I was just thinking

Giving Stuff

A very dear friend contacted me last week. She is a teacher and asked about having her kids participate in a service project that would provide something "tangible" for some of the very poor Liberians with whom we lived and worked. Renita and I get these offers from time to time, and we always have mixed feelings about them. On the one hand, the offers come from generous hearts wanting to give from that generosity. What could be wrong with that? On the other hand, in some situations, giving out of our desire to give may have little to do with the needs of those we give to and everything to do with meeting our own needs. That kind of giving is not generosity. In my conversation with my teacher friend, it was clear she was aware of the complexities involved to giving to people in cultures of poverty. But not everyone is. It is often more important that those of relative wealth learn about the complexities of poverty and how difficult it is to find solutions, than it is for the person in poverty to get something "tangible." Ironically, both the "Haves" of this world and the "Have Nots" desperately need something intangible with regard to their condition, and it is often in providing the tangible that exacerbates that intangible need.

It is essential to consider what "providing" teaches the "provider" and the "providee." Throughout the developing world, millions of people have been taught to "look outward, whence cometh my help." For millions, "my life cannot possibly be better unless others keep giving me something. I have nothing to give." There might be some truth to this in some places, but not in most. Definitely not in Liberia, as bad as thing are there. But the sense of internal adequacy or self efficacy for many Liberians is very low. By contrast, throughout the industrial world, millions have been taught that they have what everyone else wants, and it is good to "lend a hand" to "give to the needy." They have been conditioned that problems are there to be fixed and that they can fix whatever is broken by sheer force of will. They may think, "The poor have nothing to offer. They will not live better unless I give them something."

Yet both the poor person who thinks she has nothing to offer and the wealthy man who thinks he has nothing to receive are profoundly self-deceived and in desperate need, a need not met by giving or receiving "stuff."

The result of these self deceptions are that when people of means simply give to people in extreme poverty, there is no development, no change in the way either party sees themselves. People of means like to give, and people without anything like to receive. Both the free giving and the free taking reinforce the idea that "You Give I Take" (or "You Take I Give") is exactly the way the relationship equation is supposed to be, and that introduces death to the human spirit on both sides of the equation. Without changing the way we frame the equation, the way we see ourselves in relation to world poverty, how can things possibly change? How will the "Powerful Givers" or "Powerless Receivers" ever see themselves as more than just that?

The challenge is to create opportunities for all involved to see the full "intangible" humanity, intelligence, character and dignity of people in situations of profound poverty, and to help all involved see any spiritual poverty, ignorance, oversimplifying tendencies of people in situations of wealth and access. The challenge is to see poverty of spirit wherever it resides-- in the poor or in the rich, and work to bring people afflicted with various forms of poverty (economic, cultural, spiritual,) together, so that each may enrich the other by what they share in common.

Case in point: If someone "gives" the community a well, who is responsible for the well when the pump head gets stolen and the base crumbles? "How nice. They gave us a well. How sad, the well they gave us is spoiled. Where is the water hole?"

When is giving to an orphanage not helpful? When 80% of the kids are not orphans, when parents are solicited by orphanages to give up their kids so the orphanage has a population of wide-eyed waifs that no compassionate soul with money can resist. To freely give to an orphanage without working to understand how broken the orphanage industry is and how much damage it is doing to Liberian society is to participate in the damage and to enable its continuance.

About the New Look

Somebody asked me about the new look of the blog and how it came to be. Well, it came to be because I finally figured out how to manipulate Blogger's templates. I'm sure I can do better, but this will do for now. The header photo was one I took on a windy afternoon in the Gambia as about seven pied crows were trying to fly in it. Using a photo editor, I cut the seven birds to four-- you know, to represent us-- and added the text. Let me know what you think.

The original photo, taken May 08, 08. If you squint, you can see the seven birds.

The pied crow close up. (Photo © Dan Marsh)

Status Report

From the In-Between POV

Weather: Temps in the upper 20'sF in the daytime. with alternating bright sunshine and heavy overcast. Light occasional snow. Low temps in the teens. Light variable breezes.

As the Reeds frolic in Michigan's winter wonderland, we never get too far from the realization that we are living "in-between." Our friends and family don't get to far from it either. They, like we, wonder how long we will be in this active period of not knowing what we'll be doing three or four months from now. But we've been in-between before, and it seems to get less nerve-wracking every time.

