Poverty...Still Mind Boggling

I have been visiting and working with people in the Dominican Republic for a few years now, and there are still many days that feel like I have so much to learn first about the people and their culture and then about poverty and the ways our economic differences influence our worldviews.    

When I start to think about it, I realize that our economic backgrounds really affect so much of our lives: where we go to school and church, who our friends and mentors are, the opportunities we have, the dreams we have, the way others see us and treat us, the list goes on....

God makes it clear through his word that we are to care for the poor, but in a country seemingly filled with people living on less than $2 a day, the who and how isn't always so clear.  I wrestle daily with questions of when, who and how to carry out God's command to "remember the poor".

Do I give to every blind, elderly, disabled or unemployed person on the street who asks me for money?  Do I give to some or none at all?  Nearly everyone I see and talk to has a financial need -- for repairing or building a new home, medicine and health care, paying for school, transportation, etc., etc.   

We're taught that if we don't act in wise ways we can actually cause more harm than good.  We're taught to analyze the situation and consider well the unintended consequences before we intervene.  We are also called to love our neighbors as ourselves.  I heard a definition recently of what it means to love your neighbor that stuck with me.  Loving your neighbor as yourself means responding to your neighbor's needs with the same joy, speed and power as you would your own. 

This month I was exposed to a couple of different situations with the children and youth that we work with that were heart-breaking.  I commented to Joselo that the things I worried about as a kid or teenager were nothing compared to the challenges many of these children and youth face on a daily basis. 
  

It constantly amazes me how they can keep going.  They get up, praise and thank God for a new day, for his goodness and love, put a smile on their faces and live life.  Does it hurt?  Do they get frustrated and angry about the situation --yes.  Sometimes visitors comment "They don't have anything, but they seem so happy."  I would say, they're strong but they also suffer.

Sometimes it's hard not to get overwhelmed by these things.  It's almost always hard to know exactly how to respond.  Sometimes it's depressing when you feel like there's nothing you can do but pray, but it's always good to know that God is in control, that our time here on earth is temporary, that God is good, and God is just.  We can trust Him, and those who believe in Him have the hope of eternal life with Him where "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain" (Rev. 21:4)  Hallelujah!