As part of training for this world missions trip, we were asked to share a brief story of when God called us to to do something radical. Here is my story…….
Here’s the setting:
Spring Break 2007 Mission Trip
14 College kids from Palm Beach Atlantic University
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
15 families who were previously living in a local slum
-Their houses destroyed by a fire
– Forced to move to a dirt lot and build ply wood shacks
Right above…..those are facts. Facts are things that are true. Those facts above are true….
Quick Question: Has your life been dramatically changed by a fact? Or would you say…….
That people, stories, experience have changed you dramatically?
For example: God loves you. That’s a fact. You can hear about it from the pulpit. You can read all about it in the bible. Knowing that fact is a great thing BUT even better is experiencing the love of God in a deeply, intimate way in your life. Life changing is experiencing God’s love in a tangible way and gaining that understanding deep in your soul.
A few facts about poverty:
3 billion people live on less then two dollars a day
30,000 children die each day due to poverty
Pretty dramatic facts huh? I know I would hear facts like that and think, Man, that’s so terrible. But then nothing would change in my life. I knew those facts were true. Its not like I thought someone was making them up. I definitely would feel some compassion rise up in me, some desire to do something about it BUT never anything substantial would ever result.
Everything changed the day I visited those families
The day kids brought out their only toys(that they were so proud of!) : bottle caps.
The day kids who had nothing materially brought unending joy and smiles to a bunch of kids who have so much materially.
The day I saw mom’s crying in gratitude after we prayed for their community.
The day I stepped into a ply wood shed that a family lives in.
The day that I held a baby whose mom was not sure how she was going to feed the next day.
The day I formed relationships with people in poverty.
“The problem isn’t that the rich don’t care for the poor but that the rich don’t know the poor” – Shane Claiborne
How true that quote is. Knowing the poor has ruined me in a lot of ways. Poverty is no longer an issue. Its no longer something interesting to talk about. Its no longer just facts to me. Its people. Its people I know. That baby that dies of malnutrition and becomes one of the 30,000 isn’t another fact to me anymore BECAUSE I held that baby. I met that mom. Let me tell that will mess with you………
And I needed it to mess with me. I couldn’t just go back to my life in West Palm Beach, Florida and think….Man, that’s too bad. That’s really terrible those families live like that. And do nothing. Feeling guilty for being American wasn’t going to help them, feeling sorry for them wasn’t going to help them. My lifestyle needed to change. How I spent my money needed to change. The amount of time I spent with the poor needed to change.
And the thing is because of that day. Because of experience and relationships…..I desperately wanted it all to change.
One big change for me: Leaving everything I know and going around the world on a 11 month mission trip….
How will you let poverty and relationships change you? What will you do about it?
