Mark's Thanksgiving Dinner at DeWitt's

Last week Jared asked me what Mark would do for Thanksgiving, then a bit more subdued he said "Oh yeah, they don't celebrate that in Taiwan." For a little boy that loves holidays this was a bit hard for him. Later that afternoon I received a Facebook message from a member in Mark's ward.



Elder Wills is coming to our home for Thanksgiving dinner on Friday evening. We're having about 36 young people -- all under the age of 25 -- in our home for the dinner. Missionaries, Fulbright English Teachers, and National Security Language Initiative students who are studying Chinese in Kaohsiung. We did this last year and it was great! So much energy. And the non-Mormons were very curious about the missionaries and some good conversations were had!

I think it would be safe to say, Jared was very relieved when I told him this. Friday I received the update on their Thanksgiving dinner. It hit a very tender spot in my heart. I am eternally grateful for members of the church who show my boy love and help him feel at home when he is on the other side of the world. I love that I am able to make friends I would never have "met" through our mutual love for my son. The world seems much smaller with social media.

Elder Wills was here tonight with his companion Elder Shen for Thanksgiving dinner -- we had 40 young people (all under 25). It was fantastic. I'll post some photos in a bit. Bob

Elder Wills headed up the cleaning crew (i.e., the elders) and they did a great job under his guidance. Our official China (State Department) has gold rims, so they cannot be washed in the dishwasher, so they washed a lot of plates by hand -- 45 dinner plates, 45 dessert plates, and a bunch of serving pieces! We could not have done it without them!