Happy 4th of July

(I meant to write this sooner, but the computer has been down :-)

Except for the two 4th of Julys when I had to work, I've never not be home for the 4th.  It's always been a day spent with my family, and always at home in Victorian Square.  It was strange for me to think that not only would I not be with my family for the 4th, but I wouldn't even be in the country.

I decided to share 4th of July with some of the people here.  So I cooked hamburgers, potato salad, and we made root beer (which they call iron brew) floats.  It was great fun!  They kept saying "Wow, we are eating like Americans now!" (A couple also commented that they understand why Americans struggle with obesity lol.)  None of them had heard the Star Spangled-Banner, and after attempting to sing it for them, I played Whitney Huston's version from the Super Bowl.  It was beautiful.  I'll admit I got a little emotional.

I've never been out of the US for this long, and this experience has taught me to appreciate being an American in a new way.  I love the life here in Botswana: there is a great simplicity.  Not because of poverty, but because of appreciation.  The people here appreciate what they have, whether it is a lot or a little.  They aren't always clamoring for the next and best.  Just last night, a young man asked me about Thanksgiving and what the holiday is for.  I explained it and he thought it was beautiful.  He asked me if it has been commercialized, and unfortunately I had to say yes.  We follow our day of giving thanks for what we have by spending all night in line at the store (and even trampling people) to buy electronics and clothes and God knows what else on Black Friday.  I felt a little saddened.  Don't misunderstand; people certainly want possessions. But they are detached from them. 

More than appreciating what they have, I've noticed that the Batswana also have different priorities than many do in the US.  Family is their most important commodity.  I think many of us in the US (myself included) judge our lives by what we have.  We always have to have just a little more, and then we'll be happy.  But we aren't, are we?  We buy one more thing, and then three more things, and then ten more things, and yet we're still just one more thing away from achieving that happiness we want so much.  The Batswana find their happiness in their loved ones.  When the people speak of their blessings, it is always their families and friends...not their things. 

This experience of getting to come to Botswana has taught me to appreciate the blessing of my family.  I know I can be a pain and that they can drive me crazy, but I have realized what a blessing each one of them is and how much I love them.  Thank you Mom, Dad, Leslie, Auntie Linda and all my family.  I've taken you for granted, and Botswana has helped me see that.  I hope that isn't the case when I return.

The reading for Morning Prayer on the 4th came from the book of Tobit.  It said this:

Do to no one what you yourself dislike.  Give to the hungry some of your bread, and to the naked some of your clothing.  Seek counsel from every wise man.  At all times bless the Lord God, and ask him to make all your paths straight and to grant success to all your endeavors and plans.

Somehow, I thought this was apt for the 4th of July.  A lot of people here pay attention to what is happening in the US.  They ask me about the healthcare bill.  They ask me about entertainers.  They ask me about the Church.  They know what is happening in the US.  Let us pray that the US be an example and instrument of goodness in the world.  Let us also pray that we have the wisdom as Americans to not believe we are perfect.  There is a great deal for us to do in our great country.  I long for the day that I see the same expression of bewilderment on American children's faces when they hear about homelessness as I saw here in Botswana two days ago (because like Fr. Sylvester, the Batswana youth didn't know what homelessness was). 

We're always asking God to bless America.  Today, I also ask God to bless all nations.  Today I offer this song as my prayer:

This is My Song by Lloyd Stone

This is my song, Oh God of all the nations,

A song of peace for lands afar and mine.

This is my home, the country where my heart is;

Here are my hopes, my dreams, my sacred shrine.

But other hearts in other lands are beating,

With hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.

My country’s skies are bluer than the ocean,

And sunlight beams on cloverleaf and pine.

But other lands have sunlight too and clover,

And skies are everywhere as blue as mine.

Oh hear my song, oh God of all the nations,

A song of peace for their land and for mine.



  So May It Be.