BLESSED

We took a trip into town today to pick up supplies (a new hammock!) and have a bite to eat out (bite out to eat? out for a bite to eat?). As we rattled and clattered our way from one road to another, I began to see stick and mud huts with tin roofs; goats grazing in the ditches, herded about by seven year-old boys with sticks; small lean-tos with acacia thorn branches for fencing. How absolutely blessed I am! These people live in homes as small as the bedroom in my apartment at MAA. This is a ten month detour in my life; this is what they expect for the rest of their lives. I couldn't decide what to leave out of my suitcase; they'd have a hard time filling one. I have friends and family willing to give freely so I could experience the world with Jesus; these Kenyans probably never see the other side of Nairobi. I have free room and board at a gated private school; they'd only dream of attending one. I have a hope that burns within my heart; they fear what tomorrow brings.

Many friends told me that my year as an SM would mirror subsistence living; instead, I realize more and more how privileged I am to be a Stotz, a Wisconian, an Andrews Universite, and an Adventist. "Thanksgiving" isn't just a holiday.