As our American holiday of Thanksgiving draws closer, I think I will write a few articles about the things which I am thankful for. There is so much but I will attempt to hit on a few of the areas which come to my mind as the Lord leads.
I will start with “technology.” Isn’t it amazing how I can sit here in Brno, CZ and even write this little message to you and make it available in an instant to the whole world? The Internet has certainly changed our lives. Of course, we know that there are some dark parts of it’s underbelly but for now, let’s just enjoy it’s positive uses.
I recall my first trip abroad in 2001 when our team of volunteer missionaries were standing on a dark street corner in Bucharest, Romania with our fingers crossed… just hoping to be able to place an International phone call from a little phone booth. In those days, it was hit and miss… miss most of the time. The infrastructure of the country was still evolving and you were lucky to make a simple phone call back home and most places did not have reliable Internet service. Things have changed drastically in the last 10 years! Now we have missionaries rambling around in remote villages with wireless Internet connections and connectivity which is pretty amazing.
For me in my present circumstances, I am very grateful that we have a nice stable Internet connection which allows us to use Skype to talk to our children and when needed, even call land lines and cell phones back in the states to do things which are necessary. Then there is facebook. This is truly a blessing… even though we are 1000’s of miles away from our home and loved ones, we have a pretty good sense of what is going on in the lives of our friends back there. They too, use this tool to keep up with our ministry endeavors. Amazing. Well, in reality… there is nothing like face to face conversation or the big hug from a person you love, but modern technology helps a lot to stay connected. For this, I give thanks.
