Day 8:
We may look at the door to a car or truck and think nothing of it, but imagine being in your mid-40's and never having opened a car door..... that is the reality of most of our staff at PeaceCYCLE. Entering a private car is rare. Knowing how to pull up the handle to open the door is complicated and even somewhat stressful. Never before have they worn a seat-belt, and the experience of air-conditioning is like a world of its own! At PeaceCYCLE, on several occasions, we have borrowed a car and taken the staff on excursions, and the ride in the car is half of the adventure!

The common transportation method is walking or tap tap (seen here). People sit in the back of an old, rusty (but sometimes painted elaborately), small pick up on precarious benches facing one another. They often squeeze in many more people standing in the center or hanging off of the back. There is no door to enter nor exit, as you simply step onto the back to get in and out. The tap taps run up and down various roads, and thus a person may require many series of rides to arrive at their destination, getting off and then on another hot and sweaty crammed tap tap, paying out yet another portion of their minimal resources.
​
Today's Challenge: As we spend the month of December opening doors, we challenge you today to pause as you open your car door today. As you get in, and as you get out, take a moment to think about how automatic it is – how you have done this for a lifetime, and how it requires no thought. Think about the door and the safety it provides for protection but also the lock that can keep things secure within the car. If you have automatic doors that open by the push of a button, revel in that amazing technology for a moment. Watch that sliding door glide open without any physical effort and be impressed.

Consider your transportation in general. Do you drive? Ride a bus? Ride bike? Walk? Consider the ease of these modes of transit and the regularity, timeliness, and cleanliness of them. Think about how safe you are when you are in a car, wearing a seat-belt, driving on roads where laws are enforced. Consider how bike lanes, stop lights, and traffic obedience creates a flow and general safety. Think about the road crews that fill in pot-holes before they become large enough to engulf your car, consider the crossing guards that help children after school, ponder for a moment the street sweeper machines and those who operate them and how that keeps the road open for travel.
​
​So often we take things for granted. Today' we encourage you to be thankful for transportation!


​

Day 5:

Yesterday we visited Angelor's house. Just outside that door, his sister was doing laundry, and climbing up to the roof to hang it to dry.  Today we invite you to enter the "door" to the "laundry room" at Angelor's home.  Climb on up the ladder, with your arms full of laundry.  Then hang it carefully over the edges of the roof and on some old electrical wires.  Now pray that it doesn't rain..... then go up and do it all in reverse!  (This is after hand washing each item...... after walking 1/4 mile to get the water to hand wash each item).

Today's Challenge:  Do a load of laundry today.  Instead of doing so begrudgingly, stand in awe in your laundry room.  Imagine how miraculous it is that a machine agitates for a half hour and your clothes magically come out clean!  Put them in the dryer or allow them to air dry.  Consider how simple this process is as you plop your clothes from one machine to the next.  Just pause for a moment in appreciation for technology and access to it that allows your schedule to have minimal time devoted to washing and thus free you to do other things.  When you are folding the laundry, be thankful for fluffy towels, sports clothes, dress clothes, sleeping clothes, socks without holes, and underwear that fits.  

Day 3:

Meet Madam St. Ang. She is actually the original seamstress for the original plastic recycled bag long before PeaceCYCLE began. It was just a few of us collecting trash and trying something out.... .and she did the first experiment with us.

She only recently got a door. This was one of the big improvements she has made since her employment with PeaceCYCLE. She has a door with a lock, and a new tin roof. You can see that this became a photo shoot for the whole family. Madam Saint Ang's children are older, but she also raises several grandchildren.

Recently the quality of her sewing seemed to be going down. We had a discussion that she could not continue employment if she did not keep up good quality (often we see staff wanting to accomplish more and doing things quickly, but not paying attention to quality). Over time, we discovered that the poor quality was more due to her eyesight than her attention to detail.

We got her some reading glasses (of which she is very proud) but it is all a guess as to what is helping her vision. In addition, she was trying to sew when it is dusk, under the tin roof of her home. Poor lighting paired with vision struggles had made her attention to detail difficult. A solar lamp and a pair of reading glasses has helped.

Today's Challenge: This evening, take note of the time in which it becomes dusk. Realize how early that is and as you continue to be productive, be mindful of the lights in your house, and how much they empower you to study, read, learn, feel safe, communicate, socialize, and continue to develop as a person after that early evening sunset.
​
​In addition, when you are reading, working, or relaxing, be cognizant of your vision. If you wearing glasses, or taking out your contacts, be thankful for your eye Doctor and your access to go to one. Be aware of the vision tests and prescriptions that have allowed you to see better. If you wear non-prescription reading glasses, be thankful for the nearby dollar store that lets you grab a new pair each time one gets misplaced! If you don't need visual aids to see well, BE THANKFUL! Offer a prayer for those who are blind or those who have visual impairments without access to optometrists.  

Day 1:

This is Sherline, standing at the threshold of her home.  Sherline is 26 and because of her employment at PeaceCYCLE has saved money and gone back to school in hopes to finish high school and receive a diploma.  

Note the "kitchen space" just to the left of the photo.  This is a common (and quite spacious) cooking set up, just outside the door (for ventalation purposes), cooking over charcoal.  

Today's Challange:  Cook a meal (don't go through drive through) but prepare a meal for yourself, a friend, your family, or neighbors.  While cooking, spend time being thankful for your kitchen, your appliances, your pots and pans, your electricity, sharp knives, mixing spoons, counterspace, running water, dish towels, cabinets, and all the blessings that are within your kitchen.  

​