Does what we are doing here, matter?
No doubt, every one of us has asked this question of ourselves, at some point during this trip. But it only takes a day like today to remind us why our host organization is such a major part of abba’s work in this village.
Today, we were part of something called the PProject. It’s a chance to support a local family in the village with practical help. Today we visited "Mary". Her great grandparents were born in the 2-room house she invited us into. The house was simple: a bed, a chair, and a counter for cooking food. Mary’s husband died last year and, for the last 5 years, our host has subsidized her income. She makes 3000 rmb a year ($500 CAN). She works 8 hours a day, 6 days a week. picking garbage up off the streets. She was VERY hospitable and answered many of our questions about her daily life. We were very grateful. Today we brought food and cash that will help sustain and encourage her as she lives this new life without the income of her husband and a son who lives far away and only can visit on the weekends to take care of her.
We also had the opportunity to visit a very cool outdoor market, which hosted EVERY kind of organic food (plant and animal, spice, and handmade accessory) you could imagine. It was crowded, and VERY popular with the local people. What a privilege to visit such an amazing place and see what farmers do to make a living. MUCH respect…for all farmers….it seems like such hard work. The world needs farmers....without them, there's no dinner, folks.
As our trip comes to a close, we are beginning to ask the question…”having seen what we’ve seen….how then shall we live?” Please think of us as we ask this question. Tomorrow we’ll be leaving our host and traveling through the weekend, meeting up with some GC friends, and then….coming home.
We love you…AND MISS YOU!
Looking forward to sharing many more stories.
Please keep us in your thoughts regarding:
-processing our trip together
-traveling safety
-finishing strong at our host
-abba’s protection of our team
Love you,
CST11
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