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Global Urban Trek 2008
Privilege of the PoorJuly 5, 2008
On Saturday I saw what I always picture when I hear the word “poverty” face to face – it’s been right next to us this entire trip.
We took a walk around Klong Toei beyond what we usually see on our walk to work. There are neighborhoods of small homes literally smashed between buildings here. Flats have been set up next to one another in rows with paths only wide enough for a motorcycle. Every other step there’s a stray dog and feces everywhere. It really is unreal.
Afterward, we spent a lot of time discussing what a perfectly just world would look like. I seriously doubt God would have us all living in waste-filled slum communities, but it’s just as obvious that God wouldn’t have the many billion of us living in four-bedroom houses with huge backyards and three car garages. Writing that is tough, because that’s what we work so hard to attain, but it’s time I started considering the fact that my gain may come at someone’s loss.
As we walked, we also noticed people looking really bored. In multiple houses, we noticed people lying awake on the floor doing absolutely nothing, like they had no reason to get up.
I can understand, noting that they live in filth and have little to no privacy. The people here are equal in a socioeconomic sense; they have no material wealth that could give them faux joy like it can in the U.S. Real joy and hope comes from Jesus. This is evident in the Christians here who are poor, but very, very rich in Jesus.
Another thing that has deeply struck our team is the hospitality we’ve been shown. One woman in particular has given me such a vivid picture of Jesus. Her name is Ma Pehn and she speaks almost no English. Last week, she took us in and provided us with a huge meal at her home. As I flipped through one of her photo albums, I kept thinking, “Wow, she has done so much and I’ll bet no one has ever been able to repay her.”
She’s served at Baan Chivit Mai (House of New Life) for years but makes very little money. She’s taught dozens of children and hosted many InterVarsity Trekkers who couldn’t even communicate with her. She’ll probably never go on a mission trip or lead some huge revival, but she’s served the poorest and sacrificed for many.
I don’t know if I’ve met very many people living out the Gospel so well. Surely, her rewards in heaven and her example leaves me convicted that I have not spent myself in ways that I should.
The ways in which we’ve seen people be the hands and feet of Jesus here has made me excited to humble myself. I see Jesus everywhere here and I can only hope He can be seen in me. Seeing things this way makes serving the poor seem more like a privilege than a sacrifice.
- Jessica
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