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Global Urban Trek 2008
Poverty vs. the PoorJuly 20, 2008
It´s obvious that we live in a world of differences: some people live in abundance while others live in need.
Being on the “more” or “too much” side of this unequal system, I`ve lived a rather easy life. My worries seem more like pseudo-annoyances in comparison to the problems of the majority of the world. While the grass seems greener on this side of the economic lottery, I`ve always felt more guilty than lucky for being here.
Although the pleasures of living in a fancy house, wearing trendy clothes and ordering lobster at an overpriced restaurant sometimes overpowered my guilt, this feeling constantly haunted me. It came in the form of avoiding eye contact with a beggar. Other times, guilt came when I locked the doors from inside my shiny car in the “bad” neighborhood.
In these moments, I still felt obligated to do something, especially as a follower of Jesus. I thought that helping others would pay my debt for living comfortably for 20 years.
I`d gone on mission trips and volunteered, but I`d never had to sacrifice much. I would do my “good works” and then sleep well in my 500 thread count sheets. Yet I wanted to suffer, to pierce my easy lifestyle on the cross. Therefore, when I heard about the Trek`s model of incarnational ministry, living in the community you work, I got excited. I romanticized being in bad conditions for an extended time. In my mind, the worse the conditions I would have to endure, the better.
Therefore, during my first week in Mexico, I was pumped about living simply. Having only a couple of shirts and handwashing them felt liberating. Taking bucket showers next to the bucket-flush toliet was fun. A few mice and bugs here and there didn`t bother me.
Even though the living conditions were drastically different than home, I was actually disappointed that they weren`t worse. But then, week two came, and the honeymoon ended.
After five days of rain, the clothes wouldn`t dry and smelled sour when they finally did. The toliet got plugged and it smelled when I bathed. The mice didn`t keep their distance (one crawled up Kara`s neck), and the bugs colonized the pot on my bed which caught the rain from the leaky roof. I began to feel even more guilty because I wanted to go back to my normal life. However, something great happened: our English class and summer course started.
While holding a little girl`s hand, I realized that I wasn`t called here to love the conditions but to love the people. I learned that incarnational ministry was more about being with the people than suffering their conditions. Further, trying to relieve my guilt by choosing poverty was silly because it was a voluntary act, a privilege that many do not have.
It is now my understanding that doing incarnational ministry out of obligation will never allow you to reach week three. If you don`t love the people, all the hassle is really pointless.
- Danielle
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