Thankful Four Times Over

Over the past week, I have been asked countless times how I feel about not going home for Thanksgiving. Many assume that for a JV far from home it is hard to spend the holidays away from loved ones. In all honesty, but it is not a new experience to be the one absent from the family dinner table around the holidays. I haven’t experienced a family Thanksgiving in five years and since moving west have missed two family weddings. Distance is my reality.

The challenge of distance is made easy by today’s modern conveniences. Access to Starbucks’ (or hip Portland coffee shops’) Wi-Fi make emails, Face Time and blogging a fun weekend activity and excuse for a treat in the form of a caffeinated beverage or warm seasonal sugar high. The world clock app on my phone aids in remembering what time zone all my friends and family around the world are in order to configure call times. While the three hour time difference makes calls home less spontaneous and in need of forethought, the ease to pick up the phone and have a warm and loving hello at the other end is a blessing. Letter writing is an act of nostalgia rather than a requirement to know the happenings of friends performing years of service of their own. The modern world makes being a JV away from home for the holidays not so bad.  Although I was unable to attend the traditional family festivities this year, I did not go hungry. Instead, I was fortunate to experience four Thanksgiving dinners.

The first Thanksgiving (no not that one!) was a Casa de Paz Vegan Thanksgiving. Each community mate created a dish to add to the feast. I introduced traditional bread stuffing into the mix. Who knew that my grandmother’s simple recipe was vegan or such a crowd pleaser! Another festive addition brought to the Casa de Paz dinner table by yours truly was mulled wine. It was the first time I created the spiced, holiday concoction from scratch, but it turns out my culinary talents are not limited to only bread stuffing. The seasonal treat has been requested to be a part of a community Christmas feast and I have no problem obliging the women of Casa de Paz. Our ‘Friendsgiving’ turned into a day full of fancy dress, laughs and celebrating three months of community and service in Hillsboro.

The second and third Thanksgiving dinners were quite different from the first. In the midst of drop-in and surrounded by the youth I serve, I experienced Thanksgiving food and drinks prepared for the masses. We are in the midst of the season of giving, the season of generosity where dinner groups and volunteers try to recreate a sense of tradition for youth who have not been raised in an environment where family tradition is nurtured or valued to the same extent of my own. We provide a sense of consistency, weekly meals that youth can count on no matter if they are holiday themed or not. It is here that I find routine, like my youth, to root myself to.

My fourth and final Thanksgiving dinner of the week occurred on the actual day. Many assume that working on a holiday is brutal, but in all honesty I quite enjoyed myself! It wasn’t like I was working retail and preparing for the madness of Black Friday sales and customers! I had the privilege to share another meal, a fourth Thanksgiving with the youth I see three times a week. Many came for dinner even though they had already eaten dinner with family, friends or caretakers. They came for the community, the sense of belonging. In this space, it was not the great assortment of pies and sweet fixings that brought youth and volunteers to the dinner table. It was the community that filled the space with warmth. This Thanksgiving may not have been shared with crazy uncles, cousins or traditions dating back from the awkward pre-teen years. No one at the table asked about my future plans after July or my dating prospects. It was another Thursday drop-in. It was an evening of community and thankfulness for another chance to meet youth where they where at. My Thanksgiving made me four times as grateful to not be spending my holiday at home, but rather within the warm confines of a drop-in dinner and the community drawn together week after week.


*The contents of this page, and all links appearing on this page, do not represent the positions, views or intents of Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest. 

Building Community… One Plate at a Time

In a community of six, there is one Vegan, one Vegetarian, four Carnivores and six JVs exploring the Social and Ecological Justice of Food. Food is personal. Food is debatable. Food is always a conversation. Therefore, upon entering life as a JV, I quickly learned that my previous eating habits and preferences were not those of a JV community budget, but also vastly different from those of my community. We were all raised in different households with unique traditions and special family meals. There are also six different interpretations of food justice, social justice and ecological justice which impact how an individual eats. Our differences, however, do not necessarily mean that food cannot bring us together.

Over the past three months, there have been numerous discussions and opinions stated. Food is not a one and done topic. It is continually revisited because opinions are being reformed, enlightened and impacted by the day-to-day experiences that are a part of a year of service. Although the community of Casa de Paz has an array of varied beliefs, we are able to come together for community meals.

What have I learned over the past three months? I have learned that the more I make an effort to inform myself and be open to the beliefs and even dishes of others, the closer my

relationships with those of my community become. As I explore the bounds of my culinary talents, my community shares in meals rooted in love, friendship and an inherent dignity of those we break bread with!

My Actual Creation! Yumm! 

And if anyone is interested, here are a couple vegan recipes that were a community hit and easy to make!

Lentil Burgers! 

Macaroni and Cheese! 


*The contents of this page, and all links appearing on this page, do not represent the positions, views or intents of Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest.