gmfmarykuronzwi

The beginning of the year is a fantastic time to count your blessings. It is a great opportunity to just look through your life and say thank you to the Lord. If you look through the year and a lot had happened to you and others, a world of terror, hunger, attacks, sicknesses, and other things but you are there, it is unmerited favor. It is not because you were very clever or wise or you are skilled, but God’s favor.

Looking back on the past year’s blessings has once again made me realize the importance of appreciating what you have. There was a time when I had many questions about why I am having more challenges, always complaining and asking God many questions, but then I asked myself again why am I looking only on the negative side? Everything that has a negative side also has a positive side. All things work for the good, there is a great need to be appreciative of what we have and who we are. Life is not about competition but it is a self thing and being objective. Count your many blessings, name them one by one.

Be grateful for what you have now. As you begin to think about all the things in your life you are grateful for, you will be amazed at the never ending thoughts that come back to you of more things to be grateful. You have to make a start, and then the law of attraction will receive those grateful thoughts and give you more just like them. There is so much that is wrong with the society we live in. There is so much about ourselves that we wish to change. In an attempt to make ourselves better and to change our society, many times we forget to be grateful for the things we do have. We focus so much on the negative that the positive loses its place in our hearts.

No matter how you think it is, it is a gift. So many individuals don’t get a chance to make it as far as you did. Disease, poverty, famines, and droughts claim thousands of lives each year, but you were lucky. You got to live, to have food on your table, to survive, to exist and to be able to dream, to think of your future. Be grateful for your life. Think of the crazy inside jokes, the embarrassing memories, the late night phone calls and the fact that your friends always had your back. Be grateful for those priceless relationships. Not all parents are great, I agree, but they did choose to let you live and gave you life. Be grateful to your parents for their support, their encouragement, for their strength and undying love.

You’ve lived so long, you’ve come so far. You made it despite heartbreaks and pain, through disappointment and failure. Yet here you are, alive, motivated and rearing to go. Remember to be grateful to whatever is giving you the will to drag yourself out of bed and face the world. The time when you supported your friend in despair, that time you smiled for the family photo when all you wanted to do was to cry, but you didn’t. Be grateful for your strength to face your troubles and overcome your sorrows. Be it your motivation, your goals, your God, whatever, be grateful for that courage.

Mary Kuronzwi

United Methodist Church

Tallin, Estonia

GMF International, Class of 2015-2017

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It is now very long being away from home for me, living alone in a foreign context with different people and a different culture. When I first came here to Estonia, I was so scared and worried about how I would be able to adapt and survive in the new environment. Going from a warm and sometimes hot Zimbabwe to a cold Estonia was actually a very scary and shocking thing that I was afraid of, but to my surprise, I didn’t have any trouble adjusting. It just happened automatically and I don’t have an explanation for how it happened. Many people asked me how I was surviving the Estonian winter; the answer was that I enjoyed the snow.

When I started Estonian lessons, I thought that I was hearing tongues and it was so hard to listen to a new language. It even took me one month to find a phrase I always hear people saying, “ma ei tea,” meaning “I don’t know.” At first I thought it was one word and I heard it as “my dear.” I laughed at myself the day I found the phrase. Now I’m better at understanding Estonian. I can understand some things but still struggle. The beauty and good thing about living in a foreign country for such a long time as a Global Mission Fellow is that you have the opportunity to learn a new culture, new habits, new values and to build relationships with other people (though it was tough for me).

The truth is that when you have adjusted and adapted to the new environment, your work starts to be interesting. You get to challenge those norms, or in some cases, even re-evaluate your own norms and adjust to the new culture. I am surprised how integrated I became within my adopted community. I feel comfortable and a part of my local community.

I have grown very much through this experience of being a Global Mission Fellow. It is an opportunity for me to get out of the box and grow. Being away from home also helped to keep myself close to prayer. The more I think of any situation at home, the more I seek answers in God. I have learnt and am still in the process of learning to be more patient, to put my trust in God and rely on Him at times that I would have felt like losing patience and hope.

Mary Kuronzwi