Amy Medina

Last one.  I promise.  Then I will go back to more mundane things.  So, for those of you who have tuned out this section (congratulations if you have gotten this far), please don’t tune out forever. 

When I started, I really didn’t realize I would have so much to say.  But the juices got flowing.  I obviously need an editor.  (It’s worse when I talk, trust me.)

So let me just sum up here:

1.  We are commanded to care about the poor, and to care for them. 

2.  Make sure you are helping, not hurting (and not giving just to relieve your conscience).

3.  God wants to use all of you, not just your money, to do His work to help the poor.  Consider the idea that He might want your family involved in more “mess” than you may have realized. 

Other ideas:

1.  Intentionally move into a low-income neighborhood. 

2.  Invite a college student from a low-income family to live with you, rent free.  (My parents have done this for 5 years.  Yay, Mom and Dad!)

3.  Volunteer at a pregnancy center, or a women’s shelter, or a children’s home.

4.  Become a foster parent.

5.  Adopt an international orphan or financially support someone who wants to.

6.  Tutor kids from a low-income neighborhood (but kids’ ministry should always be a bridge to family ministry, never an end in itself). 

7.  Cultivate your own strong marriage and help others cultivate theirs (since that’s the very best way to keep kids out of poverty).

Other ideas?  Anyone?

I don’t have it all together.  My primary purpose in Tanzania is not poverty alleviation.  But I can’t ignore it when it is all around me.  May some of what I have learned be a means for God to teach you as well. 

Thanks for reading!

This one might be a little radical.  But stick with me.

Lesson #5

Give Someone a Job.

Yep.  Hire Someone.  To do your cleaning, laundry, cooking, landscaping, gardening, whatever.  Be creative. 

I can hear you saying, You’re telling me to hire a maid?

Well, I don’t really like that word, but basically, Yes.  Giving someone a job is the best way to help that person get out of poverty.

We do this all the time in Africa.  We have two people who work for us full-time.  I know that full-time help is much more expensive in America.  So try once a week. 

But I know the stereotype.  Only the rich and lazy have maids and gardeners and cooks. 

Well, we’ve already established that you are rich.  Get used to the idea.

And lazy?  Well, it doesn’t have to be that way.  Having full-time house help frees up hours of time that I can invest in ministry.  You don’t have to use that time for watching television.  Volunteer in a pregnancy center or make meals for people who are sick or better yet, get to know your neighbors. 

It’s time that people in the west stop seeing these kind of jobs as a luxury, and instead see them as ministry. 

I’m not suggesting that you hire someone and then make sure you are never home when she is around.  I’m suggesting that you hire somone and then invest in his life.

Which involves talking.  Getting to know him.  Finding out who her kids are.  Having the family over to dinner.  Discovering his goals and aspirations, and then helping him meet those goals.  Encouraging English classes, if needed.  Helping her take college classes.  Teaching him new skills that will help him move upwards economically. 

And maybe even spoiling her kids at Christmas.  Don’t you think that would be much better than buying presents for an unknown, faceless “poor” person who will probably lose his dignity because he can’t afford gifts for his kids himself?  How much better for the family to receive gifts from her generous employer!

What I’m talking about is messy business, folks.  Trust me.  There are many times when I would just prefer to do my ironing myself, thank you very much, because it’s emotionally hard and complicated and just plain messy to be that involved in a person’s life. 

But isn’t that what we are called to do? 

Like I said, it’s much easier to just throw money at the problem.  Or pick up a few extra gifts at Christmas for a person you will never meet. 

But that’s not going to end poverty. 

So think about it.  If you are on a tight budget, maybe you already scrimp and save and sacrifice to sponsor a child overseas or support an Indian pastor.  And what I am suggesting is that it would be just as valuable (maybe more so) to scrimp and save and sacrifice to hire someone.

It’s not a luxury; it’s ministry.  If you are willing to see it the right way.

And the last one (for now!):  Part 5

Lesson #2

Money alone is not the answer.  To poverty, that is. 

Sometimes we read statistics about how much money it would take to alleviate poverty.  And that makes us dig a little deeper into our pockets and fork over some more at the next offering.  But all my years in Africa have taught me:  Money alone is not the answer. 

Did you know that in the 50-60 years since Africa received its independence from colonial rule, billions of dollars have been given or loaned to African nations?

And did you know that in those 50-60 years, the standard of living in most (if not all) African countries has decreased?

Decreased. 

The opposite of increased.

After billions of dollars.

Money alone is not the answer.

(But, um….look at America.  How many people who have spent years on welfare (and not in just an emergency situation) are now living financially, self-sufficient, productive lives?  Yeah.  Goes for African nations too.)

