"Worldwide Hunger"

On a recent vacation I travelled to Guatemala where I was brought back to a sense of reality and a realization of just how blessed we are , yet at the same time how we trivialize things in our own country and take for granted each other. When I was face to face with the people and the lifestyle I was first in tears, then I realized these people are happier than we are. They don’t know all the riches of the earth; they live simple, hard lives. It wasn’t until I saw the state of their living arrangements that I got sick, no running water, no septic’s, children who were hungry, dogs that were starving. 80% of people in Guatemala live in poverty, and two-thirds in extreme poverty. This country has the fourth-highest rate of malnutrition in the world.

5,000 children living on the streets there are drug dependent and most come from a broken family. We learnt that more girls are moving on to the streets because of the violence and abuse they face at home. A total of 1.5 million children in Guatemala spend at least part of their day working and not in school, and unfortunately many children are selling their bodies.

These young children have to work from a very young age, just to help provide for their own food and clothing.

Though we often forget poverty and oppression, it is clear from the Bible that they are always on God's mind.

Deut. 26:5-9. The Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, and imposed hard labor on us. Then we cried to the LORD, the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice and saw our affliction and our toil and our oppression; and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with great terror and with signs and wonders; and He has brought us to... this land flowing with milk and honey. Is 41:17. The afflicted and needy are seeking water, but there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst. I, the LORD, will answer them myself, as the God of Israel I will not forsake them.
Luke 6:20-21. Blessed are you who are poor, for yours in the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.

James 2:5. Did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?

My thought is if God loves the poor so much, shouldn’t we too. Shouldn’t we quit judging them and start supporting them. Prov. 29:7. The righteous is concerned for the rights of the poor; the wicked does not understand such concern.

This journey in life has taught me that I need to be kind, considerate and a whole lot more patient with understanding to those less fortunate and help out as much as possible. One thing I can do without lifting a finger is pray. Is that too much to ask? I want this message to reach out to your heart so that you too realize you don’t have to be in Guatemala to see hunger, filth, desperation, sometimes it could be your next door neighbor that is struggling. Reach out with extended arms my friends; take a moment to see if you can be someone’s angel today. I know myself I have had days that I know without God I wouldn’t have survived, for no one was there but Him. Give Him all the glory today and ask that He give you strength and courage and take away all your fear of helping in an area that is unknowns’ to you. God bless you my friends.