Why Poverty?

Feliz Navidad y Feliz Año Nuevo a todos! (Merry Christmas and Happy New year everyone!) I had a good Christmas back in Michigan with my family and was back in San Carlos for the turn of the year. My New Year’s Eve was spent on the beach in San Carlos with my girlfriend, Laura, a mission team from Canada and all of my Mexican friends. (Laura came down from Alaska and spent just over a week visiting and helping around the mission) We did our own firework show right there on the beach. I had a blast as I was one of the ones in charge of launching off the fireworks!

One of my highlights from this week (Besides spending time with Laura) was after we had taken the missions team into the community of Fatima to do a food distribution. We went with members of the local church leadership and distributed food hampers to a number of different families. Most of the homes we saw were pretty run down. Roofs had had holes in them letting light into otherwise dark rooms. Windows were missing glass and doorways had blankets hung over them. Some of the houses had dirt floors. In one home we were invited in to pray for a woman who was bedridden with a cold. It was apparent that she needed to see a doctor, yet that was probably out of the question simply because the family could not afford it.  

When we got back to the Church several of us sat down with the pastor and began discussing what we had seen. He explained to us that the main source of income for the local community is fishing. When the fishing is good, everyone makes a lot of money. Recently however, the fishing has not been very good and for the most part no one ever saves up their money during the good seasons. They would simply rather live like a king for a few weeks out of the year and barley scrape by the rest of the time. For this reason when the fishing isn't very good, things get really hard. They run out of money for food for their families. Their houses get run down and no one has the money to repair them. People get sick easier because of lack of nutrition and poor living conditions and taking someone to see the doctor when that happens is not possible. It’s not that they don’t make enough money; they simply don’t plan ahead and save it.

One of the team leaders asked if promoting things like microfinancing, financial seminars or co-ops would be an effective means of helping the community. The pastor didn't seem to think so. He pointed out again that even when the fishing is good and people have money to spare they just spend it right away. He made the point that the only thing that will really change anything for the better is for people to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. His point is a good reminder that although meeting a person’s physical needs is important, the value of addressing their spiritual needs cannot go over looked. Without their spiritual needs met, there is no lasting change.

“The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” (Mathew 9:37-38) The people in Mexico are hungry for the Gospel. Please lift up Mexico in your prayers. Pray for unity among the local churches, that they will work together to spread the Gospel and make disciples. Pray for revival.