rotary we all had to talk about what thanksgiving was and why it was sufficient. I thought it went really well and my good friend Honore did an amazing job of condensing the entire story into 3 minutes and translating it to Spanish...

So, then I got in the car to go home... and my host dad literally told me he was disappointed in me and the other exchange students because we didn't explain the meaning of Thanksgiving. He told me that we explained it wrong. (yes, we, the americans were being told by a Peruvian that we didn't know what Thanksgiving was... or more specifically me.)

Evidently thanksgiving was a day in which the colonists wanted to worship the earth... and they invited the indians to do it with them. Nothing about a friendship. One helping the other learn to grow crops. Nothing. Just a day to give thanks to the earth.

And I'm serious when I say this... he was serious. Tell me, how do you respond to a rotary president when you live in his house and he is trying to tell you that you don't know the half of one of your biggest national holidays. And then to make it worse... he not only tells you you are wrong, but gives you an idea like it's a day for worshiping the earth (and nothing else.)

Being an exchange student is very hard sometimes. Actually almost all the time. It takes a lot of patience. A lot of sacrifice. A lot of forgiveness when the other person doesn't care to ask for it. A lot of love. A lot of endurance.

This exchange has taught me so much about my self. But more importantly, it has taught me about my faith. There are going to be times when people try to come by and knock down everything you have ever known. They may take you to the point of tears. They may make you feel inferior, they may yell at you. They may give you new stories, theories, and beliefs that are contradictory to what you know.

That why you must KNOW what you believe. Be prepared for the battle. Not a battle with another person. But be prepared for the battle within yourself. So that when those thoughts of doubt rise up in your mind, you know without a doubt that it is wrong. AND YOU CONTINUE WITHOUT STUMBLING. You can avoid the danger.

Camille told me this quote a long time ago... and it still serves me.

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." -Elenore Roosevelt

And I've been memorizing this verse lately.

"Si en verdad te aprecias. Estudia. Bien harás en practicar lo aprendido."
"Whoever gets sense loves his own soul; he who keeps understanding will discover good."
-Proverbios 19:8

Educate yourself. Find what you believe. Make your foundation.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Blessings,

Lucas