“Count your blessings, name them one by one / Count your blessings, see what God hath done.”
There is nothing quite like singing “Count Your Blessings” in the home of a refugee family. I’ve had this experience several times recently with the Karen people who have come to my city from refugee camps in Thailand.
Holding thanksgiving services is a beautiful expression of the Karen Christians’ faith. Birthdays and housewarmings are reasons to bring the community—friends, neighbors and church family—together for worship and giving thanks to God.
The home we meet in is often a humble apartment, sparsely furnished, with mats on the floor as our seating. The thanksgiving service concludes with a bountiful meal, usually of noodle soup with sticky rice for dessert.
“When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed / When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost…”
For decades, the Karen have been persecuted in their native Burma (now called Myanmar). And though the refugee camps provide safety, spending decades confined to these camps does not offer a bright future.
Though many Karen refugees have been resettled (through the UN) to countries around the world to start a new life, the stress and hardships of adjusting to a new culture are unimaginable. Yet the Karen refugees sing—and with enthusiasm: “Count your blessings, name them one by one.”
“So, amid the conflict, whether great or small / Do not be discouraged, God is over all…”
As the singing swells and fills the Karen refugee family’s home the refrain fills my heart.
You know, I’ve never had a thanksgiving service in my home. I think it may be my turn…
“Count your many blessings, name them one by one/ And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.”
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Karen members of the Piedmont Park Church in Lincoln, Nebraska, have been meeting Sabbath afternoons for Karen-language Sabbath school and divine service.
Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska, have the largest Karen resettlement communities in the country. Nebraska has approximately 5,500 resettled Karen refugees, many of whom lived in refugee camps for years before being resettled in the Midwest.
Learn more about Karen refugees at karenksn.org.
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In addition to joining thanksgiving services with Karen believers, Richard E. Clark Jr. feels privileged to work with blind and visually impaired individuals at Christian Record Services for the Blind in Lincoln, Nebraska.