See, the problem is, when we hear about poverty and are convicted about it, our first inclination is to throw money at it.  That way we don’t feel so guilty.  But the truth is, money (or other kinds of donations) alone often makes the problem worse.

But they seem like such noble causes!

Building a church for a poor village:   But how is that affecting the local believers’ sense of biblical stewardship?  What does that say to the unbelievers in that village?  (Come to Jesus and the white people will give you stuff!)

Sending used clothes to a poor village.  Or a huge box of school supplies for the children:  But what does that do to the guy down the street who is trying to make a living by selling clothes?  What does it do to the tiny stationery shop when suddenly no one wants to buy their pencils any more? 

Building a well in an area with no water supply:  Africa is littered with wells that were machine-dug, and are now broken with no one to fix them.  They can’t be maintained.  The local people have no sense of ownership over it, because they did nothing to make it happen.  Now–perhaps there are times when a machine-dug well can be a lifesaver for a local school or orphanage….but ONLY if it is not replacing the work that the local, indigenous church should be doing themselves!

Lesson #3:

Money+long-term commitment+the GOSPEL=The Answer

Ohhhhh….there’s too much on this to say on this for a blog post!  But if you want more, then you must read this book.  But let me just summarize by saying that the gospel changes more than just people’s eternal destiny!  It gives them dignity and respect and a work ethic and integrity.  It gives them the desire to be unselfish and to cooperate with their neighbors.  It sets people free from the bondage of addictions so that they are able to provide for their families. 

And using principles from Scripture, workers can help produce long-term poverty alleviation even before there is a community of believers. 

Take, for example, another method of well-building:  A long-term worker builds relationships with the men in the village.  Over time, he develops a vision in them for building a well.  He tells them that if they provide all the labor, he will provide the materials.  He teaches them how to do it. 

The men agree and dig the well themselves, provided with about $600 in supplies.  They succeed.  They know how to maintain it themselves.  The well could last 100 years.  The men are so excited that on their own, they make plans to build another one.  Dignity.  Respect.  Self-sufficiency.  Reproducibility. 

True story.  From very good friends of mine.

Lesson #4

So where should my money go?

Make sure your donations are helping, not hurting.

Are you supporting a national pastor in the developing world that would better be supported by a local church?  Is the organization working towards that goal?

Are you paying for a church to be built and the local people are doing nothing?  Contributing nothing? 

Are you supporting an expensive short-term missions trip where the participants will be stealing work from nationals…..such as painting a building?  Distributing gifts and prizes to small children that can never be replicated by the local church?  (What if then the kids in the village only want to come to VBS when the white people are there, because that’s when they “get stuff?”  What does that do to the national believers?)

Is the gospel a major part of any poverty alleviation effort that is going on?  Is it a part of a long-term, relationship-building ministry, or just a “blitz” that won’t have lasting results?

Look for national involvement and decisions.  Who initiated the project?  The local church?  Or the white people with Big Ideas for fixing problems?  Look for long-term sustainment, reproducibility….and humility among the foreign workers.  Micro-enterprise.  Selling things at low prices instead of giving them away.  Using local resources instead of imported resources. 

A couple of major exceptions:

1.  Emergency relief after a national disaster.  Support organizations that are doing this in the name of Jesus, but other than that–get those poor people some water and food and shelter.  Just make sure you support a ministry that knows this should be temporary.

2.  Orphan ministry (though even in this, the local church should be involved!)

3.  Sometimes any of the above.  I’m not ready to tell anyone that they should never support a national pastor or pay for a church to be built or pay for a machine-dug well.  I’m mostly saying that you should do your homework and ask good questions and think through the long-term effects of how you donate.

(at least one more part coming soon…..to be continued)

Keep reading:  Part 4

A few years ago, I wrote aboutliving with poverty, but not in poverty. 

My struggle has not ceased.

However, I have learned a great deal about poverty in these last few years.  I’ve read somegreat bookson the subject.  I’ve learned from a few amazing, talented, passionate friends here in Tanzania who know so much about alleviating poverty through community development.  I’ve witnessed the impact of various economic systems both in Tanzanian and the U.S. 

And so I don’t feel so helpless anymore.  I still feel the urge to do more, and I pray often that God will convict me as to how He wants me to better use the resources He has given me.  I don’t have all the answers.  But I am starting to get a picture of what some of the answers might be.

And that’s what I want to share with you.  Because the things I have learned are universal; they don’t just apply to Africa. 

So here we go.

Lesson #1: 

When it comes to helping alleviate poverty, and to what God expects from me, God doesn’t want just my money.

