Cindy learning to appreciate

Dinner with Vernon at "the house."

One Sunday evening before we left we all organized and cooked a dinner for Vernon. It was probably the best dinner we’ve ever had at the house. That day Vernon arrived about an hour earlier than we expected so while some people finished up cooking a few of us sat and chatted with him in the living room. He shared some funny stories with us and told us about some of his experiences when he went to NYC for the first time.  Then dinner was ready we set it up in the dinning room “buffet style” and we had chicken, spaghetti, mashed potatoes, corn, sautéed peppers, beef and vegetable samosas, baked potatoes, shrimp, garlic bread, and salad. We literally had a feast and everything came out amazing! We all got our food and before we sat and ate we stood holding hands and prayed. Deborah led the prayer, it was such a nice custom that we decided to adopt. It’s important to give thanks and pray because we have to show how thankful we are for everything we have. We tend to take things for granted, but while being in SA it opened my eyes to how privileged I am. I have always had a roof over my head; I’ve always had the best education/a school to go to, I’ve always had a warm meal waiting on the table, and I’ve had some money to buy whatever else it was that I wanted (not needed). While there are many people in SA who don’t even have the essentials this definitely proved to me that I am fortunate, after so many years of thinking the opposite. If there is one thing that I can take away from this it is that I should appreciate everything I have and be grateful because there are so many people who could only wish for some of these things.