We had Thanksgiving dinner at our apartment with our neighbors and the sister missionaries from our ward. Three of us are North American and three are Uruguayan. Our neighbors, Mirta and Pelusa, have seen movies with Thanksgiving dinners in them, but have never had one. Several months ago, Mirta asked me about Thanksgiving and what it means. I tried to explain about the Pilgrims (pioneros--pioneers) and the Indians and that it is a day to give thanks for what we have. So, I thought it would be nice to have them taste some of the food.
The only thing that's really different for them is the stuffing, and gravy. They serve mashed potatoes here but they just eat them plain. Hna. Sandes asked me if we were going to put all the gravy over the potatoes in the serving bowl before putting it on the table. I tried not to laugh out loud, but it was hard. They have yams and sweet potatoes, but marshmallows are rare. I just used a glaze for the sweet potatoes.
I forgot to get a picture of the pumpkin pie. It turned out so good!! It was my first time making a crust with lard. I used butter last year. I baked the pumpkin and pureed it on the Monday night before Thanksgiving. On Tuesday night, I baked the sweet potatoes. I made the crust and the filling on Wednesday night and baked the pie. I cut up the dry bread, sauteed the onions and celery and mixed up the stuffing so it would be ready to cook the next day. The sister missionaries arrived shortly after we got home from the office (it is a regular work day here.) They peeled the potatoes while I put the chicken in the oven. I made the gravy while they set the table, etc. It really helped to have them come and work with me. They did the dishes as we cooked, so there were only a few pans to wash after dinner.
Mirta is the same age as me. We kid around that we are really only 38 years old. She is so funny!! She is taking the missionary discussions. We hope she will be baptized this month. She has gone to a baptism and a Stake Conference.
Here we all are. Jerry opted to take the picture. I wonder why. The sister missionaries are Hna. Broadwater from Utah, and Hna. Sandes from Montevideo, Uruguay. She was a vounteer in our office before going on her mission. She has a brother in Montevideo and her mom lives here too. She has Sunday dinner with them sometimes.
The Saturday after Thanksgiving, Jerry and I went to Rocha, Uruguay. It is a state (department) where they have beautiful beaches and natural palm trees in the valleys along the highway. We invited Hna. Barney from Oregon to come with us. She is the nurse for the 400 missionaries in Uruguay. She doesn't have a companion, so she and I do things together when we have some time. Here we are pointing to our name tags. Yep, we are misioneras.
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