What would...?

Good work, massive impact on lives, but SO many still unreached. If more people doing this work were put into positions of power, helping make those big political and economic decisions, how would society change?

It’s an interesting one looking at the results being achieved. I’ve seen huge change in many children’s and families’ lives. But there are masses more. We all strive for societies, governments and people to take these issues more seriously and take bigger steps to addressing them. This is why advocacy is a huge part of NGO (non-governmental organisation) work. Great models, such as the Early Encounter one I am volunteering for, are doing great work. The key is expansion and we hope that will continue to happen.

Many of these thoughts arose visiting projects in Cochabamba, Oruro and Lima while my parents and sister were over. The work is great but the scale of need is massive. But we keep going because another child is another child - always something worth a great celebration. But we forever long for growth of the work.

Anyway, hope you’re all well. As a lot of you know Mum and Dad have been over visiting the Early Encounter networks in Latin America. They first went to the networks in Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala. I then met them in Cochabamba where we then went on to Oruro, had a bit of a holiday in Peru and then Lima. They have blogged on each country they’ve been to so have a look - http://alastair-debbie-welford.blogspot.com/ Becky caught Mum and Dad up and came direct to Cochabamba after she had finished university. See her blog full of great stories and amazing photos - http://bwsouthamerica.blogspot.com/

I often find it emotionally draining trying to make sense of the different experiences I have and hear of. During Mum, Dad and Becky’s time here we visited a lot of projects, heard some really happy and joyful stories, heard some really sad and disturbing stories, visited children living on the streets, visited children living in secure and safe environments, been taken through areas that just break your heart, been taken through the beauty of the Peruvian countryside that blows your mind – Lake Titikaka, the Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu - seen the stunning Miraflores of Lima lit-up by fountains, high-rise hotels, flashy cars, amazing sea-view restaurants, expensive shops, and then just round the corner very steep hills full of coloured shacks dotted around and barely standing firm in neighbourhoods filled with violence and drug dealers where families live every day with a struggle for survival. The inequality is unbelievable.

How to work this all out is a difficult one. Perspective is a big thing to grab hold of and those moments when a lot has been going on and we feel like we get it are great. The first thing we need to try and remember is that we do not have all the answers. Seeing suffering on such a scale always brings the question ‘why?’ to every human being. We are designed like that. To know everything would give it all away and the search would stop, along with faith. We always wish we could know a bit more, and a bit more. It’s natural. I believe in a loving God who knows every human being and strives for us to seek him and know him more. According to the Bible that is his aim – to have us on a journey with him asking questions, learning more and most importantly realising how amazing he is resulting in us loving him more for what he has done. Nowhere is it said in the Bible that God’s priority for us is a comfortable life here on earth. It is nice but it is certainly not a priority and is not what will help us. God has his own perfect agenda for creating situations in a world where each and every person can find him. We don’t know what those are and seeing such suffering will cause us to respond emotionally and question his ways, but our faith becomes the big subject here and it is up to us to balance our views up.

In my experience finding God is the best thing ever. I have always believed in a creator of the universe since I can remember. My lies, pride, arrogance, not getting my priorities right, and everything else that falls under the bracket of sin makes me unworthy of his loving offer of eternity with him but to see him willingly sending his obedient son, Jesus Christ, to earth to create the way by taking our punishment by not just being crucified on a cross but by taking the full wrath of God to pay for the sins every human being has and ever will commit is something I have to be thankful for. This is what happened and what I know by various means of solid evidence and experience is true. God has put his cards on the table and has given us the choice to accept or not. It is God’s focus that every member of the human race encounters him. Yes, poverty is horrible. But as a Christian it is good to have the perspective and reality of what God’s agenda is for us, not just as a comfort to help take in what I have seen on my travels and duration of my time living here, even though it is, but to understand how God works and know that there is a lot more going on than what only our eyes can see. For me it comes down to knowing that God’s agenda is to encounter us and for us to encounter him, and then to recognise that not just material poverty exists but so does spiritual poverty, and to keep in mind that eternity is a lot, lot, longer than the few years we have here.

I don’t like writing loads here for each post. I would love to go into more pacific details about our travels and I could go on and on and on... but I won’t. So (because I’m lazy I guess) I kindly direct you to my parent’s and sisters’ blogs (links further up). They’ve gone into more detail and will give you a further insight into pacific projects, encounters with children, photos, videos, etc. I hope to have the chance to tell some of the stories I have, whether in person or in my next blog.

I only have 2 more weeks in Oruro then I’ll be back in England. I hope to do a few more after I’m back as I think it’d be good to share stories that are on my mind. So don’t worry, you can look forward to more blogging...

Thanks.