I saw hopelessness, fear, and poverty in such amounts as I had never experienced. K and I, along with some college volunteers visited a Roma (gypsy) village near our house. This is a settlement of over 2000 people in the middle of a European capital situated 200 yards from the newest apartments in Belgrade (some units costing over half million dollars to buy). It was the poorest place I have ever been. I know that poorer places exist in the world, but this was sort of surreal, it was so close to so much wealth, but it could have been a million miles away. We took this little trip with the pastor of the Roma church here in Belgrade to minister to this community and meet some basic needs (mostly passing out clothes, blankets and some toys).
We entered the village and immediately our senses were in overdrive. The houses are cardboard and whatever can be found. Kids - in various state of dress- and stray dogs are running everywhere. There is an overwhelming sense of hopelessness hanging in the air. I asked a man what they did to make money. They collect paper and cardboard (from the dumpster) and sell it to recyclers for about five cents a pound. They beg, wash car windows on the street corner, and pretty much collect anything from a dumpster they may be able to sell. Visually it is overwhleming. But there are sounds and smells that are so new and different I can't describe them. There are no bathrooms or kitchens, they share a common cooking space and a common hole. I could write for hours describing what I saw but words can't convey the heaviness of real poverty.
We were able to enter several homes and meet some families. A few houses had electricity, they had tapped into the tram lines running on the hill above the village so they had lights. The houses without lights were just dark and cave like. The floors are dirt, and the only furnishings were blankets and old matresses on the ground to sleep on. We met one man whose wife had left him and he was raising three young kids on his own. The kids could not attend school so they went with him all day to collect paper. We met a 17 year old girl who had been married since she was 13 and had a baby. Most of the kids don't have a chance to got to school, the help their parents work. We met little girls the age of K and M that were the happiest kids in the world because we gave them old Marti gras beads. We met countless people whose only thoughts were what they could do now to get through that day.
After visiting for a while, the pastor selected a few families to come out to my van and receive some of the clothes we had come to donate. As soon as the first bag was distributed, a few families turned into a couple of hundred people. We tried our best to get something to everyone. There were so many kids with no clothes- literally, I was crushed with guilt for all we had sitting at home.
If you know me well, you know I am pretty low on the compassion and mercy scale but I left "bellville" with a heavy heart. As I looked at these families I placed my self there with my kids and wife and was over come with a sense of despair and hopelessness..... how do we help this situation? I could pass out clothes and food for weeks, and not make a dent in the poverty.....
K was pretty overwhelmed. I had some idea of what we were walking into, she had no idea. Her eyes were big as saucers. She was a great translator and talked to some of the kids, but mostly she was trying to process the assault on her senses. Her only question when we got in the car was "Dad, whats it like in the winter, how do they stay warm when it snows?" I had no answer. I drove home asking myself "What do they do when it gets cold?" The rest of the afternoon K was pretty quiet, even solemn. I think she was and is on her own search for answers. This was her first expereince with the "least of these' and I am praying it impacts her heart in a mighty way. Click here to read K's perspective
I know the easy answer is that we can give them Jesus, he is the provider and living water, and I agree. But I can't explain the meeter of all needs when none of your needs are met. Christ over and over calls us to the least of these. I have been pooring over Mathew 25 this week. These are Christ's words from verse 35-40: For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' This has been killing me this week, as I looked into these faces, I was looking at Jesus. These words were what I saw; hungry, thirsty, needy. So the question for me, is how do I meet the need and be more then just a hand out. I think its clear in the scripture above that we are commanded to meet the earthly need. But I do want these people to know that there is Christ and he will meet all needs more abundantly then I ever could.
Keep checking back as I tell the second half of the story, and Christ leads me to the befingoof some answers.
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| This is the "street" we walked down to meet people |
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| Passing out clothes, before the crowd swarmed |
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