Thanksgiving

Several people were concerned that I might miss out on Thanksgiving, or at least on turkey.  To be honest, I can do without the turkey, but I did not have to do without either.  As it turns out, there are a  number of Americans in Kumbo for various reasons, and we had a gathering for Thanksgiving, complete with football.  As at home, it is easy to be thankful in Shisong, so I thought I would take a cue from Eric Horne’s blog and include some of the things for which I am thankful.

The Tertiary Sisters of St. Francis:  I am grateful for their spirituality, hospitality, and generosity.  In the face of many challenges, they support hospitals in a poor region of the world that provide dignified and professional medical and nursing care.  They also work with volunteers and missions from many cultures and witness great love to all of us, as well as allow us to witness to them.

The Hornes: It has been wonderful to have people from my own culture with whom to share and process, as well as spend some time with.  I am grateful for their generosity and their witness, not to mention sharing their home and food!  Their blog is here: http://hornefamilymission.blogspot.com.

My supportive department and department chair.  I am blessed to have both a department and a mission willing to work on creative solutions.

Friends and family, both at home and in Cameroon, including Mission Doctors Association and especially my dad, for whom this venture is very challenging and who is going out of his way to be prayerful and supportive. 

Running water, a water heater, and the people who cook for me at the hospital canteen.  Every time I go out walking I see people carrying water for their homes, carrying firewood, or carrying materials for their farm.  This way of living is difficult and time-consuming, yet carried out with joy and gratitude.  It is a constant lesson to me.

Religious freedom.  There are many Muslims and Christians here that live peacefully and as good neighbors.  Worldwide, many Christians and Christian missionaries live with great difficulty and persecution in worship and in living their faith.

There are two teams at St. Elizabeth’s from Belgium.  I will write about them soon.