I want to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving. Maybe this year, you haven’t made as money as you would like. With our economy, many people have had a tough time, but I want to encourage you during this Thanksgiving season.  Maybe like me, you have wished at times, that things were a little different here in America. Nevertheless, I still believe we still live in the greatest nation in the world. You and I have a lot to be thankful for. We still have a great opportunity to go out and be innovated and make money. We still have the rights to own property and make decisions and pursue education. We still have the freedom to worship through the religion we choose.

As we celebrate Thanksgiving, I want to invite you to think about the words of Abraham Lincoln.  Hundreds of thousands of Americans had died during a horrible civil war, but he encouraged the American people to set apart a day to be thankful. Here’s what he wrote in proclaiming a day of thanks:

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Two weeks ago, my son and I watched the reports on CNN concerning Somalia together. Afterwards, we had dinner and my eight year old prayed for the children who don’t have food and gave thanks for his own food. This is pretty normal in our house, so that isn’t the part I remember many days later. What I remember is his question during dinner moreso than the prayer before we ate.

 

“Dad, why is all the news about America, when there are so many other people and so many other countries in the world?”

He’s got a point. Why are we at the center of the world? And if we’re not, then why do we act like we are? Now, don’t misunderstand me, this isn’t a rant that smacks of being unpatriotic or hyper critical of the U.

Republicans seem to have no cohesive narrative and this seems obvious. Democrats are losing their cohesive narrative and again, this is almost a no-brainer. To anyone who is watching the news or paying attention to the rhetoric floating over the internet and across television screens, it’s rather difficult to understand what narrative thread will actually unify our country. Let me suggest that it’s because the new narrative thread isn’t one of unity, but one of division.

We must pause, though, prior to jumping into the 21^st century to consider the unifying narratives that have characterized our country and in fact, these narratives have come to form the core values of the United States. We pause to review the overarching stories, not for nostalgia’s sake, but because in a real sense, we’re in danger of losing them.

As I was leaving our Hope Center celebration, the moon was full behind a high palm tree and someone was blasting a Spanish version of "I Just Called to Say I Love You". It had been one of those perfect moments you can't plan:  smiling community leaders, weeping volunteers, chocolate faced kids, a full moon, and pretend Stevie Wonder. These are the moments I live for. If I believed in the stars aligning it would be the alignment of stars. But I don't. I believe in grace. I believe in power.

I believe in the power of the grace of Christ to align the hearts of a Newport Beach debutante, an Oregon country girl, an ex-Mexican political campaigner, a handful of housewives, and college students and cocky teenage Mexican Americans. Only Jesus could bring this group together.  And He did. 

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Someone needs to help dictatorships get up to speed. The past few weeks, we have had more than the normal flow of rhetoric pouring out of official media outlets. Between Iran and North Korea, the bombastic statements have been flying like ill-fated missile tests.

And I have to wonder: What are they thinking? How is it that a country like Iran, which is developing nuclear technology, doesn’t get Twitter? As Daniel Henninger wrote in last week’s Wall Street Journal, “Web 2.0 has become a metaphor. The communications technologies are important-cell phones, social networks, messaging protocols-but its more interesting attribute is that it enhances the role, and power, of individuals.”

Those in power may be convinced that they are in still in control, believing governments can function in a pre-2.0 world. Neda Agha-Soltan’s tragic death in Iran this week, captured by amateur video and broadcast via Youtube, provided vivid proof of the brutality of the Islamic regime killing for control. Viewed by thousands a few days after being posted, Iran simply made up a ridiculous story.

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I had an interesting day this past Tuesday. My husband and I had an appointment with US Citizenship and Immigration Services (UNCIS). We were being interviewed by an officer who would determine if A. our relationship was bonafide and B. if my husband had a legitimate case to become a permanent resident. As we sat and waited for close to 3 hours in the pale waiting room, I kept occupied wondering about the other 100 or so people waiting next to us.

It appeared as if all 4 corners of the Earth were represented in that room. What were their stories? I watched a woman from India with her two young children and I wondered if she was there thinking of their future. There were mothers and fathers with infants. Couples like my husband Martial and I. Some people had well dressed lawyers with them and others had translators. I’m certain everyone there had a story to be told.

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Note: The following is written by a beneficiary of the HtW scholarship program that sends exceptional students to university in America, the following text was written upon HtW's request to describe what have been some of the particularities to studying abroad.

- HtW staff

Countries are not the same. All countries have their particularities. You can know that even if you do not travel, but you can experience even more if you do travel. That is what I am experiencing now as new resident of United States of America. I am originally from Mali and am for the first time out of my native country. Since I have been in the USA it has been like I am living in a new world. Certainly it is a new world because all things are novel and different from how it used to be for me. However, my adjustment to this newness has not been as difficult as it would be for certain people, not sure why, just the way I was built I suppose.

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