Poverty

This is a really hard subject for me to talk about - poverty. Which is too bad, 'cause it's kind of a big part of telling people about what we're planning on doing in Guatemala.

In one way, it's hard to talk about it to friends, family, churches, small groups, etc..., since the American understanding of poverty is a little bit, well, skewed. It's one of those things that everyone thinks they know when they see it, but can't really describe. In the U.S. we have a 'poverty line,' 'poverty guidelines,' and 'poverty thresholds' - all used in different ways, by different agencies, with different purposes. Even after reading extensively on the Health and Human Services webpage, I'm not 100% sure what any of these things really mean. In our prosperous nation, they're really just a statistical measurement of who has the least as compared to everyone else, and not necessarily a way of determining if someone truly has enough - enough to put food on the table, clothes on their backs, and a roof over their heads.

Yes. There are desperately poor people in our country who literally struggle each day to find the resources it takes to sustain their very lives. But, very few. Especially in comparison to the rest of the world. I can't find any actual figures on this subject, to be honest. When I try to find data on those living in poverty in the U.S., I come up with articles like this, which use Census Data figures to give a picture of what poverty in our country looks like.

80.9% of those living in 'poverty' here have both a land line phone, and a cell phone

96.1% have a t.v.

83% have some sort of DVR

(Seriously!? What the heck!? I just got a DVR for the first time last year!!)

It's no wonder people's eyes glaze over a little when I start telling them about the poverty in Guatemala. It's hard to understand what that means, in light of our own examples in the United States.

Maybe this will help. The World Bank uses the term 'Extreme Poverty' to describe people living on less than the equivalent of $1.25 per day. I'm going to venture a guess and say that there is something like .1% of the U.S. population that lives in such extreme poverty. Maybe.

In Guatemala, it's 13.5%.
In the Congo, it's over 87%.

Worldwide, there are an estimated 1.2 billion people in extreme poverty.
That's 20%.
Of the people in the world.
Who live on less than $1.25 per day.

Wow.

But, here's the kicker - it's not about the poverty. At least, not the money part. We aren't going to evangelize in Guatemala because they're living in poverty there. We're going because they need Jesus. The fact that they also need food, clothes, and shelter (which we can help give them) provides an open door to give the most needed, the most important, and the most lasting thing at the same time - salvation.

Remember - the only way we're going to be able to help with those living in the poverty-stricken nation of Guatemala, is because of the generosity of those living in the prosperity-driven nation of the United States.

Please pray about contributing to our mission. (Select 'Farrier' from the pulldown menu.)

Please take a moment to thank God for your own financial wealth, especially in light of the fact that so many in the world have so much less.

Please work in your own neighborhoods, schools, workplaces, communities, homes, and churches to end the most dangerous type of poverty of all - spiritual poverty, and the absence of salvation through Jesus Christ.

That's a poverty that no one can afford to have.

Rich and poor have this in common:
    The Lord is the Maker of them all.

- Proverbs 22:2