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Actually Ukrainians don’t celebrate thanksgiving as a national holiday as we do in Canada. The churches celebrate the harvest, but each church decides when they want to harvest …there is no set day.
So it was a busy weekend, Saturday morning our guests went to the Palanok Castle in Mukachevo, one of the oldest castles in Ukraine. Peter (Mary’s brother) played the role of tour guide which was appreciated by the ladies.
After lunch at the guest house the ladies went to a resort park near Uzhhorod and enjoyed the beautiful fall colours.
Then the whole group went to a Hungarian/Ukrainian Restaurant located at the base of the Palanok castle for supper …if you enjoy smoked meat this is the place to go!!!
After dinner we all went back to the guest house and spent some more time sharing and singing, again there were tears and laughter throughout the evening.
Sunday started off with a trip to Kosino, one of the best mineral pools in Ukraine. Our guests spent 3 hours soaking in the water, and enjoyed every minute of it. (Cynthia, Sharon and Mary) spent all day in the kitchen preparing a traditional Thanksgiving Turkey Dinner for 40 people.
After lunch there was more sharing and singing time in the livingroom. Pastor Rostik shared a few words… he said …we don’t know how it feels to lose a son in the war, we don’t know what emotions and pain that you are going through by losing a loved one by the hands of evil men…. But someone does and that is GOD…he lost his only Son by the hands of evil men. Just like your son’s death had a purpose, to try to protect the freedom of Ukraine, God’s son Jesus also had a purpose “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) Again more tears and laughter.
Then we enjoyed the turkey dinner which was delicious!!!! What a joy it was to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner with our new friends!!! It was 8:10pm before we finished dinner and our friends needed to be at the station by 8:45 to catch their train home. So it was a quick and emotional goodbye and off to the station.
The next couple of days we will spend cleaning and preparing the guest house for the next group which is arriving Thursday
