Thanksgiving in Bahrain

One of the greatest things about living here is that we are consistently having first and last (and some times both) experiences.  Our latest is our trip across the border to Bahrain for Thanksgiving with the Chandlers. 

We chose to go for several reasons, first our district conference was being held there and we felt it would be important to meet more members face to face.  It took place at their international school, which was a very modern and impressive structure.  We listened to talks from President Price as well as Elder Piper (whom we had seen before several years ago in Burley). 

Afterwards we took a field trip to find the Tree of Life (you must google this subject to get a picture and full history).  The unique things about it is that it is over 400 years old, there is no water in the vicinity - thus begging the question how does it survive, and finally some believe it to be the original garden of Eden.

As far as Thanksgiving, our day was spent at the souks where David found a shop that sold old currencies.  Emri bought a 10 dollar bill from Iraq with Saddam Hussein's picture on it.  The ladies needed to visit the mall of course where they purchased some long sought after C-mas decorations and then we ended up at a restaurant named Rics for a traditional thanksgiving meal.  It was delicious to the tongue, but the heart felt a bit empty due to not having the usual group of suspects sitting around the table - we missed our family!  What we did appreciate was the company of the Chandlers and their gracious and humble influence in our lives.  In between bites of turkey and HAM (yes, they had it there) we all shared 3 things we are grateful for. It was very satisfying to hear what everyone said.

All in all a great trip where we were fed both spiritually and physically.