GIVING THANKS AT THANKSGIVING!

We are very thankful for a COMPLETE roof over our heads!

 THANKSGIVING IS A HOLIDAY THAT IS ALL AMERICAN!!! Since we are Americans, living in Africa, we will be celebrating the holiday with the only five Americans in our little group (which we are hoping and praying will be a branch, soon).
We are very fortunate because the wonderful woman who owns the building that our chapel is located in raises turkeys and is giving us one!! We are thankful for her kindness.  She told us her Cook would have it ready on Wednesday, "...in the flesh"!  We are not sure what that means but I KNOW we will find out!!!

We are thankful for FOOD to eat!  These are the pinto beans!

We are thankful for an actual floor, not dirt! We are thankful for walls that stay up in the storms of Bujumbura!     The longer we live here, we see how very much we have taken for granted in our lives. I read a great thought that could make a big difference in many people's lives.

"Live more simply so others can live."

I was amazed to see the variety of colors and zebra-like designs!  They really are African beans!!

 When they are cooked up, they make terrific refried beans or just really delicious beans with a few onions and spices.

We are very grateful for RUNNING WATER!  This is our sink and as you can see there is a hose that hooks up a water purifying system.  The church makes sure that all missionaries have this filtered water.  We are so thankful! There are so many illnesses and deaths caused by the unfiltered water.  Such things as intestinal illnesses, like cholera and parasitic infections and a miriad of other life threatening problems occur with land water.  In Luputa, the church has saved over 240,000 lives in the past two years by having the members dig ditches and then providing pipes and water systems for many miles.  The whole story is in one of our past blogs.




I am thankful for FLOWERS and all the BEAUTIES OF THE EARTH!  I am thankful for my  Husband! HE IS WONDERFUL, TOO!                                           He walks each morning at 5:45 and after a big
 wind storm, he will pick up the beautiful flowers that have blown off and bring them home for me to enjoy!

I am thankful to have a safe, warm bed to rest my body on.  As you can see in the two photos below, there are many here without that blessing. The park on the left always has people sleep there.You can see three .    The next photo I took from our vehicle, she was there the next day, too.  The following day she was sitting up with her feet in the rain gutter with outstretched hands, pleading for help. I saw passers-by giving to help her.  May Father bless her and the many more like her.

 I  am thankful for FAMILIES.  In the proclamation on the family, it states, "The family is ordained of God.  Marriage between a man and a woman is essential to His eternal plan."

We miss our family so very much that it hurts!!!!  We realize more and more what grand and amazing individuals each of them is! We are so thankful for their many right choices and the beautiful families they have begun in the proper ways!!! Each one is cherished and loved more deeply than we thought possible.  Absence DOES make the heart grow fonder!!

 We are thankful for transportation, in many forms.  We see these large tricycles all over Bujumbura!

This man has legs that are not functional! So the chain to the trike is up on the handlebars so he uses his arms instead of his legs to power the trike. There is no motor, it is arm powered! Ingenious and such a blessing to so many!!

We are thankful for DRY, PAVED ROADS! No explanation needed!

                                   Sorry for the bad photo...we are thankful for CAMERAS, too!

We are thankful for CELL PHONES!  This is a Telephone Public as printed on the side.

We are thankful for WORK!  It is always a blessing to see people working!  There are millions here who just wait around on the streets with nothing to do!  Work is such a blessing to assist in caring for their families!

We are thankful for CLOTHING!!!  There are all kinds of styles here, with many different meanings!  I thought these were very beautiful!  In an African Stake Conference  broadcast Elder Oaks mentioned that unfortunately Africa was a more modest country than his homeland.  Sadly,  we have found that to be true, as well.

 We are thankful for GARBAGE SYSTEMS!  Here, as you can see, they make a pile of their garbage and then burn it.  Every household and business burns their own garbage!

 We are thankful for a 14 year old boy who pursued the questions of his heart and was an instrument in the hands of Father and Son to restore the gospel of Jesus Christ on the earth!

 The infinite blessing is that of our SAVIOR, who fulfilled the Plan of Salvation through his ultimate atonement for ALL mankind.  It is a blessing to have the agency to follow Him!

In this land, we are thankful that Father in Heaven sent an Apostle to bless this land and dedicate it for the establishment and spread of His gospel to His children.

We are thankful for TEARS OF JOY by those who will recieve these great blessings!

We are thankful that the Priesthood of God has been given to all of His children!

We are thankful for the ordinance of Baptism!

We are thankful for the patience of those in outlying areas who are pleading for the church to come to their village!

                     We are thankful for the blessing to be able to renew our covenants each week!

 Prayer is the miraculous blessing to communicate with our Heavenly Father and hear His answers.  We are grateful!

We are grateful to have found an inside FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETABLE MARKET with great produce and great prices!

We are thankful for the interesting ANIMAL LIFE that Father has given all of his children to enjoy.  It is a measure of His love!

We are thankful for DIFFERENT CULTURES that we can learn about, enjoy and appreciate!!

We are thankful for the one-on-one teaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ by all of the many missionaries all over the world (including our own son), that carry the spirit of the Savior's love into the lives of  seeking, listening hearts.

              We are thankful for the eight fine young missionaries that serve with us here in Bujumbura!!

We are thankful for Sister and President Packer as our Mission President and for the Jamesons and the amazing individuals that each of them are.  We appreciate their fine leadership, testimonies and counsel....and it helps alot that they like to have FUN, too!

 We are thankful to be able to GIVE to those who are hungry!  Everywhere that we go, people are in need.  This little boy came begging, telling us he was hungry.  We made a deal with him...if he would let us take his photo, we would give him some money!   He liked that idea and we liked the idea of helping him eat!...................His shirt really told the truth!!!  He IS an "original, vintage, greatest quality"....Because He IS A CHILD of GOD!!!                                                                           

 May we not take for granted ALL that we are blessed with...........................................and may we remember to "live simply so others can live!"