Thank you

I feel like there is so much to be thankful for. My mum and I used to love watching this REALLY cheesy film called Pollyanna. Pollyanna is a little girl who says that there is always something to be glad about! She has an amazing ability to be able to look on the bright side of things and find something to smile about. Initially, many people find Pollyanna annoying but it begins to have a positive affect on those people and they start to smile and be thankful.

I am thankful for what I have. Today I found out how many people read my blog. I am actually pleased that more than just my mum and one other person actually read it!

I am thankful that:

-       I had a really good education in England, for free. Yesterday was “Dia del Niño” (Day of the child) Statistics show that 11% of children here are malnourished and 8% work. Wow! This really shocked me. Children shouldn’t have to work. They should be enjoying their child hood and be in school, learning skills they will need later in life.

-       I can Skype friends and family. If you don’t yet have Skype, download it, for FREE!

-       I am now able to write a story in Spanish

-       We have a God who is with us all the time. The beautiful mountains that I see every day are amazing, however today was really cloudy and I couldn’t see them at all. This didn’t mean that they weren’t there. Same with God. I might not be always be able to feel that God is close, but I have faith and I do know that he is with me.

-       I have friends here in Ecuador

-       I can laugh at spelling mistakes on English clothing here. Favourites include “snnoppy” for “Snoopy”, “Buss” on the front of a Bus and “Mike” for “Nike”

One of the reasons I am writing this is because it is completely the opposite of what I wanted to write. I wanted to rant about things I find difficult, people I miss and frustrations when I have a difficult Spanish lesson. However, I know that there are times in life which are good and easy and other times which are really tough, like a cloudy day when the sun doesn’t shine. When I went through a really difficult time where I couldn’t find anything to smile about, I made a thankful poster. Each day I had to write one thing I was thankful for. One particularly difficult day I just couldn’t find anything that I was thankful for. All I could bring myself to write was “apples!” Sounds silly but it was the beginning of a turning point.

“Everyone has something to be glad about.” (Pollyanna)