It was a pretty restful Sabbath, today. I spent much of the afternoon making a table of contents for Stacy's Peace Corps Cookbook and then copying down recipes I want to try in the future... Most the recipes were deserts and I found a common theme: chocolate and peanut butter. Mmm... Though, if John and I end up in a remote village we probably won't have access to either ingredient.
Stacy shared with me the struggles she's faced within the past four years. It's amazing what individuals face, and you'd never know just by looking at them! I guess that's why it's so important to take the time and listen to peoples' stories so you can understand them that much more.
This afternoon a woman came to the Nile's home asking if Stacy could write a letter to the family who had given her son a shoe box through "Operation Christmas Child." At first she wanted to thank the family, but then it turned into a plea for money and possessions. However, Stacy didn't feel right about writing such a letter so she just left it as a thank you. The thing is, even if Americans sent cash it'd be worthless here because there's no bank. The closest bank is a two day drive from here. As Stacy and Marc have observed, giving money and a few possessions here and there often does more harm than good. They want to help who they can, but it's a very slippery slope because you don't want to encourage dependency. In addition to this, taking care of people's physical needs is great but it has very little lasting effects. What people really need is the transforming power of the Gospel. If you can help people physically and spiritually simultaneously I think you'll probably get the best results. But it's not easy because you never know whether individuals are truly giving their lives to Christ or if they're simply going through the motions because you've given them clean water or food. But regardless, Jesus preaches continually about providing for the poor in the Gospels. And look at His example- He met spiritual, emotional, and physical needs!
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