We’ve established that I am rich.  You are rich.  We have far more money at our disposal than the vast majority of people in the world. 

But it’s not just how we use our money that God will hold us responsible for.

I am a healthy person.  And I have access to excellent health care.  Thus, I should have more energy to devote to serving others than most people in the world, who regularly, daily, struggle with health issues and have no options (not even WebMD!).

I am an educated person.  Since I have some post-college graduate training, I am one of the most educated people in the world.  How am I using my education to further God’s kingdom?  How I am wisely using the money and time that was invested in my education?  Since I know about the suffering in the world—of the unborn, of persecuted Christians, of those who are in slavery, how will I be held accountable for that knowledge?

I am a citizen of a country that allows religious freedom (most of the time!).  I am living in another country that also allows religious freedom.  Am I taking advantage of the opportunities for the gospel that gives me? 

I am rich in spiritual resources.  The number of Christian books, sermons, songs, and translations of the Bible that are available to me at the click of my finger is mind-boggling.  I have a better grasp of theology than most African pastors–not because I am more worthy or have more faith, but simply because I am American and have infinite opportunity to learn.  Yet why is my faith so much weaker than theirs?

And of course, the fact that I am a financially rich person also provides for more than just nice things.  I don’t need to labor all day to provide food for my family, so I have more time for service.  I am able to take lovely vacations, so I should be all the more useful and productive as a result. 

I am a Ten Talent Servant.  Am I using all of them?  Am I putting to use all of the abundant resources God has given me? 

We hear about those pastors in India who travel around by bicycle.  They get beaten up a lot by people who hate them.  They sleep under the stars and rely on the generosity of others in order to eat.  They have been given One Talent when it comes to resources and money and health.  They have nothing, yet they are furthering God’s kingdom in amazing ways.

So if they have One and are doing all that, and I have Ten, shouldn’t I be doing ten times as much?

Keep reading:  Part 3

I am an aristocrat.

So are you.

I am one of the richest people in the world.  And I don’t mean that figuratively.  I mean that literally.  I do not own a plane, or a boat, or even a house.  But I am one of the richest people in the world.  Filthy, stinkin’ rich. 

I want you to please clickherefor a moment.  Please.  Then go on and read what else I have to say. 

Did you do it?  Did you enter your family’s income? 

Yeah.  Sobering, isn’t it? 

Oh, I’ve heard the excuses.  “But the cost of living in the United States is so much higher than anywhere else.  We need more money just to get by.”

Oh yes.  True.  But the standard of living is also much higher. 

You are one of the richest people in the world.  I know this because you own a computer, otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this.  And if you own a car and have a college education, that puts you in the top 7%.

It’s difficult to fathom this when you are surrounded by people who have as much, or more, than you do.  But that doesn’t make it any less true. 

I don’t know about you, but aristocrat doesn’t really bring to mind positive images.  Rather, I think of Marie Antoinette saying, Let them eat cake.  We think of aristocrats as the very rich who revel in their wealth and ignore the poor at their doorstep. 

Are we that far from that description?

I’ve been thinking about this in biblical terms.  Remember the parable of the talents?  Each servant was given a different amount of money, and the amount didn’t matter, just the responsibility. 

Well.  If you go back to that website and see where you fall on the Global Rich List, can you claim anything other than 10 talents?

I am a Ten Talent Servant.  So are you.  We are at the top of the heap.  We are the aristocracy of the world. 

And we will be held responsible as such. 

I have always, every day of my life, had enough to eat.  My closet has always been crammed with clothes.  My housing options have been numerous.  My educational options have been even greater.  The sky is the limit; I can practically do anything and go anywhere if I really wanted to.  I can read any book in English; any kind of information is available to me. 

I have never lived in fear of starvation.  I have never been raped by a soldier who is supposed to protect me.  I have never had to put my children to bed hungry.  I have never been faced with the decision of leaving a child behind to die of starvation alone, or to get the rest of my family to a refugee camp.  I have never lived in fear of a brutal dictator.  I have never had to worry about where or how my children will go to school.  If my children get sick, I can afford the best medical care in the country.  And if that’s not good enough, I have insurance to fly them somewhere else. 

The more I learn about the suffering in the world, the more I am amazed that I have been spared from it.  The more humbled I am.  Every difficulty in my life that I have faced is nothing, nothing, nothing compared to the suffering that billions of people in this world face every day. 

I am so rich. 

I am so cared for.

I have so much opportunity. 

I have Ten Talents. 

I am an aristocrat. 

And that changes my perspective on everything. 

To whom much has been given, much will be required. 

Keep reading:  Part 2