Adventures WorldRace SethBarnes Sponsorship Giving

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The knowledge that the “least of these” recognize their poverty hit me like a brick last month in Tanzania. I have been traveling through third world countries for six months now. I have seen the poverty. I have seen the hunger, the tattered clothing, and the dirty bodies. I have entered into homes which are falling apart and have literally nothing inside them except for two beds with broken frames and a single blanket covering only half of the frame. Their only possessions other than the clothes on their backs.


 
I have rationalized their poverty to remove myself from the pain of their circumstances. They have plenty of rice, I told myself and rice is their favorite food. If I had a surplus of Taco Bell and Pizza Hut at my disposal that would be all I needed, right? And then I figured that since everyone around them is also poor, that removes any form of social disgrace. I would think that would eliminate finger pointing and condescension. How can you be embarrassed by your conditions when you don’t know anything differently and when every single person you know is living the same way? Yes the kids run around dirty, but they have so much more fun than American children who don’t normally get the opportunities to roll around in the dirt. I then told myself that all that matters in life is love, which I still believe to an extent. I think that if I was madly in love with my husband, I would be happy even if we were living in a broken down shack. So I started asking questions, are they happy? Are they loved?” Are they resting secure in the knowledge of God’s love for them? Is He filling them with joy, peace, and comfort? Do they have hope?

In Tanzania as we walked from house to house asking for prayer requests, almost every person we encountered told us they are in desperate need of money. They spoke of their poverty and how they dream of going to America where they imagine life is easy.

And it hit me:

“These people know they are poor”

I don’t know how it could have taken me six months to realize this. I think I just didn’t want to face it.

So then I started searching the scriptures and asking God “why?”
I don’t have all the answers but I do know that this wasn’t God’s perfect plan when He created us. I know that when we cry, He cries with us. I know that He never gives us more than we can bear. I know that in our moment of pain, He draws near to us. I know that depending solely upon Him because you have nothing else, offers a deeper relationship than we know of in America. To put it bluntly, we may not be as desperately in need of His comfort and strength.

God has also been showing me that the poor is MY responsibility. They are OUR responsibilities. God placed us on this earth to be His hands, His feet, His love. Let’s spread that love around the world by breaking out of our selfishness, opening our eyes to the needs around us, and generously giving to those in need.
 
 
Pictures taken at Lake Victoria, Uganda