Would I Have Been Smiling?

I haven’t done well at keeping up with our blog. We’ve been so busy that I can’t seem to keep my head above water. Speaking of water, this past week we went to do a Bible study in one of our new areas, but when we arrived in the small town of Sinazeze, so did the rains. We sat in front of one of the shops in town and waited out the storm, wondering if we would have Bible study.

After the rain slowed down we went to see if the people wanted to meet. We entered the village of the old man who keeps the Bible study going—he’s probably in his 70s. He is the cutest little old man. He loves to dance and sing and his toothless smile just grabs your heart.

When we drove up to the village, we noticed that the young men of the village had taken cover in the kitchen hut--a somewhat open area with a thatched roof. As we looked to the left, there was the little old man crouching down in the doorway of his hut. Why didn’t we have our camera? His small hut was up on stilts and looked more like a chicken coop. The doorway was only about half the size of a normal doorway, but there he was grinning from ear to ear, trying to keep dry.

I turned to Wes and asked, “Is that his hut?” Sure enough, it was. I felt so sad for the little man, yet he didn’t seem to be unhappy, he was just glad to be dry.

If that was me, would I have been smiling? I doubt it! I’m spoiled. I have a big house, tiled floors, nice furniture, a good roof to keep me dry, and many luxuries of life. This little man lives in a house made of mud and sticks, and yet he is still able to smile.