You will be sweating...

At times I have found myself wondering why I would leave one of the most wonderful places in the world (Montana) where summers are spent boating on Flathead Lake, climbing in Kyla, hiking in Glacier Park, and rafting down the Middle Fork, to go and sweat a lot and live in a place with out all of the amenities and services that we take for granted everyday that make our lives easier? In this post I’d like to mention a couple of my answers to this question.

The past year has been an incredible year of growth for me. Beginning during my studies in Costa Rica, my eyes were opened to the realities of the world we live in and the bubble that I had previously been living within. I have been fortunate enough to have an amazing family and parents that thought it important for us to see different parts of the world. So I have been able to do a fair bit of traveling, but it’s not until you live amongst a new group of people and begin to establish relationships with them that you are able to truly see the world from a new perspective. Through both my time in Central America as well as my studies at Point Loma in the past year, I have come to see the disastrous inequalities, the oppression, the slavery, and abundant poverty that ensnares humanity around the globe.

Living in the United States it is often easy to forget about these issues or perhaps never even realize that they exist today. We create so many layers between ourselves and the poor around the globe, even the poor and marginalized within our comfortable cities and neighborhoods. The reality of their struggles is often overlooked in our personal frenzy to finish school, find a job, make more money, rise a bitter higher in our social circumstances, and often we just dismiss poverty as an unsolvable issue that can not be changed, fostering an apathetic attitude that we gladly except. Anything that will allow us to keep living in the comfort of our day-to-day lives right? I bring this issue forward and I would certainly claim to be one of the biggest culprits of all, guilty of placing my own self interests, comfort, and happiness at the top of my priorities all too often.

This internship for me is a chance to break down some of those layers that separate us from the poor and the sick. This is a chance to meet face to face with those who have been cast out and not given a chance for a loan by bankers, to meet with HIV victims and prostitutes and see their needs. I believe that this time will present an opportunity to hear the needs of the poor, to learn what methods of development are working and offering whatever skills I have to support Esperanza and the people of the Dominican. It is my desire that I will also have the opportunity to learn just as much (and hopefully much more!) about life, relationships, freedom, Jesus, and the good stuff in life from these people as well. I will be joining a small team in the Dominican Republic that are very experienced in the work that they do, and most likely have an incredible ability to begin eradicating poverty and empowering the poor, but I want to be sure to keep in mind that these people already know how to live, they have a story, they have a culture, and the last thing I want is to bring about a Western savior mentality that is too often the case in many development organizations.

Jesus Christ walked with the poor, he hung out with sinners, and he called his followers to spend their energy and efforts caring for ‘the least of these’. This summer is going to be a time for me to step out of the bubble I am in and get to work and serve the with the least of these. I hope to have the opportunity to use my business skills, my limited development knowledge, and genuine care for the oppressed to make a difference in my own life and the lives of others. While a relaxing summer on the lake sounds pretty nice, I have realized that something much greater than my day-to-day comfort is going on in the world. We have a duty to strive towards equality and relieve the pain and suffering that exists in the world today. We are to be His hands and feet. Maybe God will want me to be his hands and tie knots in a fly-line floating down the Flathead next summer ☺… who knows, but for now this is where I feel led and have been given an incredible opportunity to work with a great organization. I can’t wait to see what this summer has in store and I look forward to keeping you updated on my experiences and relationships in the DR.