6th Day of Thanks&Giving - Food

Yes, I love it. All kinds. My favorites: Mexican, Thai, Indian, and good old southern home cookin'. I think my brother and I were the only ones in elementary school that liked the fried okra - and rather than be embarrased for actually wanting to eat, I would use the ploy "dare me to eat this stuff?" Oh, and I love most things with chocolate. But before I get sidetracked, I am THANKFUL that I have enough, that I can choose what I eat, that I don't have to worry where my next meal is coming from, that my children are well nourished, that I don't have to put them to bed hungry, and that if by some small chance, I didn't have enough food - I have a huge network of support from which I could find something to eat.

Unless you've been raised in a bubble, you know that there are people all over the world (including our own country) that do not have enough food or clean water. This is just one organization that is doing a myriad of things in just one village to improve the outlook for those who live there. They are literally saving lives. Click here to be inspired and see what's happening for some of the world's poor. More on Village of Hope here.

5th Day of Thanks&Giving - Government Infrastructure

As much as people complain and fight against it, I am thankful that we have this:
And, yes, this:To protect us from this:

And this:
And this: click here for more

According to the british organization Oxfam, hundreds of thousands of Somali refugees are jammed into camps that are "barely fit for humans," with poor sanitation and little access to water and medicine. The camps are in Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia.

More than half of the Somali population—3.8 million people—need humanitarian aid, according to the United Nations.

The Dadaab complex in Kenya—the largest refugee camp in the world—is home to more than 280,000 people in an area meant to hold 90,000. Oxfam said that in the Somali town of Afgoye near the bullet-scarred capital, 485,000 people are taking shelter on a 9-mile strip of land.

The UNHCR, The UN Refugee Agency, is just one of many organizations that is providing protection and assistance to those forced to leave their homes because of violence, famine, or other causes. Read Hodan Mawlid's story here. And she is just one of millions.

4th Day of Thanks&Giving - Employment

Although at times we are cashing in our penny jar and I feel like we are scraping to get by, I am very grateful that in these economically tough times we have a job at all. By "we", "of course, I mean my husband. And although he doesn't like being gone as much as he is, I am thankful for both of his jobs. I am thankful that he likes, and sometimes loves, his job. I am thankful that he is able to work and provide for our family. I am thankful for the second family we have there. We are so blessed!

When I say "scraping by", we all know that I am not out in the trees trying to collect food for my kids, but unfortunately, there are many people around the world for whom that is a reality. I am grateful for all the organizations out there that are working to help others provide for their own well-being. The following story is from Heifer International (they do amazing things!):

For decades, the Akha tribes of northern Thailand relied on one method of survival: Constant migration throughout the region necessitated by the slash-and-burn technique of farming. Then everything changed.

New government policies included tribe members' forced settlement. It didn't take long for them to find that the only farming method they'd known quickly depleted what little land they had. The notorious dry season only made things worse, and soon the youth of the villages were leaving home to find work that too often involved prostitution and lead to drug addiction. Meanwhile, those left behind still had to eat.

Mrs. Nakha remembers that their food and income "…came only from what we found in the forest." And although it was illegal, "We were forced to collect charcoal [for cooking] in the middle of the night. We didn't even use a flashlight to guide us, only lighted matches, so that we wouldn't get caught." During the daylight hours, "We were idle and isolated ourselves from each other." Forming a village community seemed impossible.

In 1999, Heifer International's Thailand program began working with these families, teaching them how to plant kitchen gardens and care for the water buffalo, cattle, pigs and poultry Heifer provided. The villagers learned how to use biogas for their fuel. Ten neighboring villages even banded together to plant almost 50,000 trees in a one-hundred hectare area where water springs are located. Now, this new forest absorbs rain water and supplies it to the villages during the dry season.

"Today we can establish ourselves as a community," said Amui Wazu. "And Heifer has introduced us to the kitchen gardens, which have been our savior. We have vegetables year-round!" "Since Heifer International [came], we are always busy with our animals and our kitchen gardens," Mrs. Nakha added. "We do not need to go elsewhere for our food, because everything for our survival is here."

To read more Heifer success stories, click here.

3rd Day of Thanks&Giving - Education

I had one goal before I had children - to finish my bachelors degree. Whether it was fate or perfect planning on my part, I brought my oldest son, Corbin, home from the hospital the same day I received my diploma from Brigham Young University. As I had planned since the age of 14, I studied International Relations and was well on my way to saving the world. My education has not only given me a broader perspective of the world, but it has given me oppportunities to serve and grow in ways I never would have imagined. It has allowed me to travel and teach and share with others my passion for community development and poverty alleviation. It has made me a better mother and a more productive member of society. I am so thankful for education I have recieved and am so grateful that my sons will have many of those same opportunities. I hope we do not take for granted all the knowledge that is available to us.

