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| Fhone and her favorite gift...a Cinderella velcro ball set |
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| Fhone and her mother opening the backpack of toys |
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| Fhone took off down the alley to show her friend her new gifts |
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| Fhone smiles for the first time at the Compassion center |
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| Love that face!! |
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| Bam & Bom's grandmother |
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| Grandmother & Bam (who is 10) and the cross she displays on her front door |
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| Compassion center workers, Bom, Bam and Grandma
Poverty for most of us is
something that we may have seen but never experienced. We say things like “I’m starving” and never
give a second thought to what starving may actually feel like. Our second day in Asia started with a glimpse
of a church being more than a building and more than just a Sunday place of
worship. The church was part of the
community in every sense. They knew the
families who came, helped meet their physical needs, but didn’t end there. There was a holistic approach to the church
that I have rarely experienced here in the States. The church looked at the whole person and
helped meet the physical needs of hunger, shelter, clothing, etc., but
continued on with emotional support(like the Center for abused girls) and of
course spiritual support and growth.
The church didn’t have a
feeling of we only bring our best in here.
In fact it had a beautiful feeling of we bring who we are and where we
are in our life through these doors.
It felt like a community home vs. a Sunday church. It was warm, joyful and full of God’s
peace. It is evident by their concern
for the body of Christ by the care they took in getting to know the children
and families that come in; whether it be through Compassion or not.
We had the privilege of
visiting a home where the grandmother is the only financial support and also
the caretaker of her two grandchildren and mother. Yes, the great grandmother, grandmother and
two young children all live in a home the size of most of our living
rooms. The roof is corrugated sheet
metal that is roughly nailed in several sheets to make up the roof. The walls are thin and scared with watermarks
from the recent floods that ravaged the area.
The wood plank floors are soft from the 40 years the family has lived in
this home. The walls are a variety of
pieces of wood that has cracks and holes that give you a glimpse to the family’s
dirt plot of land. The home may be a
shack at best, but it is the only home this family has and they are better off
than most because they have running water and electricity.
When I asked the grandmother
what her fears where for Bam and Bom..who are 5 and 10, she said first are the
snakes on the roof coming in and harming the kids was her biggest fear. Next was the drug usage that surrounded their
small home. It didn’t go unnoticed to me
that one of her biggest unsaid fears was for 10 year old Bam. The little girl is beautiful, sweet and very
small. In an area known for abuse of
young women, Bam’s sleeping quarters where protected by large bookcases and
old, worn dressers. She did not sleep
out in the open as her grandmother, great grandmother or brother. Her grandmother also talked about the
security she enforced at night. This
was the simple act of shutting a thin plywood door and never going out at
night.
Despite the living conditions
and extreme poverty, the grandmother appeared to be filled with joy and
peace. She talked about how she came to
know Christ after her grandchildren started the Compassion program. There is a white sheet of paper with a red
cross printed on it that hangs at the front door. She shows this off with pride and love. And when asked how her life has changed since
knowing Christ, she cries for the first time telling us of the blessings He has
brought through so much tragedy. It is
at this time that the church being a part of the community comes shining
through. She points to the bamboo cots
that sit about 18” off the floor and said the church brought those during the
floods. The cots allowed the family to
sleep above the water that rushed into their home. She also pointed to the mosquito netting that
surrounded Bam’s bed as being a gift from the church. This affected me profoundly because it showed
a different model for how a church can and probably should be.
I think that the church in
the US has a chance to grow and learn from our brothers and sisters in third
world countries. It has to go back to being
about people; taking care of and loving the people of the church and their
family. The church was effective because
they loved and cared and they showed it.
The church and Compassion are the hands and feet of Christ.
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