Thankful

This morning, as I sit in my wonderful home, with all my wonderful things, I am reminded so much more just how blessed I am. This is always the overwhelming feeling you get when you come back from being with people who have nothing, and you have just lived life with for the past 10 days. I have been going to the Dominican Republic now for many years, and doing my best to live out the gospel mandate to serve the "least of these". I have a deep love for the people there and I already miss them. I am praying for my Julio and Mercy, Pastor Bona, Pastor Chile', Anna Maria, Juan, The people of El Cea, and the people of Santa Alicia. I'm thankful this morning for the work that the Lord is allowing us to do there through ChickenChurchOrg and a strategic partnership with 25Project

It is Christmas time, so being back drives this point of being thankful even further. In a few days, I will sit with my family and open gifts and eat plenty of food, while my Haitian friends who are in the batey in the Dominican Republic, will continue on in normal fashion. I will eat more food in just two days during our holiday festivities than my DR friends will eat in a month. The amount of money spent on one another for gifts, will alone exceed the amount it would take to feed a whole batey for 6 months.

These are the struggles that many of our team members will face this week. I only pray, that this same attitude will spur us on to do things throughout the year that can help change the lives of those people and push back the darkness of injustice all throughout the world.

I also pray that we all realize that there are people, just like our Haitian friends in the batey, that surround us everyday of our lives. My prayer is that we will not be blind to the injustice and poverty that surrounds us everyday. How is your neighbor doing?