Marlene, Jared & I are just grateful for some of the basic stuff… like clean water (from a tap within the house), indoor bathrooms, electricity, a furnace or gas fireplace, glass windows & a real roof over our 4 walls.
After thoughts from Ghana:
What’s a Home? It’s more than walls & rooms (the average mud hut has 4 walls and 1 room) but it’s the happiness within. Do I look forward to going home each day? If not… it’s not the 4 walls fault… but my relationships within those walls… love, happiness, fun & forgiveness.
“Give us this day, our daily bread”. This prayer in Africa actually meant “Could we have something to eat today… please?”. I became so grateful for what we have and grateful for all the things we don’t really need. I was amazed when we calculated what $50 a month can do in a 3rd world country… I need to become more generous.
We lived in a pastors home in Ghana for almost 2 weeks and met so many people coming and going. Super friendly, happy and lots of warmth shown - it was a bunch of moments of genuine friendships.
Magnetic personalities… it seemed that so many people we met knew “a way” of expressing their gratitude readily. Thankfulness was always seen and felt. It was more than words… but in the tone and inner feelings that occurred.
In Kenya… the Safari, the wild animals and meeting Masi tribal people was another total eye opener.
We almost had to “give our heads a shake”… it didn’t seem real. Imagine, killer lions, leopards & cheetah’s roaming at will. Hippos, alligators, vultures, sleek giraffes and elephants. The cute and cuddly lion cubs, baby cheetahs and foxes. Wow… the Creator has quite some imagination when these animals were made.
Masi tribal people, their cultural ways… herding their animals, drinking a mixture of blood and milk, having 10 wives and 78 children (that’s some family gathering).
So… when I need a reality check… when I get discontent or uptight… I need to go back and remind myself of the “life lessons”, “the passion” and “the people” we met in Dec. 2008.
