We had a fantastic Thanksgiving day at the Kansas City Center of Light. After our usual holiday communion start time of 8 AM, we fired up the smoker and began smoking turkey on the back patio. Everyone brought their cooking supplies from home and we spent a few hours preparing for the afternoon meal. We had sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, homemade stuffing, apple pies, pumpkin pies, homemade whipped cream, corn, peas, and of course, smoked turkey! It was so much fun to prepare all of this food which God had given us in such a warm and loving environment. While we were cooking, several of our members composed impromptu haiku poems about the experience. These were actually pretty good.

One of our students, who works for Northwest Airlines, was servicing of flight to Bombay when the terrorist attacks of the day before Thanksgiving broke out. She was in Bombay as the local authorities struggled to contain the attacks and rescue the hostages. This caused a lot of chaos in Bombay, and although the airport where she was staying was secured, it was still nerve-racking to know that she was there so close to all of the activity. We prayed for her throughout the day and sent out prayer requests to the other Centers of Light around the country. By 1 PM, we heard the news that her plane had finally lifted off for its return trip through Amsterdam, and that she was okay. This is just another example of the blessings that God gives us when things get tight.

Before lunch, we played various games including hearts while some of the kids played video games on the Wii. It's always fun to shift gears and play games with the community. This always reminds me of growing up in a large family where we played lots of games around the holidays. In the afternoon, we watched the movie Young@Heart which is about people in their 70s and 80s, at various stages of retirement, singing pop songs in a choir. The movie is really inspirational. It shows how even with the struggles of old age, people can come together and lift their spirits and accomplish great things. After the movie, we sat down for dinner and while we ate, every one shared what they were most grateful for in the past year. Many people were grateful for the center and for the spiritual community that we all share here. I was personally grateful for all of the grace that God has shown us as we've made several transitions in the last year here at the Kansas City Center of light. There's always been enough time, energy, and resources to make the adjustments that we need to move on to the next chapter in our development.

After dinner, we voted on the evenings activities and decided to go for a walk around the Kauffman Foundation's geese pond.  We then came back home, did all the dishes, and sat down to watch Bill Murray in Scrooged. Several of the kids were shocked by the 80s clothing and hairstyles (as this movie was first released in 1988). Still, it had some great themes and Bill Murray's character was definitely a jerk that was ripe for a ton of transformation. Even for the 80s, the effects were really good and you got a sense of the peril that his character was in.  When the movie was over we broke down and said goodnight to everyone.  

It was an incredibly warm and beautiful day at the center!