_ _ _ _ _
Some days I'm not even sure what to think, how to respond, or even if I'm living reality. It's emotionally exhausting some days to work among the wealthy and serve beside the less fortunate (in terms of money). My daily job is to teach children from wealthy families. Most have nannies or at least someone who cleans house and/or cooks dinner for the family, and some hardly see their parents. Then, I volunteer at a children's home here in Lima where children live without biological parents, in a house with other children who aren't related to them and with a "mama" who cares for them.
Just last Friday I was riding the bus home from work after a very long week, when two boys, brothers between 7-10 years old got on the bus. They talked about how their parents are drug addicts and how they have to support their family, including two younger sisters. They then sang a song (very off key) while trying to keep their balance as the bumpy road tossed about in the aisle of the bus. My heart broke as I thought about the children at the children's home and even those in Manchay who have faced similar situations. When they finished singing, they walked the aisle with their hands out hoping someone would give them a few soles. Some people did, others did not.
This is a normal situation here in Peru. People enter the bus to sing a song or play an instrument and then walk the aisle hoping to receive money from the passengers. Sometimes they explain about a sick family member and try to sell chocolates or other treats to earn money to help pay for the medical expenses. Other days they discuss addictions they have overcome and the need for money to start over with a new life. Sometimes I give money, sometimes I don't.
I live in a wealthy area where houses cost more than the houses in my hometown in the USA. Yet, on the other side of the mountain people live in one or two room houses, dirt floors, and sometimes don't even have running water or electricity. I work in a school where parents pay $1000 per month for their children to attend school while some of my friends' children attend public schools where they are lucky to have a full week of school due to absent teachers or random school closings. I see vehicles with their BMW, Audi, and Mercedes, emblems on a regular basis and then I see families with multiple children boarding the bus with barely enough money to pay their bus fare.
My heart and mind are confused as to how one city can have such dramatic financial differences. It seems the poor get poorer while the rich get richer more drastically than I can express. It breaks my heart that very few of this country's wealthy people care for those living in desperate situations. It seems like the more money one has, the more superior one feels and the less concern for the well-being of others.
However, I'm learning that no matter what social class you come from, we are all poor in some way. Some more visibly than others, but each one of us is lacking something. Some of those around me who have little by means of financial wealth have much in terms of spiritual wealth. They are some of the strongest Christians I know who daily encourage and challenge me to be a better person, to have more faith, and to believe the impossible. They are the ones serving this country and witnessing to their neighbors in attempt to grow and strengthen the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth. On the other hand, the wealthy are generally content. Life is "easy" and there is little room for or need for God. They tend to be nominal in their beliefs and some use church as a way of making connections and growing their businesses.
Heartbreaking...
But, there is hope! The poor in finances are rich in the Spirit and they are making a difference in this great nation. My faith and strength rests in the hand of Father who is making disciples right before my eyes. If only more people would realize that money is only temporary, but they things of God last forever.
