by Amy Straub I used to assume that life must be joyless for those without all the material comforts that were commonplace to me. When I considered people who had only the clothes on their backs and just enough food for each day, my first and strongest reaction was pity. I felt it often in … Continue reading Seeing Dignity Instead of Misery Among the Poor
I was always blown away by the number of funerals. During the years our househelper in Tanzania worked for us, I lost count of how many times she asked for time off to attend a funeral for a family member. She was my age, but during those years she lost her mother. Her mother-in-law. A … Continue reading This Pandemic Can Help Us to Identify With the World’s Poor
by Rachel K. Zimmerman I was sitting at a table for four at one of the more exclusive country clubs in Florida. My friend and I were in fancy dresses, trying to enjoy a nice dinner with some relatives. I was headed back overseas a few days later. My anxiety always peaked a few days … Continue reading Are You Poor?
I learnt the hard way what NOT to do in poor communities. When I first came to Cambodia 22 years ago, the place was a mess. People were poor. Dirt poor. Frankly, you’d have had to be a heartless zombie not to respond. And the missionaries came flooding in. We were full of compassion and … Continue reading One question to help you evaluate ministry among the poor
My neighbors were evicted. I came home to find their worldly belongings – a couple of dirty sheets, a filthy pink pillow and assorted clothing – piled in a puddle outside my front door. They had previously been living crammed together in one of the tiny, windowless rooms that line our alleyway. Apparently our landlord … Continue reading There’s no such thing as the “deserving poor”
Partnering directly with poor churches is a promising way to do mission for affluent churches. Skip the middleman and Go Direct is the mantra of this internet age. I personally like the idea of this approach because of the possibility it holds for real, long-term, mutual relationships to emerge between rich and poor. But if you’ve … Continue reading How to partner with a poor church without screwing everything up
Katherine Boo talks about the western ‘conceit that poverty is ennobling.’ Tracy Kidder, in his book Mountains Beyond Mountains, quotes Paul Farmer, “There’s a WL (white liberal) line – the ‘They’re poor but they’re happy’ line.’ They do have nice smiles and good senses of humor, but that’s entirely different.” I am of the opinion … Continue reading Please Don’t Say, “They Are Poor But They’re Happy.”
The past few weeks the city where my family makes its home has been in the international news. We’ve won first place– but it is not a competition we wish to win. Jakarta is the city in the world with the worst air quality.[1] Headlines scream at us; newscasters speak of doom and respiratory distress. Jakarta … Continue reading When Skies Are Gray
by Anna Danforth Photography is a powerful tool to share about life in your host country. Too often, especially in non-profit work, photography has been used in an exploitative and invasive manner. This is usually done to amplify and support the expat’s reason for being overseas. For example, in an effort to establish the need … Continue reading 7 Principles for Ethical Photography as a Global Citizen
NOTE: In choosing to focus this article on abuse of power within the Church, I recognize that I have not addressed every possible instance of abuse. In particular, I am not addressing child sexual abuse. That is a topic which requires very careful and extensive treatment not possible in a short article such as this. … Continue reading How to Talk With Our Children About Abuse of Power Within the Church
by Andrea Sears Our perception of an experience can be greatly colored by our expectations. On the one hand, missionaries tend to understand that we must hold any expectations lightly as we travel to live in another country. We know that with so much change in our lives at once, the nature of some of … Continue reading Expectations: Future Disappointments, Planned Out in Advance
by Jacob “Sure it’s got no natural light, but the water supply is good, and look, you even have your own toilet!” A potential landlady was showing us a room that was available for rent. We had just moved back to India from Australia and were getting back into our old roles doing community development … Continue reading What’s on Your Housing Wish List?
