Reflections

I and several others returned home from the mission late yesterday.  I woke up early - like we did in Guatemala - and missed not jumping onto the bus and heading out to another clinic.  I hesitated briefly when I ran my toothbrush under the running water...something I hadn't been able to do for a week as the running water was not safe (only the bottled water in the jugs in the hallway of the hotel was).  My next thought as I emptied out a suitcase was "boy do I have lots of laundry to do".  That thought started to come out as a complaint but I immediately started counting my blessings.

I don't have to climb a hill to put my laundry on the line.  I'm thankful for the dryer in the basement!

I don't have to walk with  my laundry in a basket on my head to the middle of town where they would then all scrub their clothes in a community "washateria".  I am thankful for my own private washing machine and for lugging my clothes up and down stairs instead of across town.

This was a picture of the courtyard at the home where we did the house call last week.  The bathroom is the blue door to the right.  I'm thankful for real indoor plumbing.

At the same house, this is a picture of door to the kitchen and the sink where they wash their clothes and their dishes...often in the same water. 

Tonight I will not grumble about how small my kitchen is, how I don't have storage space for pots and pans or how hard it is to make dinner.  This is the scene from a fairly upscale kitchen in the back of a little store. 

I'm reminded time and time again about "wants" versus "needs" and what's really important.  Count your blessings today for all that you have.  I will be counting mine for a while and I know the students will too.