Needs

We recently traveled to a small town on the side of the road. We went to deliver some Christmas goods like food and presents. I returned bewildered and still I wonder why we went.

The very first person to greet us began to explain how the mine waste sat on the other side of the road and when the wind kicked up, all of the pollution stirred around in the air. Could I do something about it she asked.

I went along meeting other people, the leaders from nearby towns. One of the first to introduce herself came armed with two letters, both asking for us to take on projects of building and repairing things.

They gave us a tour of the town and as we looked at the problems left by the mine, someone asked me what we were going to do about it. At that point I began to explain that I know nothing about mining, nothing about the leftover chemicals, that I could see the problem and had no plan to take care of it.

I was shown around the medical post. "We need a scale, we need oxygen tanks, we need bedsheets..." The list went on and on. They want a full running medical post when the nearest hospital is about 5 minutes away. Walking.

We went into the school's classrooms and they showed me the kids work and pointed out that the ceilings were deteriorating. I saw two spots where things had comes loose. As we were about to leave the school grounds, they decided that every town leader would send a list of the town's needs so they could compile it and submit it to us.

Truthfully, I wanted out. Out of these conversations, out of town! To wrap things up, they asked that I would say a few words. God had been speaking to me as I walked through the town. They really had many things, most apparent was the fact that the building were all made of cement. One town away was complete adobe. The cement buildings were from the mining days and remain to this day. So many towns we visit have no cement buildings but are homes with dirt floors, straw walls and roofs that are literally falling apart. I challenged them to see what they had instead of what they didn't have. Every single town could draft a list of the town needs. Even I have a list of things I need to do, repair or get for my home. But that does not mean that every visitor that walks through my door is shown the list and then asked, "Now what are you going to do about it?"

My heart hurt that day. Hurt for the fact that they are lost. Hurt for the fact that they look to people instead of to God. Hurt for the fact that a single mom wanted me to take her daughter to give her a better life. Hurt for the fact that they saw only their own needs and not those of people around them.