Gratitude

Andrew sent the following to Lizzie as part of his letter to her this week:

"This thanksgiving season I express gratitude for the things that are most important to me: my six F's:
Faith, Family, Fitness, Freedom, Finances & Friends.

• If you have food in your fridge, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep you are richer than 75% of the world.
• If you have money in the bank, your wallet, and some spare change you are among the top 8% of the worlds wealthy.
• If you woke up this morning with more health than illness you are more blessed than the million people who will not survive this week.
• If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the agony of imprisonment or torture, or the horrible pangs of starvation you are luckier than 500 million people alive and suffering.
• If you can read this message you are more fortunate than 3 billion people in the world who cannot read it at all."

This was Lizzie's reply:

After this email, I just started to cry because of that statement -- one that I have heard so many times before -- but it means something different now living here. The first, "If you have food in your fridge,"...because of the expense of electricity no one HAS fridges here, so of course there is no food in them...They have more like wooden dressers that they keep their food in (if they have food). "Clothes on your back"...oh the sweet people here! They will wear their clothes until they are rags...and they will wear rags until they are nothing more than a patch of fabric with rips and tears. I know I will hate looking at my closet of clothes when I come back! And lastly "A roof over your head"...I can't remember if I told you, or sent it in a weekly letter home, but I had an investigator whose roof was help up by two crutches dug into the ground. And this thanksgiving I have never had so much to be thankful for in my life. My greatest blessing is you Dad. Thank you so much for being the head of our house. Every single prayer I say, I always thank for my family...and I ALWAYS start with the head of our house, you Dad. So thank you thank you. I sure love you.

Always and Forever,
Sister Liz