Thanksgiving in Liberia

Happy Belated Thanksgiving to all of you! I really hope that you were all able to take a step back and look at all the Blessings that God has showered on you. Every day I realize how blessed I am, with not only what He has given me, but where He chose for me to grow up. There are days when I am riding a motorbike up country, on the way to our projects. As I pass the mud huts that hug the dirt road, I see a woman my age, pounding rice in a mortor in order to feed her family that night. I think about how if God had chosen me to grow up here, instead of with my family in Iowa, how drastically different life would be. Would I know what a healthy, loving marriage looks like? Would I have been one of the very lucky girls to actually go to school? Would I ever leave my home village or have any idea what kind of amazing world God has created for me to live in? Would I even be alive after growing up in a malaria infested country? Would I be a Christian?

Often these thoughts bring some guilt- just knowing that I grew up in a completely safe and wealthy environment, where I was able to be a kid, not having to haul water on my head every day in order to survive. Guilt for all that I have been blessed with. But at the same time, I have learned that God places us all where we can be used for Him best. He has a plan for all of us.

I'm thankful for where God placed me in this world. I'm thankful for this amazing job that allows me to experience so much more of His world and His people, and to be a part of his growing and expanding Kingdom.

I will admit, it was tough to be away from family this year at Thanksgiving, but at the same time, I know that I am where I need to be. And I am thankful for that.