Giving Thanks

As we are in the month of giving thanks, it is very appropriate for us  to pause and and identify things we are thankful for. The blessing of being on the mission field is that we become more attuned to the things we used to take for granted. We did a family visit this week to identify families in need of a house that would be built by a team. We visited three different families each having very unique situations. The last family we visited, we only had a name, and no directions to where they lived. This did not deter us as we ask around until we were able to locate this family.When we found this family of four, husband, wife, 2 & 5 year old little boys, they were living in a three sided tin shack with a dirt floor. The structure they slept in only had 3 walls, it provided very little shelter from the cold and elements. They had one bed that did not have what we would call a mattress. They shared electricity with a neighbor to power the single light bulb hanging from the ceiling. The father did not have a steady job. When he was able to find work in the fields he might be able to earn 800Q ($100.00) for a month. The most amazing thing about this family was their contentment, and the mans determination. The father had been working to prepare his property to build a house. He knew he would only be able to buy a small amount of materials very occasionally when he had money come in, but he wanted to do this for his family, no matter how long it took. A sense of joy overcame him when we told him that his family was receiving a blessing from God and that a team was coming to build his family a house!

How many things like water,and electric do we take for granted, and how does our world come crushing down when the internet is down? Yes we have given up many of the frills of living in the U.S. to be here in Guatemala, but we do get to see just how much we are blessed. We send a huge thank you! to those who support us and to those who are praying for us.