I have never been out of the country on the 4th of July so I have always been surrounded by people clamoring to celebrate the holiday that rings of our freedom.
In Mexico, it would be just another Thursday, just like last week and just like next week.
It was hard to imagine that there would be no parades, fairs, or my favorite, fireworks. No red-white-and blue clothing and Popsicles. And definitely no proudly waving American flags in front of every house.
I have taken for granted that there is usually not much pressure to plan something for ourselves because there is a myriad of public events to give us our fill of excitement and patriotic celebration.
We had no clue what to do. Even though, "when in Rome," we are happy to celebrate Mexican holidays, something in my heart did not feel right about skipping this US holiday. We were determined to find a way, however small, to celebrate our American freedom.
At first I wanted to barbecue. That's the perfect American summer tradition, isn't it? But wait... we don't have a barbecue. All we have is a stove. We could fry something? But we didn't have any typical barbecue food anyway. Jade and I usually stick to the cheap Mexican style food here and I don't think rice and beans would have captured the sentiment we were going for.
Baking a patriotic dessert would be fun and delicious, the best combination. but ...actually our oven has never been used. Vicki said she doesn't cook much and hasn't lighted it since it was installed. (Those are NOT the type of fireworks I would like to see this year.) Also no baking ingredients or even a pan I think I could use. And what exactly makes a dessert patriotic, anyway? Does it need to be red, white, and blue? Because frosting is definitely out of the question.
We thought about the fireworks we heard going off the previous Sunday during church in Las Varas (which at first I thought were gunshots... not scary AT ALL). It would be very traditional to have fireworks. I wondered where we could buy them and my mind wandered over whether they were legal here. Buying fireworks out of the trunk of a guy's car on a sketchy side street hiding from Policia is not the American adventure I was looking for either. Scratch that plan.
So after many failed attempts my best idea was to simply eat American food, not a single taco or burrito all day, and to just enjoy ourselves.
I know there didn't HAVE to be an outward expression of our celebration. Having pride, joy, and gratitude in our hearts for our freedoms in America is all the holiday is really about.
I am so extremely grateful to our Lord for leading our Founding Fathers to secure such a wonderful nation with God-given rights and freedoms such as religious freedom, freedom of speech, the right to bear arms, the right to due-process and a fair trial, the right to defend ourselves and our family, and so many others.
I cannot put into words how grateful I am to those who serve in our military to defend those rights and freedoms at great personal cost. And for their families for the cost they bear just the same.
There are a lot of difficulties that our country is facing but despite the trials, I am so completely PROUD to be American that I wanted to find a way to pay tribute in my heart, to show my thanks.
And so instead of our typical avocado/egg breakfast tacos, we ate cereal for breakfast. We had pb&js for lunch. We SO enjoyed everyone's Facebook and Instagram posts which made us feel a part of the festivities. And we sat on the beach all afternoon, just being grateful.
And then an unexpected gift, Ethan Edmunds saw us on the beach when he was heading out for a swim. He strolled over to us and invited us to his family's house for dinner.
Ethan, 13 is the oldest son of Chuck and Colleen Edmunds. They are an American family that recently moved down here from California. Their work is with Global Church Partners, working with and training local pastors (www.globalchurchpartners.com). They have 2 other kids, Syndey is 11, and Alistair is 4.
We met them a few weeks ago on the beach when they were hanging out with a couple friends that were in town vacationing. What a pleasure it has been to get to know them! Chuck and Colleen are the kindest, greatest people and their kids are all very creative, talented, and sweet. It's funny to me that I hardly notice Ethan and Sydney's ages. They are so fun to be around they just seem like friends.
...And no, I am not just saying that because they will probably read this.
So we got to have a barbecue dinner after all, chicken, potatoes, and pineapple, and a patriotic dessert to top it all off.
As we gawked at Ethan's amazing photography skills in his photos from the lightning storm the previous night, he reminded me that the storm had been a pretty great natural "fireworks" show too. Check out his photo! AMAZING!!
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