Poverty

One thing that the other missionaries and I have been asked to reflect on in the weeks leading up to our arrival at the Finca is poverty. Poverty is something which is easy to encounter in Central America but often we forget that poverty does not only consist in the physical sense but also there is spiritual and emotional poverty. Mother Teresa often talked about these types of poverty, she reminds us: “There is a terrible hunger for love. We all experience that in our lives - the pain, the loneliness. We must have the courage to recognize it. The poor you may have right in your own family. Find them. Love them.” 

Poverty is not something reserved for those lacking money, we each have poverties in our own lives and recently I have been reflecting on the poverties in mine: 

1. I am poor in my ability to speak (especially in Spanish). Sometimes when I get frustrated with the mistakes I make while speaking Spanish I have to remind myself that I often make errors when speaking English. 
2. I am poor in my ability to work with young children. Put me in front of a group of children under the age of twelve and I really don’t know what to do with myself, I’ve been slowly learning though. 
3. I am poor in humility (and many other virtues). Some virtues come easier than others. 

(To name a few) 

One of the challenges we are asked to accept at the Finca is that sometimes we will be asked to do things which require us to use our weaknesses rather than our strengths, sometimes our primary job for the year might even be one of the things we feel we are worse at. This is contrary to what we have been taught most of our lives, which is “figure out what you are best at and study that” or “figure out what you enjoy doing most and work on that.” Believe it or not I am excited to get away from this mentality and discover how weak I really am during my time in Honduras. After all, when we recognize our weaknesses we also realize how much we require the help of others and how much we need to trust in God. It is also important for us to remember that not all weaknesses are bad, Jesus reminds us:

 “Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven...” Mt 5:3-11 (RSV) 

Often we who have so much lack what is most important: Love. I didn’t come to Central America to find poverty, as Mother Teresa reminds us, we can always find people who are lacking in love, beginning in our own families, but I hope that during my time here I can learn to recognize what poverty really is, beginning with my own poverty, and I challenge you to find the poverty in your lives, in your friends, and in your families, and combat poverty with love. 

"The deepest desert is the human heart when it looses the capacity for listening, speaking and communicating with God and with others." Pope Benedict XVI