Well, in order to start blogging and blogging well, I’ve decided to change the theme of my blog to represent something that I really do enjoy…. Books! Currently in our home, we have a 10 feet tall bookshelf full of books: novels, theology, school books, education, classics, etc. It is really nice having all of these books and then having a Kindle or two so that we are able to get new books whenever we want. Just today Michal downloaded on the Kindle “The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner’s Dilemma. She has really gotten into these books and is on the third in the series.
Thinking about these books makes me think of a new village where I am working. In the village of Broukou, a Peace Corps volunteer is helping to build a library for the school there. While I was visiting the other day my guide/friend asked if we had any books to donate. I replied I was not sure if I had anything in French. He said that didn’t matter but asked if we could at least donate a few Bibles in French for them. I guess I will have to bring some to the dedication.
You know, they say that it is good work to be able to work with your hands. This always seems to have some kind of manual labor connotation. Today, I put together my grandfathers old Craftsman table saw. It is really an heirloom in our family. My grandfather had it for years since he was a farmer and also worked for a furniture company. He handed it down to my dad who worked with it for years. My dad built his construction company over a period of 25 years using this table saw. He handed it down to me a few years ago and now it has found it’s way to Africa. Now, for my parents who are struggling to get by during the current economic crisis it is amazing to me that something like a table saw could represent our family’s struggle over the years to get by and just to make ends meet. I think that during this time in our lives as we live and work in a place where so many struggle against the current economic environment, whether it is good or bad globally, it is a good reminder that so many of us need to value the people and the things that are made by people’s hard work and sweat. I’m sure that I don’t work as hard as the Africans with whom I work. Somedays I feel like I don’t really work hard at all. And I would definitely say that I’ve never built a business like my father did. Now, as I look at our old table saw, realizing that it is more than 69 years old (older than my father) I would never consider replacing it because of the inherent value that it has for our family. It will always be the best table saw money can buy.
getting over there... 