Hearts Like Nancy's

Every week, I write an email to my best friends from college (that makes me feel really old...). Every day of the week, an Ohana girl sends out an email update of what has been going on so that we can be praying for each other, and so that we can feel closer together than we physically are. This week, I wrote about a specific story from the busy week we have had, and I felt compelled to share a part of it with you all...

Nancy (our language tutor) came over to our house for our lesson yesterday, and as Holly and I were driving her home, we told her we would like to buy her a gift. And since she cares for so many, and is constantly giving of herself to her family, we asked if there would be something special we could buy as a specific treat for her. Could we bake her a yummy treat, could we take her out for a special 'girls' night dinner, could we buy her a special lotion or hair product that she wouldn't normally buy for herself?

Nancy didn't actually understand the idea of a "treat." We had to go on and on explaining what we meant, and in the end I honestly could not have anticipated a more humbling response. Nancy replied, "If you could just buy us a bag of nshima (cornmeal that is used as the basis of every Zambian meal), and some vegetables (used to make various kinds of 'relish' to go on top on the nshima)- that would be a very special treat for me. Then, it would be something that can bless my whole family, and not just me."

After we dropped her off, Holly and I sat in the car, just looking at each other with such conviction. Especially because we had planned to go on a date to the movies that night- our own idea of a "special treat" after the busy work week we had serving others. As we sat down in our comfty movie seats, we counted up the amount of money we had spent on our tickets, popcorn, and drinks- about ZK 80,000, or $15. Ironically (or not so), this is about the same amount we would spent to fill Nancy's request for nshima and vegetables.

Everyday, I am confronted with even more suffering, poverty, and need than the day before. Everyday, I walk into a 'house' even smaller, squalid, and sparse than the one I visited yesterday. And everyday, I spend time with the people who are living in the midst of it all- praising God each moment of their day.

Because of these experiences, I simply cannot live the same way I have previously lived, although it is indeed possible to do here in Zambia. I cannot "treat myself" to a movie when I know the money spent doing so could feed a family of 11 for 2 weeks. I know from last night that it just sorta ruins it.

I want to be clear- I am not suggesting that we as American consumers need to cut back. To do so would not actually love the poor- to just 'cut back' would be a means of justifying our wealth so that we feel less guilty about having it. What I am hoping and praying is that we actually fall in love with the Nancys of the world (there are billions of them)- so much so that we actually must completely change the way we live in order to make absolutely sure that their needs are met.


The way I see it, we cannot selflessly love the Nancys of the world until our hearts actually become more like hers.