Here is the Root of the Root and the Bud of the Bud: The Heart of Poverty

"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor so that you by his poverty might become rich." -II Corinthians 8:9

Yesterday our director Corby took us to see Zapote, the other Kids Alive program in Guatemala. It was an incredibly eye opening experience. Zapote is located about 2 hours away from the Oasis, via dirt road. The recent tropical storms have washed out most of the road, and we had to drive through four rivers to get there. Since transportation in and out of the village is so difficult, they have had a hard time getting food in recently. We ran into a pastor of a church while we were there, and he said to us in Spanish, "I hope you did not come thirsty- there is no water to be found here."

In the village, Kids Alive has started a school. Children come and are given lunch, usually their only meal of the day. Corby told us that when there is no school, the children usually do not eat. What a stark contrast to the three meals and snacks I eat every day.

The village of Zapote consists of shacks, lined up on top of each other. I have been reading The Hole in Our Gospel this summer. It is a book all about poverty and why we as a church aren't doing more about it. As we walked through the rows of tin houses, I looked into the eyes of the people we met, and saw exactly what the book says comes inevitably with poverty: hopelessness.

Corby talked to us about the way poverty hardens people. People have no hope, and they stop caring what happens to them or to the people around them. Poverty breeds desperation, and desperation breeds violence. And that's when I realized that, all summer, I have been indirectly working with the results of poverty. At the root of the root and the bud of the bud, the truth of the matter is that almost every girl at the Oasis is there because of poverty. They have suffered abuse or maltreatment , which stems from violence, which stems from desperation, which stems from poverty. And this is the way almost 90% of Guatemala lives.

Poverty is an evil cycle with a nasty backlash of thousands of unintended consequences. And the worst part is, most of this is preventable. I read and hear about Jesus' love for the poor, and the way he was willing to become poor for us. And I keep thinking, "I've got to do something about this". Just because I was born into money, and just because I do not have to face the uncomfortable reality of poverty every day does not mean I am superior to it. Instead, we should be doing our best to empower and enable these people to get out of this cycle and will give them hope. If I truly believe that every life has equal value, then the poor should be heavy on my heart, whether I am in Guatemala or the United States.

Today we are leaving the Oasis. It is really sad to say goodbye, but I am so thankful for everything I have learned and all that God has taught me here. Thank you so much for all of your prayers and encouragement this summer. God has been so faithful to me, and I hope you have seen his faithfulness in your lives as well. Please keep me in your prayers as I travel through Guatemala these next couple days, and then spend three days at Debrief in Dallas. Thank you!