Who Wipes Their Tears?

What happens when you send a free pair of shoes to a “poor starving” kid in Africa (or anyplace else)?  The shoes are great!  Which one of the hundreds of children in a village who need them gets it?

How is the “chosen” one set apart from the others because he/she received the shoes and the others are barefoot or wearing old/tattered shoes?

How does the relief worker choose “the” child that will receive them and deal with the look of broken hearts on the faces of those who do not?  Who wipes their tears of sorrow and frustration that they can’t help them all?

How does the shoe repair boy pay for his food, clothing, and education when there are no old shoes to repair?

How does the shop owner stay in business, feed his family, provide for his children’s education when everyone waits for the next shipment of “free” shoes instead of buying new ones from the local source?

What about the people who make their livings shipping and supplying the shoes to the local shop owner?  Their sales are down and their families are affected as well.

Who holds their hands and wipes their tears when they can’t provide for their families?

What about the local manufacturers?  If there are so many free shoes, people will wait and not buy so the manufacturer has no demand and  they don’t  make them anymore.  They lose their business as well, along with the families that their business supported by providing them with an income so they could provide for their families.  Who holds their hand and wipes their tears?

I love the fact that we Americans love to give.  It makes us feel great!  We are contributing and there is great joy to be had in that for us.  We feel good. We feel proud.  We did something!

But, did we really???  I think back to the little boy in Malakal, South Sudan who told me “thank you for letting me go to school” every time I bought an onion from him.  You see, if I hadn’t bought his onion, he would not have made the money to pay his tuition or buy his supplies.  Or, to eat.  Who would have wiped his tears if no one bought his onions because they got them for free?

Who wipes their tears??

 Most of us don’t have the opportunity to pack our bags and leave home to follow Jesus command to go and make disciples of all nations, but with modern technology we don’t have to.  Do a Google search for online missions and online missionary and you will find millions of hits.  Scroll through; find one that is right for you.  In the time it takes to read your facebook posts or play an online games, you can mentor a child in a foreign country or a mom who just needs a lift on a bad day.  

How much better would it be to build a relationship, get to know someone one on one, learn about their lives and teach them about yours?  How much better to learn their history and culture first hand than to read it in a book or online? How much better could it be to get to know someone personally than to write an anonymous check?  

If you are not sure about the safety of the internet resources, contact your church organization for their missionaries working in a country that interests you.  Chances are, they will love to hear from you and perhaps can put you in contact with an organization in their area that needs your help.  Contact an organization working in a country you are interested in and offer to be an online partner.  

Perhaps when it is all said and done, they will wipe your tears.