Here is the current situation. Renita and I are are looking at position openings in four African countries, two north of the Equator, two south, with most on the eastern and southern part of the continent. We have offers, near offers, serious coversations and chats ongoing, but we remain in very tentative places so it is probably not prudent to say more. Hannah and Noah are in school, and doing their usual very good work. They both grumble about homework, so we know its not too much. If they were trying to prove a case for too much, they'd be preparing a presentation for us.

Both Renita and I are fairly active each day. We continue to attend meetings and lunches with those interested in our Liberia work or in our future, and there is enough to do at home as well. A fair amount of our activity is in front of a computer, with presentations and reports to write, as well as our all important task of keeping in touch through emails and this blog.

Even as we look forward, I miss Liberia. By that I mostly mean I miss a small but but significant group of people and routines in Liberia. Leaving them is like leaving a part of myself. Even thoughts of pumping water while Enoch harrassed the kids brings a sad smile. Here are a few memories.

Hannah and Noah at that pump. Oddly, neither of them seem to miss it.

Odelle. She left the house next door about after Deacon Reeves died, but she had tremendous fire and heart.

Trokon. Someday I'm going do a post on this kid's face. We kidded him on how beautiful his face was. Enoch in the back doing his "sad act" so we'll give him something, anything. If we didn't, his sadness turned to acting out.

Vera spooning rice.

This is a favorite shot of mine that I did not know how to use. It was taken from the back of a Land Cruiser as we flew through a rubber plantation. Something about it evokes something deep inside.

Whistling in the Wind

Welcome to Our Experiment

Welcome, welcome, welcome, my friends. This is entry one in the Reed family's second blog. Like that first blog-- The Reeds in Liberia (you can access it from our links area), we intend this site to be a place where we can regularly update you with the current events of our lives as we go about our business, as well as give you a place to respond and interact. We of course will be using email as well, but this blog is an ongoing journal of sorts, and we will feel free to use it to observe, celebrate, complain, spin, and give you an inner glimpse of life from our perspective across the waves. If the past is any indication of the future, "we" means "me"--Bob Reed-- 95% of the time. But every so often, Renita, Hannah, and Noah will chime in with an offering.

If you are new to this site, you might ask, "why in the world would I be interested in the Reeds as they 'go about their business?' After all, who cares?"

Well that's exactly the kind of question I love.

Call this blog an experiment. Call it testimony. Call it evidence.

If you are at all like me, you wonder about the nature of things. You are not so smug as to think you have it all figured out, nor have you uncovered all the rocks under which truth dwells. Even if you are, like I am, deeply devoted to to a particular faith or philosophical orientation, you may acknowledge, as I do, that your devotion is regularly tested by your perceptions of reality.

This blog is an experiment in devotion-testing. My particular faith explicitly, implicitly and logically guides me to a certain way of doing and being, that I spend my time and my life consistently with the implications of my faith.

This blog is a testimony, for better or worse, of the kinds of things that happen when a family continues to say"Let's take what we say we believe to the next level of action." To testify is to bear witness; affirm as fact or truth; to declare, profess, or acknowledge openly. Our goal is to share our lives as openly and honestly as we can.

And so, this blog hopefully will be evidence. Evidence not only that humans can be increasingly successful at living true to the logical implications of their beliefs, but evidence of something more. Hopefully, if we pay attention--all of us who wonder-- will see evidence that something greater than our faithfulness or even "logical consistency" is here. Hopefully, if we pay attention, we will see evidence that something greater than our work, or ourselves, or even what we smugly call truth is here.

As I say, it's an experiment.

In the book of the Hebrew prophet Malachi, we are told that God is angry. God's people are not taking Him seriously. They are not being logically consistent with the implications of their stated beliefs. They give meagerly to His works. They do not push themselves beyond their levels of comfort. Their spiritual leaders are corrupted by greed. They do not understand the spiritual discipline of sacrifice. So God, understanding that unbelief is at the heart of their hypocrisy, tells them something remarkable. He makes a deal. He says, "Put me to the test. Live it like you say you believe it," He says, "and see if I don't show up." God apparently loves a good experiment.

I believe in God, and I believe He works like this. When we show up, He shows up. Hence this blog. Let's see if the Reeds are just whistling in the wind, or if they are whistling in the Wind.

Let's see if He shows up.

Some members of the Reed family, four weeks ago in Liberia. Standing: Renita (holding Little Renita), Hannah, Noah and Yers Trooly. Sitting are Eastman and Trokon.