“When the porcelain bowls of scalding butter tea steamed in their hands, Haji Ali spoke.   “If you want to thrive in Baltistan, you must respect our ways,” Haji 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 honoured guest.  The third time you share a cup of tea, you become family, and for our family, we are prepared to do anything, even die,” he said, laying his hand warmly on Mortenson’s own.  “Doctor Greg, you must make the time to share three cups of tea.  We may be uneducated.  But we are not stupid.  We have lived and survived here for a long time.”

How I would have enjoyed having a cup of tea (even better, three!) with Haji Ali, getting to know him more intimately than just as a reader of this book.  There are many words that come to mind about him and his people…dignified, kind, sacrificial, generous, noble, hospitable, brave, humble, thankful, wise, dreamer, family-oriented, warm, cautious, and hopeful. Certainly a fount of wisdom, Haji Ali’s life and faithfulness to care for others had a rippling affect that is still being felt across the northern mountains of Pakistan.

Most of us are familiar with Pakistan as a country headlining newspapers and providing fodder for terrorists.  It is not a country many are drawn towards.  In fact, it is probably a place that people would describe as “violent” and “hopeless”.  How important it is to read a book like Three Cups of Tea and discover the hidden wealth and beauty of this country and culture!  Greg Mortenson, with help from David Relin, invites us to journey with him through his adventure of building schools for children in a part of the world people have already written off.  His experiences encourage us to rethink our perspective on what it means to help others.  His life lessons challenge us to reconsider how valuable one individual life can be in making a difference in this big, overwhelming world.

Greg is not a perfect man nor is this book Pulitzer Prize potential.  Three Cups of Tea is a declaration that every culture is valuable, wisdom and quality of life is not found in the abundance of possessions, and that we can journey with others to see miracles happen.

Mary, November 2010

Photo by Cole Hutson on Unsplash

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