Congo DR!

Marc's parents are serving a mission in Congo! It has been quite entertaining to read their adventures, on my mother in law's blog.

Some of her posts reminded me of my childhood and the poverty we faced and lived. Somehow I cannot remember ever lacking anything or maybe never felt like we lacked anything. Looking back, I can honestly say that I had the best childhood a child could ever dream of. We were always busy playing, and entertaining ourselves with rocks, puddles, mud, twigs, and really, anything we could find a use for. We were never bored. With cousins living in the same house, and in the same neighborhood, we always had someone to play with. Life was simpler back then. Material possessions or the lack of, was not a big deal. We used a garden hose to shower, and buckets, and pots were used as a way to scoop out water for our nightly shower. We were always clean, even if sometimes, we could wave goodnight to the swimming eels from the ditch near by, while showering. We never went hungry, even if sometimes we ate the simplest, cheapest  food you could find in your store shelves. We lived in a less than average, quite unexceptional house where, if you weren't careful enough, your feet could sink in the few holes that our humble wooden flooring, not hardwood floor, hid. In some ways though, we were richer than the Congolese people my In laws are serving but poorer than the average people here. Life was great back then. Cousins were siblings, and siblings were best of friends. It still is true today. Thinking of my childhood is still one of my favorite thing to reminisce about. It brings joy, laughter, great memories, and a good reminder to humble myself and feel gratitude for all that I have today. Our circumstances do not always make us, but they always somehow seem to teach us a thing or two.