No Furniture and Meatless Chilli: What An Eye Opener

This is a very strange title, but there is a story behind it.  Today in my Spanish class  we were learning about the Dominican Republic.  My teacher was telling us about a friend that volunteered over in a remote part of the Dominican Republic.  A student asked, “Do they have furniture or do they make their own”.  Then my teacher began telling him that some might and others might just have to sleep on the floor.  That student was dumbfounded.

Then for some reason we got on the topic of chili, and my teacher was telling us that meat is such a luxury in many poor countries that  people wouldn’t  have meat in their chili.  One kid exclaimed, “How can you have chili without meat.  Then it is just a bunch of beans in tomato sauce.”  After hearing that  our teacher’s friend had to drink warm Pepsi and warm milk, everyone was shocked and  “eww and how gross” rang out.

This really got me thinking.  If we can’t even imagine having to drink warm pop and sleep on the floor, how could we even begin to understand the extent of poverty in many countries.  We are truly a blessed nation when we have meat in our chili and nice, comfy beds to sleep on.  This conversation made me think of the many blessings God has given me and the people of this country.  I have a fridge full of food, a lunch packed full of goodies, a nice, warm bed to sleep in, running water, wonderful education opportunities, clean water to drink….the list could go on forever.  It’s crazy the many things I have taken for granted.

If anyone is interested in sharing the many blessings God has given them, people consider sponsoring a child through Compassion International here.  Thirty-two dollars can change the life of a child living in poverty, and it can even change you.  Being a sponsor has certainly changed my life.

Published in: on January 5, 2009 at 11:24 pm Leave a Comment
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