My Cup Overflows with Blessings

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 1:3

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.” Malachi 3:10

 “And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written: “They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.” 2 Corinthians 2:8-9

I have felt the need to mention during some of my previous blogs and facebook postings that as I describe some of the experiences here in Tanzania that these are not complaints but an attempt to share some of what life is like here.  This week as I got up and traveled pre-dawn to the bus stand I was struck by some of the things I see in these morning hours and wanted to share them with understanding this is the life of a person in Yulansoni.  As I reflect on these events I can not help but be humbled by how blessed my life is here.  I get to go into town on the weekend to file reports, do accounting, call the parents and sleep in a hotel bed and hopefully take a hot shower in the morning.  I will eat half a kilo of charred cow flesh (pretty much a direct translation of Nyoma Choma Ngombe Nussu.

This particular morning as I was riding on the piki piki at 5:45 AM to the bus stand at the Balboa tree, I passed an cart being pulled by a team of bulls carrying wood that would most likely be used to fire a brick making operation.  I passed a field where a father and his two sons, the youngest looked 9 were plowing a field using a team of bulls and the old style plow the father   worked as the kids drove the animals.  I passed many students who were headed to primary and secondary school carrying their notebooks and water bottles.  They don't carry school books because there are not enough at the school to allow kids to take them home.  Those students will return sometime around 5 or 6 PM in a school schedule that no one but locals seems to understand as they will leave school several times during the day.  There were pre-school kids headed to our site traveling alone or in packs towards the end of the trip to make sure they arrived on time.

This week as I pumped water for various projects I remembered the folks here do this and load their buckets on bicycles that they then push home.  As I mentioned last week a group of women coming from the field stop by to have a cup of water from our well.

As I prepared a piece of wood for the door repair and cut it with a hand saw then planed it with a hand plane I remembered everything made in this valley was done this way.  Using the hand drill to prepare the tanks for the gutter inlets, the connections of everything here is nailed or used a hand drill such as this.

Laying in my hotel room bed with the fan running, I remembered sweating until the early morning hours because the temperature was still in the upper 80s.They don't get the fan in their rooms tonight.

When I set up my house I will have a gas cook stove and will not have to gather firewood and tinder any time I want to cook or just heat water.  They spend a fair amount of time everyday in the gathering of firewood, tinder and water and carrying it to where they need it.

As I eat different foods, they will continue to eat beans with rice or beans with Ugali every night.  I will have a Coke Zero or two (or half dozen) they will continue to drink the local well water.

My life in the USA was blessed beyond belief with power tools, running water, hot water on demand, electricity for every need I had, Air Conditioning, a store with soda and food within walking distance of every place I go, though I only walked to them about 20% of the time instead electing to drive with the air conditioning on.

My life here is blessed beyond belief in that I have opportunities they don't have.  I have chances for the hotel room with a fan. 

My cup overflows with the blessings of having been born in the Minority  World and having lived there most of my life.  I hope today each of you who reads this thinks about the many things you have they don't.  How many are going to get up pre-dawn to plow a field with a team of bulls, or your kids are going to have to lead a team of donkeys pulling a tree you want to cut up.  How many are going to have to gather firewood and tinder any time you want to heat some water for bathing or dishes or food and every time you cook.  When you wash your clothes will you have to pump two buckets full of water and bend over at the waist as you hand agitate them.

I did not put question marks because I am still part of that life and know the answers because I know them for myself. 

This is not about accusations like how dare you lead such a life when theirs is so hard.  I would never recommend that we all give up our advancements.  What it is about as we head to Thanksgiving day, to remember how much we truly have to be thankful for.  Some of you lived a life with these things were a part of it and know how different your life is.  But for those of us who grew up with indoor plumbing and electricity we don't always recognize, truly recognize not just say we do how wonderfully blessed our lives are and how our cup overflows.

Please feel free to share this posting and repost it so we can keep things in perspective this Thanksgiving and truly feel the blessings we need to be thankful for.