Poverty

Poverty is a powerful word.  In Haiti, it is more than an abstract concept, but rather, a daily reality for many.  This weekend a group from the school went into one of the poorest places in Port Au Prince.  Known simply as "The Ravine", this long stretching community is a mixture of tin-roofed structures built along the edges of a small, trickling flow of filthy water.  Along with a few nurses that are here with a work team, we made our way through the narrow alley ways to provide basic medical care for the young children and infants that call The Ravine their home.  Below are pictures of the Ravine and one of Tcharly, who came from the school to help translate and care for the children.

To live every day in such poor conditions is poverty as I have never seen before.  As Christians, we believe that physical possessions and material wealth are not of greatest importance, but here in Haiti you can see how even the most basic of resources would revolutionize the quality of life.  After last summer I have struggled with what to do with the abundance we experience as Americans.  We are so often caught by the lie that the more we own, the more fulfilled we will be.  Not only is this a dangerous lie, but it is also a dangerous type of spiritual poverty.  Here we have a desperately poor view of the meaning and purpose of life.  If I am constantly focused on storing up worldly goods, I will miss out on the most fulfilling life which is found in being completely satisfied in Christ.

I am still uncomfortable with the discrepancies between the comforts and excesses of life in New Hampshire as compared to life in Haiti, but a passage I read recently from Dietrich Bonhoeffer has helped me greatly.  In one of his writings, this theologian and Christian thinker from Nazi Germany expressed so beautifully the proper place that possessions should hold in our lives.  Living during the time of the oppressive rule of the Nazis, Bonhoeffer experienced many trials.  One concept that he held to was the importance of community in the body of Christ.  He wrote about those believers in Germany who had retained some of their worldly possessions and were feeling guilt when confronted with their fellow Christians who were struggling with poverty and displacement.  He asked the question, "Should we thank God for our blessing and then question why others lack these same blessings?"  In the end, Bonhoeffer concludes that these material blessings are not to be viewed as blessings for our individual lives, but rather, the blessing is found in the fact that we are entrusted with His gifts and are to use these for the betterment of our brothers and sisters in Christ.  What a powerful message to hold onto during this visit.  Rather than clinging to our physical wealth and keeping others at a distance, we can use these possessions to build up the body of Christ. 

Again, I am so thankful to be able to share these experiences and for the blessings of your ongoing prayers and words of encouragement!  In this way, I experience great wealth as I enjoy the blessings of the community of the body of Christ.  Love in Christ, Jessie