Count your blessings

There are two missionaries I am personally familiar with. One serving in a village in West Africa. She lives in a place without electricity and relies on six solar panels that give her about 600 watt enough for her refrigerator and some lighting. She has no central heating for winter or air condition for summer. No TV and no telephone. Internet access is used sparingly because she is charged by the byte used. Food supply is not consistent. Life is very simple. Despite of this, she never complain and never broadcast her hardship. All this information I received from her after meticulous questioning. I was glad I spent time talking to her and God gave me the insight to ask the right questions to get the whole picture of how her life on the mission field is like.

Another missionary I know of is serving in Singapore. The family live in an upscale, centrally located condominium where only the expatriate and top 5% locals earning local salary can afford to stay. They have air conditioning that they use daily, cable TV and broadband internet access. They also bought a personal car which is considered a luxury item for the local as only 30% of the population own a car. And through all this I've heard numerous complaints about how much they have do make do and do without. One year, they complain that they cannot afford a real tree for Christmas as it costs as much one week's grocery for the whole family. Another time, they complain about how they have to deprive their children of a horseback ride because of cost.

Count your blessings. Stop complaining. It's unchristian.