I’m in Lima, Peru with my wife and daughter loving on children at risk–high risk. This morning we visited a Compassion International child survival program (one of the many things I love about Compassion). The child survival program works with kids still in the womb through two years old.
The highlight of visiting a csp is a home visit to one of the families involved in the program–A family living in extreme poverty. Today’s visit was to a family of four (mom, dad, 18 month and 5 year old daughters) living in a 15 by 10 room. The size of our walk-in closet!
After the home visit our team boarded our bus and drove ten minutes to the local mall where we had lunch. We had a hard time choosing where to eat in the food court . . . Burger King, China Kitchen . . . we landed at KFC. After lunch Julie, Tabs and I made a quick stop at Starbucks–no kidding!
As we were departing the mall, my 11 year old daughter, Tabitha, looks up at Julie and me and asks, “Mommy and daddy, how come so many people don’t have anything when there is so much right here?”
Hmmm . . .
Oh Greg, that gave me chills. . .our children will teach us!
Tabitha is a very observant child – how come we aren’t as a child? Or are we and choose to look the other way?
While I cannot wait for the opportunity to go on a mission trip like the one you are on, I wonder if Tabitha says the same thing while driving through some of the rough parts of Canton, where again, there is so much right around the corner. I know your heart is also with Canton and ways to erradicate poverty here and cannot wait to see how God uses you and us in that.
I pray that God used you all in a powerful way and that she gained much insight as to the work that we all have to do in this world to spread love and the Good News to all.
I remember visiting a friend in Mexico who also lived in a very small room – I would guess about 10×15 and that included his bed and all essentials for life. But he never realized that how he lived would be considered poverty to me. He considered himself blessed to have a place to call his own home and worked very hard every day to keep that small brick room…. As young as I was, a teenager, I found it amazing that someone with so little was so happy in life while those of us with so much struggle to find happiness and contentment.
Hi Christine,
Yeah, the leap from poverty in a third world country being caused by the choices we make in our own homes is absolutely key.
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One Word answers that question, “Greed”!