the chase: Blessing and Being Blessed

The community and culture I am living in right now is very unique. The culture is rich and full of giving, loving, laughter and life but fiscally the people are very poor. The village I live in is small and most of the families live off of their land [milk from cows, eggs, vegetables from their garden, etc] although some have jobs in the city very few have cars or a way into the city. Some make money by doing odd jobs like cutting wood for the winter, etc. Even in those living in the city the income is minimal.

Yet despite this lack of financial wealth, I see the life here as rich and full. At least in the church community, but even outside the church fence the people are generous and giving. Neighbors bring grapes, fresh bread, tomatoes, eggs, milk and other prepared dishes for us, friends invite us in and share their coffee and goodies.

This weekend I was able to see this givingness in full. [yes I made up the word givingness] The Romanians celebrate Thanksgiving, they have somehow adapted our holiday into a version of their own. Their thanksgiving may be 2 months earlier than ours and not of course for the same reason, it still involves food and being thankful. Although the tradition is drastically different. The church brings in food, but not to stuff themselves to the point of pain {like so many Americans, often including myself, do} but they place it on a table and then the church distributes the flour, oil, sugar, vegetables, pasta, etc to the needy and the less fortunate. When I saw this, it was like a slap in the face. Look at this table and tell me who has the better Thanksgiving.

[and this table was double in size and I'm pretty sure there was stuff stacked behind it]

So. In saying all this, I am not trying to guilt trip anyone, or make us feel bad. I am simply laying down the facts. It is just amazing to see people who make less money, live in smaller houses, etc are giving to those who a less fortunate. But you know what, its not even about the money. Because even for Americans times are rough. Its about sharing the blessings that we have been given from our Lord. Instead of taking, spending, and consuming we need to be giving, sharing, and loving. But at the same time thanking God for blessing us immensely with life, shelter, food and most of all a saviour.

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On a lighter but similar note

I just want to preface this. God is amazing. Enough said.
But expanding on that let me just say how blessed I am by Him and through most of you. The support for this trip has been a blessing. For starters I have had plenty to make my budget and live off of for all these months. God provides and he is still providing. Canoe Creek Christian Church gave a special gift before I left and I have saved most of it. Now I am able to bless this community because of them.

The church that I am most involved in, is also my place of residence and work. There is a kindergarten [like Pre-K, see post below] that the church provides for the community. It is independently funded but the church for this village. The property that the church sits on is a nice size and is fenced in. The fence was never properly painted or sealed so over the years rain and snow has taken its toll. So I have used a portion of the money to help buy paint and supplies for painting the fence and repairing the parts that needed it, as well as some other odds and ends to help fix up the property. We collected an offering also to go towards this. Then the church family came out to repair and help paint!! Its been quite eventful around here this last week. We've had lost of mouths to cook for and plenty coffee to serve to those helping! Here are some pictures of the painters!!