All around the world, there are millions of children who do not have the opportunity for an education. Many do not even have a place to call home. In El Salvador, I had the chance to work at a home for street boys. I could not believe how young some of them were - and before coming to this home, they were expected to provide for and take care of themselves, literally on the streets of a large city. Many of them had been abused and that is why they chose to live this way instead of going home. Most of them had been involved with crime, drugs, violence, street gangs, or all of the above. This home helped integrate them back into society by putting them back in school, giving them vocational training, and most importantly, giving them the emotional support and confidence they needed to progress with their lives. I am so grateful to those who help make this happen and who see more in these boys than the menacing label society would put on them.

In Uganda, there is a similar organization. Though new and fairly small, they are having a profound effect on children that others have forgotten about. They are The Youth Outreach Mission. It is run by a few young men, who after completely their university studies, have decided to return home and do all they can to help the less fortunate in their communities. Volunteers of HELP International have had the opportunity to work with them for a couple years now and have had tremendous experiences. I mentioned them previously here, but that was just one small part of what they do. To see more, check out their blog here, and just remember that it is amazing that they even have an internet presence. This is true grassroots efforts making a real difference in the lives of Ugandan street children. These guys are amazing - so motivated and dedicated. They are very inspiring!

Count Your Many Blessings

I love this story of gratitude that President Eyring shared once in a talk:

When our children were very small, I started to write down a few things about what happened every day. Let me tell you how that got started. I came home late from a Church assignment. It was after dark. My father-in-law, who lived near us, surprised me as I walked toward the front door of my house. He was carrying a load of pipes over his shoulder, walking very fast and dressed in his work clothes. I knew that he had been building a system to pump water from a stream below us up to our property.

He smiled, spoke softly, and then rushed past me into the darkness to go on with his work. I took a few steps toward the house, thinking of what he was doing for us, and just as I got to the door, I heard in my mind (not in my own voice) these words: "I'm not giving you these experiences for yourself. Write them down."

I went inside. I didn't go to bed. Although I was tired, I took out some paper and began to write. And as I did, I understood the message I had heard in my mind. I was supposed to record for my children to read, someday in the future, how I had seen the hand of God blessing our family. Grandpa didn't have to do what he was doing for us. He could have had someone else do it or not have done it at all. But he was serving us, his family, in the way covenant disciples of Jesus Christ always do. I knew that was true. And so I wrote it down, so that my children could have the memory someday when they would need it.

I wrote down a few lines every day for years. I never missed a day no matter how tired I was or how early I would have to start the next day. Before I would write, I would ponder this question: "Have I seen the hand of God reaching out to touch us or our children or our family today?" As I kept at it, something began to happen. As I would cast my mind over the day, I would see evidence of what God had done for one of us that I had not recognized in the busy moments of the day. As that happened, and it happened often, I realized that trying to remember had allowed God to show me what He had done.

More than gratitude began to grow in my heart. Testimony grew. I became ever more certain that our Heavenly Father hears and answers prayers. I felt more gratitude for the softening and refining that come because of the Atonement of the Savior Jesus Christ. And I grew more confident that the Holy Ghost can bring all things to our remembrance - even things we did not notice or pay attention to when they happened.

The years have gone by. My boys are grown men. And now and then one of them will surprise me by saying, "Dad, I was reading in my copy of the journal about when . . . " and then he will tell me about how reading of what happened long ago helped him notice something God had done in his day.

My point is to urge you to find ways to recognize and remember God's kindness. It will build our testimonies. You may not keep a journal. You may not share whatever record you keep with those you love and serve. But you and they will be blessed as you remember what the Lord has done. You remember that song we sometimes sing: "Count your many blessings; name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord has done."

2nd Day of Thanks&Giving - My Boys

I am so lucky to be the mother of three awesome boys. I am thankful that they a healthy, safe, growing, learning, loved, and that they are able to just be boys! They have helped me to grow and become a better person. They make me laugh (and sometimes cry) everyday. I love teaching them and seeing them develop as people. So many times I have sat in the dark at night holding them and thinking how blessed I am to have them safe in my arms and to be able to care for them. I love my boys and I LOVE being mother!

According to Amnesty International, approximately 250,000 children are fighting in armed conflicts around the world, and hundreds of thousands more are members of armed forces that could be sent into combat at any time. Recruitment of these child soldiers starts at age 10, although younger ages have been recorded. Easily coerced, they are forced to commit grave atrocities - much of it beyond our naive comprehension.

Although some change is happening in Uganda, there are many countries in Africa and elsewhere where this is still occurring and causing many children, even those who have not been abducted or "recruited", to live in fear. I'm glad that there are people working for the rights of these child soldiers and working to help them regain their lives.

Don't forget to pause the music at the bottom.