Truly Helping - Holly Baker - DAY 12

Today we had many more students at VBS than our first day in Mobay. I helped in the nursery class, and a middle school student walked in and handed me a one year old baby. The mother wasn't there. Most American children would be uneasy being handed to a stranger, but these children are very used to being shuffled around. This girl was really sweet and complacent, and I held her for most of the morning. It really breaks my heart to see all of the children starving for attention. Fathers are nonexistent, and mothers are too overwhelmed and frustrated in their current situations. My impression of Jamaica is that the situation here is not unlike other situations in the world. I have never been in a third world country, but I have been in poor areas of the US, and it is the same. People need helped, and it is difficult to help them. You cannot hand money to most people in need. They have not been taught humility and gratitude, and it is very very overwhelming. Many Americans have dumped money into programs in the US and elsewhere, and this is an easy way for people to feel that they are doing good. While donating money can make a difference, the recipients of these social programs often do not need to change. Without being taught, they will continue to remain in the same cycle of sin. In order to help someone we must donate our time in order to really get to know the individual. We often avoid spending our time for various reasons--we are too busy or we do not want to get hurt are the most popular excuses. God calls us to love, and we as Americans stay busy "loving" those people who are in a similar social status as us. Everyone on this trip has made a large sacrifice in order to reach outside ourselves and help in Jamaica. It is my prayer that when we go home we will continue to help. We must be workers for the Lord and maybe give up some of the activities that consume our time in order to get to know people and make a difference. Tonight we sang "Our God, He is Alive" at our worship services. I have sung that song in many different venues with many different Christians. It reminds me that all over the world there are groups of Christians striving to do what is right. It is a very powerful reminder. We are all fundamentally the same, and we all need God.