I know I'm a day early, but I wanted to wish everyone at USA Carry a happy Thanksgiving. As for what I have to be thankful for, first and foremost, I'm thankful that God loves me. I'm thankful to be living in the greatest country in the history of mankind. I'm thankful to be alive. I'm thankful for my family. I'm thankful that, despite the economy, I have a job and a place to lay my head down at night. Most of all, I'm thankful for my freedom.
What are you guys thankful for?
Ditto that, and my family, friends, capitalism, and the right of private citizens to own guns. I heard recently they're confiscating BB guns in China. That's an overbearing government for you.
I'm currently working with a very good ministry organization,
World Relief, that helps to resettle refugees. The aim is to get them functional in English, get them into ESOL and get them set up with a job and housing. The government sends them from trouble spots that have seen lots of conflict, and they generally arrive with few possessions and are a little disoriented. I'm handling one individual who is a special case - he's a 48-year old male from Burundi (that's south of Rwanda) and he spent the better part of his life in a refugee camp. Not the posh kind with solid walls like in
Nahr al-Bared, but more like a mudhole tent city, with warlord henchmen roaming around.
This man speaks no English whatsoever. Although intelligent, he's illiterate in his own language,
Kirundi, and translators are difficult to come by. He just never had the chance to learn how to write, because he was too busy trying to survive. He has a family and has been here for a little while, but has not been able to learn English because he does not have one-on-one instruction - and thus, despite his best efforts, has little potential to hold down a job.
He is eager to learn, and I began teaching him how to write letters correctly on Monday. I'm visiting his home for the first time tomorrow afternoon and I'm sure it will be an experience. Just hearing his story from others and seeing the way he does things makes me realize that although I only consider myself to be about average in terms of income, the amount that I take for granted is just ridiculous.
This type of thing is a great reality check IMO. We all know people (and we probably do this ourselves) who get irritated about not getting the car they want, or not being able to go somewhere on vacation, etc. Actually, that's a very petty concern - a lot like a billionaire being devastated that their Global Express didn't come with leather seats. The fact that we can realistically want
anything is a blessing.
Oh yes, and...
HAPPY THANKSGIVING! :smile:
