I was amazed by a supermarket this month. The funny thing was, their was nothing special about it. It wasn’t nearly as fully stocked as a Cub Foods, Hy-vee, or even a Walmart. It had pretty good selection and variety but that was it. I was amazed because after being away from what would be called a supermarket by western standards for a month, and generally eating close to the same types of food every day, (food which was very good by the way, I’m not complaining about it at all) I just couldn’t believe all the selection that was suddenly available to me. It was something I never would have even thought about in Minnesota but here I was all of the sudden amazed.
I’m going to be honest, seeing some of the poverty in Uganda is difficult. Its not difficult in the Africa infomercial kind of way were you see tons of pictures of skin and bone kids everywhere. Its difficult in a much more real way. Their are definitely people in Uganda that have money. Not everyone is poor by any means. Their are nice houses in places and some decent malls and people who own cars and motorcycles. At the same time, we have met so many people where my heart just breaks for them. We met a widow that lives next door to one of the church members. Thankfully, the church member checks up with her often but the woman lives by herself and is virtually handicapped. She only eats one meal a day and it comes from what grows in her yard. We met some children who were orphans but many children also had parent(s) that simply could not provide enough for them. They often lacked adequate shoes and may only own 2 or 3 pairs of clothing. They were used to going without meals if need be.
In giving a more personal story, one day while doing door to door evangelism (something I probably wouldn’t do in America but is quite common and culturally accepted in Africa) I met a many named John. By the grace of God, John was very receptive to the gospel and he committed his life to Christ right that day. We came back to John a few times after that, teaching him basic christian principles and also learning his story. His story was one of heartbreak and pain. His father died when he was 11 so he had to quit school and become a brick-maker to pay for the medical bills that were accumulated. He then married and had 3 children but with no education he made little money as a brick-maker. His wife decided to leave him and he could not support his children by himself so he had to send them to live with his Aunt. Jesus truly is the hope for the hopeless and I have great hope for John’s future but it was very difficult hearing about some of the things he has had to endure.
I think my experience in Uganda isn’t that different from many westerners who travel to countries in the bottom third of GDP. With that being said, I don’t want this to be just another blog that points out things you likely already knew. So, what can be done?
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Don’t fell guilty. Empathy is one thing, I’m not saying don’t be empathetic, but feeling guilty doesn’t help anyone and only hurts you.
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Be Thankful! – We should not look at somebody else’s situation and just be thankful we are not in their shoes. What we should be doing is acknowledging that we have been very materially blessed as westerners and simply thanking God for it. Like my supermarket example – sometimes we just need to realize how blessed we are. We have thousands of food options within a 10 minute drive of us. This is an incredible thing! When our hearts are thankful it makes us less stressed. We strive less and worry less about what we don’t have and this gives us peace and rest.
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If you give to those in poorer countries, give in ways that promote opportunity: The most unique thing about the material poverty in Uganda is simply the lack of opportunity that is available to many. Many children can’t go to school. Many people that lack education because the had to work as kids have no hope of getting a better job. Many people could perform a higher paying job but none are even available. The biggest problem isn’t just lack of material things but a lack of opportunity period. If you do give financially, make sure it’s to an organization promoting opportunity for people to better stand on their own as opposed to one offering handouts.
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Follow Jesus golden rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
- Generosity! I’m not a believer in the prosperity gospel (which says that following God will make you rich in this world) or the poverty gospel (which says that if you’re poor you’re more holy) but I am a believer in the gospel of generosity. More than being rich or poor, God desires that we be generous towards others whether that be physically, emotionally, financially, spiritually, or with time.
