When we first moved to here, I had a lot of trouble putting food on the table for our family. I didn't have any language skills. I didn't know where to find the foods I was used to cooking with. I had to backpack all the food back to our home in over 100 degree heat. I had trouble using the foods available to make something we enjoyed eating. It was stressful and gave me a small taste. But never once did we have no food available.
We have now had the experience enough times of people asking us for help with food. Sometimes it isn't an explicit question, just a comment that they have no food. Other times it is a visit or a written note. Recently I took some rice and beans to a family around lunch time. It was very disheartening to me that they were all sitting around the courtyard at lunch time with nothing to do. If there isn't food to be prepared, there isn't much work to be done around the house.
For me it is even harder when I then see their mother show up to church in a new dress. Money had already been spent this month. That is why the family went hungry. Yes, there are other people these families could go to. But they came to us. Yes, they should have spent their money differently. But lots of value is put on clothing here. The bottom line is they were hungry and in my opinion we can't let them continue to go hungry. I was just teaching that story to my children of Jesus talk about doing it for the least of these doing it for him. An important reminder from time to time when we are tempted to think little of the people who need help. It's not too hard of a decision to make when for a couple of dollars we are able to help large families have a staple starch and beans for a couple of days. As for showing initiative and everyone doing their part, people who get help with food still have to figure out firewood and other details. But as they say here: If someone wants to go up to heaven, even stepping on a mat will reduce the distance.
-- La Maestra
Thank you for sharing. Pretty amazing work.
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