“It’s the church’s job to minister to people, not just their spiritual needs. Indeed, there’s no biblical warrant for separating a person’s physical needs from their spiritual ones. When a person is without food, without shelter, and without hope, this is a physical and a spiritual issue. Rather than relying on the government, the church is to take responsibility to do all it can to care for people in every possible way.” – Greg Boyd
This is one of the things I often find myself wrestling with. When I think about “ministering” to somebody… it seems natural to focus on the spiritual side of things. It goes without saying that Jesus meets peoples spiritual needs. But we often overlook that Jesus was HUGELY into meeting physical needs along with the spiritual. Often they went hand in hand. When 5000 people were hungry Jesus fed them, the blind and lame were physically healed by their faith. Sickness, Hunger, and Poverty are all physical needs that Jesus encountered every day.
He calls us to the same thing. In Matthew 25 Jesus says:
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”
This month, working alongside Jeff Long and Kids International Ministries, we had the opportunity to see what investing in a community and ministering to the complete spiritual and physical person looks like.
Our neighborhood, Cuatro, is an established squatter community in an area where most of the land is owned by a big golf course and country club. Although there are structured houses, little stores and a paved streets, the families here have few rights and lead an uncertain existence. Any day a bulldozer could show up to clear a plot of land where their house sits. Sewage runs down the side of the street and children contract dengue fever. Clean water is unavailable and residents spend a third of their income on drinking water. The land owners can put a hold on construction projects to better any of these situations.
This is a community filled to the breaking point with injustice. But we got to work alongside warriors for God’s justice. It was so amazing to see God’s justice prevail in Cuatro as a result of the long term investment in that community and the dedication to meeting the holistic needs of each person.
A few amazing examples we experienced this month:
Water:
A third of every family’s income is spent on obtaining clean drinking water. Best case scenario they have a water tank and a truck comes by to fill it up. The Children’s home used to get their water from a well. When they were connected to the Manila water line they suddenly found themselves with a commodity to share. The solution was quite innovative and really blows me away. Sinks and showers were installed just outside the walls of the property on the street. Water from the well was redirected to supply these fixtures. Now we see people filling up pots and buckets at the sinks every day and it isn’t rare to see someone emerging with wet hair from one of the showers.
Sewage:
6 weeks before we arrived a young boy in Cuatro died from Dengue fever. Dengue is a mosquito borne illness in areas where mosquitoes can breed in standing sewage. When it rains that’s exactly what this neighborhood turns into, standing sewage. This month Danny and Kyle began a construction project up the street. They began by moving huge piles of dirt and trash out of the gutters. Then they built a retaining wall and put in a sidewalk. In case that wasn’t enough the project evolved into digging and installing a septic tank.
The physical output this month was amazing… the “before and after” pictures are astounding… but the community I witnessed is what will stick with me.
All of the neighbors surrounding their project would show up daily with shovels in hand to help dig. When the project was put on hold due to the landowners Jeff was called in to negotiate. In the meantime plans were laid to smuggle cinder blocks in and carry on construction at night when the landowners would head home.
Sherwin:
The guys also developed an amazing relationship with the family of the boy who died from dengue. That’s their family in the picture with our team right above this. Sherwin and his family were relentless workers on the project and they took us all in as friends. It was such a joy to stop by and visit with all 16 of them living in one house! Kyle would engage in chess matches with Sherwin’s younger brother, Robert (at press time Robert remains in the lead). Grandma healed both Kyle and Danny of stomach ailments by wiping a little spit in their belly button. And, Adrian was added to the list of children that has run away with my heart this year.
As this relationship was developed it became apparent that Sherwin had some great financial need. After praying through several options, our team took our first venture into micro enterprise and purchased two goats for them. Due to a small mixup trying to get the female Goat named “Sherwina”… Billy and Shakira were theirs. In awhile they will be able to sell them at market and have income for their family and future endeavors.
As you can see, the stories just go on and on. God is mighty to save and he uses us to bring his justice to pass. I’m thankful for the obedience of The Long family to stay invested in this community and for the opportunity to work with them throughout the month!
I want to take this opportunity to tell you about Become Less . Each month our team has encountered amazing people and great need. We have gotten a taste of what it looks like to bring God’s justice to pass and we want more opportunities to do this. On this site you will find the story of our year as it evolves and some of the amazing people we meet. There is also a paypal account set up for what we are calling our Compassion Fund. We will use the money deposited here for the sole purpose of meeting physical needs we encounter. You can designate funds to a specific need that touches you or just leave it up to our discretion. The site is really beautiful… check it out!
