My Burden

  Almost a year ago I found myself moving into a new community. A community that has great needs. Needs that I see every time I leave my home and sometimes they show up on my door step. I looked around and wondered how I would make a difference in the year to come? How would I better this community? How would I meet people and show Jesus to them? How would I speak to the elderly, comfort the hurting and encourage the discouraged?

  A year later I am ashamed to say I have done almost none of that. We have made a few acquaintances in the community. But most of them were interested to see what they could get out of us. And most of them walked away when they figured out there weren't many free hand outs. What did happen is that now I see more needs. I have just managed to crack open the door to this village. I am definitely an outsider. They tolerate me, even welcome me, but keep me at arms length. I come and I go. I live in my little corner. I buy from their shops. But I am not one of them. The children are a different story. They come to play and beg. But when they figured out they don't really get hand outs and the toys I bring out for them to play with is very limited, they too lost interest.

  Kenny had a wonderful term at school and I put some behind the scenes work into that. But as far as the local people, they just saw me coming and going. We started a Bible study with anywhere from 10 to 30 young children showing. But are they just coming because they have nothing to do? Three or four boys attend church with us, but don't attend Bible study. Once again, because they have nothing to do and no one that cares where they are? Do I think those relationships aren't worthwhile? Not at all! These could be seeds that could one day flourish! But when two of the boys are caught stealing from Kenny's shop in broad daylight, it makes you want to shrink into your shell. And protect yourself.

  I should get out more, I tell myself. I should go and meet people and chat and spend the morning talking to people. But what about the cooking and cleaning and laundry. The settling of spats, the sewing, the teaching. It feels like I have so much on my plate with my house and family and supporting my husbands mission, what do I have left to give?

  But if I have something that can help these people, shouldn't that be pretty important? Shouldn't I be telling them?

  What will be the attitude of our village toward us after awhile. Oh, those Obrunis! They stay in our village. They tear up our roads with their car. They give people lifts. But they are always busy. Too busy to talk. Too busy to help.

  Maybe I am being to hard on us. We do take time to talk (on Saturdays). We do take time to help (the few that we have time for). And we definitely care!

  There are several things that started me down this path of thinking. A lady from the next village stopped the other day. She invited me to her wedding, and then was talking about how hard life is in their village. We pass through their village constantly and it does seem life is hard there. But her biggest complaint was the white people that live next to their village. She said here these people are, they have done good things for people, but not once do they help the village. They help other people, but never do they help the elderly and the widowed of the village next door.

  I don't know how much of that is true, but it struck me to the heart. Here we are running a successful program, but what about our village? What about the people that see us day in and day out? If we plan to start a successful church and we live within walking distance, shouldn't we be showing we have something they don't? Should we not be out in the by ways and the hedges finding people? We could start something to keep these older children out of mischief after school. We could start helping the elderly and the sick. We could help guide the youth in those tender years where girls end up pregnant and young men end up in fights and gambling. We have so much to give! But how and when?

  We are praying about the children's ministry right now. Due to staffing changes, we are now doing it alone. It isn't that I don't enjoy it. It is just if we have enough time and are able to handle it alone. And the bigger question is, would we make better use of our time starting an after school program with young teens, then teaching, singing and playing with small children? Our time and energy is limited. How do we use it wisely and where it will make the most difference?

  The longer we live here, the more we look around and ask, what are these people lacking? They have resources. They have food. They have clothing. Why are they living in poverty? We always come back to the lack of teaching. The lack of motivation. Or maybe the lack of believing they can do something and beat the cycle of poverty. So where can we make the biggest impact? Almost every day we ask ourselves, how can we help these people change themselves?

 What about you? Living here makes me look at America and wish we would have done more there. Do you drive through your local community and see hurting people? Do you have something (Jesus) that could help them? Are there hurting, discouraged, lonely people around you? Your opportunities are no less than mine! As a matter of fact, because of no language barrier, they are bigger then mine! I know we are all busy. We all have too much to do. And sometimes we do need to put our family first. Actually most times! But if we truly believe Jesus is the answer to the worlds problems, then we need to look for ways to teach others about Him. And even more importantly we need to show, in our every day lives, that we have something that makes us extraordinary. We are children of the King!