“Third Cup of Tea”

Life Groups are the “Third Cup of Tea”
“Sharing Life—Connecting Journeys—Following Christ”
This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of this service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God……2 Corinthians 9:12-13a
Many of us have read Greg Mortenson’s book entitled “Three Cups of Tea”. It is an amazing story of a young American who is living a fairly experiential self absorbed life until he is lost while returning from a mountaineering expedition in Pakistan. In his wanderings he encounters the people of the steppes and mountains and they welcome him as the traveling stranger among them. The unwritten tribal code of conduct requires that strangers be welcomed and invited in. For the few days Greg resides in a particular village he observes the joys and challenges of their existence and shares the daily lives of these warm people. One glaring deficit that troubles and convicts him is that the children have no school and are limited to writing their studies in the dirt. After he is “rescued” he is haunted by the memories of the children he saw studying in the dirt with no school building. The conviction continues to weigh heavily upon him and he goes on to make it his life’s work to procure construction materials for buildings and learning materials for the children of both Pakistan and Afghanistan. Needless to say there is an entire book enfolded in the stories of his trials and failures, successes and struggles. He builds relationships with many village elders, tribal leaders and common people of the areas he connects with. Greg’s mission grows dramatically with support from many international agencies and private donations. He is recognized in many parts of both Pakistan and Afghanistan and can travel freely where most westerners could never safely go. He made it a personal priority to honor the traditions and customs of each area he visited and during one of those welcoming cultural exchanges of greeting he receives the explanation and title of what would become his first published book, “Three Cups of Tea”. In Greg Mortensons own words………, “Haji Ali spoke. If you want to thrive in Baltistan, you must respect our ways,” Ali said, blowing on his bowl. “The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger. The second time you take tea, you are an honored guest. The third time you share a cup of tea, you become family, and for our family, we are prepared to do anything,” he said, laying his hand warmly on Mortenson’s own. “Doctor Greg, you must make time to share three cups of tea. We may be uneducated. But we are not stupid. We have lived here for a long time.”