Showers of blessing,
Showers of blessing we need;
Mercy drops ‘round us are falling,
But for the showers we plead.

We discovered the English version of this beautiful hymn during the fundraising stage of our project, and we made it our prayer. Those were some intense, emotional and sometimes difficult times. We enjoyed the mercy drops, but we ended up showered head to toe and walked to the field dripping in the unbelievable blessings of God.
After we launched, we knew we had to make our gratitude intentional. The culture shock was almost unbearable, and being thankful did not happen naturally. If you had been able to eavesdrop through our walls every Sabbath, you would have heard a certain song on repeat. It is interesting how the way we sing reflects the needs of our hearts. That was the “Count your blessings” stage.

Count your blessings,
Name them one by one,
Count your many blessings,
See what God has done!

We took the song literally, and that is how the gratitude jar appeared on our shelf. We decided to start a new family tradition — to write each great blessing on a piece of paper, date it and put it in the jar. Then, we would open it on Thanksgiving and count the blessings for the whole year. It was not always easy to find something worthy of the jar, but when we finally got to open it, it was emotional. It was evident that God had so incredibly blessed us as we worked with Him for His people in Georgia! So we agreed to start a new jar, and by the looks of it, we will have a lot more blessings to count and recount this Thanksgiving.
Now we are slowly making the transition to a new song.

Make me a blessing, make me a blessing,
Out of my life may Jesus shine;
Make me a blessing, O, Savior I pray,
Make me a blessing to someone today.

It is our prayer right now that when we open that jar once again next Thanksgiving, we will find it packed with blessings shared as well as received. It is time for the “Make me a blessing” stage. As we explore ways to do that and seek to discover the needs around us, will you join us in this sincere prayer for the people of Georgia?

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