"Whatever You Do for the Least of These...

... You Do Unto Me". ~Matthew 25:40


This was my high school history teacher's favorite verse. To this day, when someone quotes it, I think of her. I used to roll my eyes (internally, externally or both) when she launched into her mantra about taking care of the poor. "Isn't Christianity about grace and faith and not works?" I would think to myself. I think this was and still is a cop out for me to not be moved to help those less fortunate than me. I live on $10 a day here in Bolivia (take that, Rachael Ray!) and sometimes think that I am needy somehow. But then I go to an outreach like I did yesterday and God kicks me in the pants and shows me that I have so much to give - if not money, than time and love.

Some cinnamon water, a Bolivian treat. 

The area we went to is in the southern part of Cochabamba, adjacent to the airport that I flew into 6 weeks ago. As we were driving there, the desolate looking "houses" and lack of any conveniences and stores reminded me of "Slumdog Millionaire". They don't even have indoor plumbing yet. The kids were all starving, both for food and attention, and we gave them both. A simple meal of chicken, rice and salad will give them more nutrients than they'll probably get for the rest of the week. They were dirty. They were needy. And they were who Christ died for. 

The little girl in the striped sweater and pink pants hit her head on the ground -
I swooped her up and soothed her with my broken Spanish. Poor kid. :)

Apparently, making an idiot of yourself wins the love of Bolivian children. We'll just say I was loved by the time I left that afternoon. I was dirty and dusty and thirsty and wanted to wash my hands, but I was happy when I left. I was also very encouraged by the work one of the local churches is doing with these kids, week in and week out. Some of the guys who are now in seminary, grew up in very similar conditions. They were "wheelbarrow boys". The boys who I ignore when I go to the market and want you to pay for them to wheel your purchases around. There's a ministry here that reaches out to wheelbarrow boys and the fruits of that ministry's labor were so apparent yesterday. These young men know what it's like to live at home with an alcoholic dad who beats you when you make eye-contact with him. And yet they're able to speak truth and love into this next generation's lives that God is their true Father and He loves them and cares for them and wants to do good for them. It was really beautiful. 

Getting their worship on - I forgot how fun hand motions can be!