July 4, 2012. Happy Independence Day for all of us who are blessed to be citizens of a great nation. I realize that most who will receive this newsletter are US citizens. Strains of John Phillips Souza’s “Stars and Stripes Forever” fill the air and many hearts. For all the problems we have experienced, there is an abundance for which to thank our Lord in the United States. One of the characteristics that has marked this nation is our love for other people epitomized by the modern missionary movement.
I was moved by the quote from Pablo Cassels that was sent to my mailbox this morning: The love of one’s country is a splendid thing, but why should love stop at the border? Let us be reminded on this Independence Day that the true beauty of the United States is not in what we do for ourselves, but what we do for those in need around the world that truly makes us great.