Three Cups of Tea

During our vacation in Tennessee, I read the book Three Cups of Tea, by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. The book's subtitle is, "One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time."

Greg Mortenson grew up in Tanzania as the child of Lutheran missionaries. I say that, not because it is a central part of the book, but because I believe that, deep inside, he knows the truths of faith in Christ. Through his work in Pakistan, he has adopted Muslim practices out of a deep respect for the people he is working with. The book doesn't really address his faith, except to say that he does not share his parent's faith.

On to the story...

Greg was a on a hiking expedition to climb Pakistan's highest peak, K2. He didn't quite make it to the top, and was separated from his team and his local guide during his decent. He was quite emaciated and dehydrated from the climb. He was headed toward a certain village, but got lost and ended up in a different village, Korphe. He was welcomed warmly in their humble accomodations. They fed him and nursed him back to health even though he was a stranger and a foreigner. Once he regained his strength, he was shocked to see young boys and girls holding school by themselves, using sticks in dirt. The Pakistani government failed to send a teacher to those children more than once a week, and there was no school building.

Through a series of events, Greg returned to the States with a newfound mission to provide education to these children. He wrote 580 letters to celebrities and the world's richest people, asking them to contribute to his cause. He got one reply: $1,000 from Tom Brokaw. Through another contact, he acquired a benefactor who would fund the first several of Greg's schools at a cost of $12,000 each.

Now that I have given you the background, I will be writing other posts about specific things from the book that impacted me. I have to say, though, that if every American read this book, it would change the way we think about Muslims, the Taliban, the Sunnis, the Shiites, and the War on Terror (or whatever the Obama administration is calling it now). This book is 349 well-written pages that will require an investment of your time. But, for me, it was well worth it. An excellent read.