"I'm Thankful for..." is normally a sentence you hear in America as you sit around the dinner table, waiting to devour the best meal of the year and be stuffed till you can't eat anymore.
This year I spent Thanksgiving in Africa, surrounded by Mozambiquans, Harvest School Students from around the World and of course my amazing sisters of House 8! Many international students had never celebrated Thanksgiving before and kept asking me what it was about - because of course, I kept wishing EVERYONE Happy Thanksgiving! It really made me stop and wonder- what is Thanksgiving really about??
Of course, I tried to explain about the Pilgrims coming to America and the Indians helping them, about sitting around a table with your family and the kinds of foods we eat, about being Thankful to God for all the good things He's given you...and yet somehow, this year those reasons didn't seem to suffice. (of course the last one always does! But I felt like the Lord wanted me to realize how much more it was then that.)
1:I'm thankful for this amazing opportunity to be serving, living and learning in Africa and soon Nepal in this season of my life.
2: I'm thankful for all of my family, friends and church back home - as well as all of my new Iris family here!
3: I'm thankful for the amazing meal we were blessed with last night - It was the biggest meal I'm sure some of these Mozambiquans have ever eaten- and I've never had so much meat on one plate in my life! - An oil company from South Africa blessed us and cooked enough food for our ENTIRE base (1000 people!) And it was a proper Thanksgiving meal - Turkey, Mashed potatoes with bacon in it, Ham, a hamburger, corn, a huge bread roll, a mango and of course.. PUMPKIN PIE! It was phenominal!
4: I'm thankful for the water turning back on after being off for 2 weeks! :) (You really learn to appreciate the important things here.)
5: For the Lords faithfulness in ALL transitions and seasons of my life this past year.
6:For all my new Mozambiquan friends and really learning through theirs and all of Iris' example what love TRULY looks like.
7: For the transformation work of Jesus Christ, being made more like Him and knowing that no matter where I am in the World, as long as I have Him I'm always home.
I could go on and on, but I'll stop there for now. These are just some of the simple things that I'm Thankful for this year - I'm not perfect and I have by no way arrived. But I'm pressing on towards the goal, and I'm so excited to see what Papa has ahead! My challenge for myself these next 2 weeks.. to DREAM BIG and never stop! I've always talked about it, but now I really want to do it.
As we enter the Christmas season I challenge you to do the same, don't just live a normal life - live BIG in the Kingdom of God. It doesn't matter if your in Africa, or Asia, or America or Europe.. Whether you have runnining water or not, electricity or not, money or not.. It's all about Kingdom culture. Live in it! You don't have to be called to the dirt or to the unreached to be used by God.. Just be you!
More to come soon!!
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