Beggars

I knew there would be a lot of poverty in Guatemala, but I wasn’t really prepared for some of the ways that we’re seeing it. There are a lot of beggars in Antigua, probably because there are also a lot of tourists. Every city has its beggars, but since we don’t have a car here and we go everywhere on foot, we walk past dozens of people begging for money each day. It’s a different feeling walking past them than driving past and looking at them out the window of a car.

I’ve talked about them some with my Spanish teacher. He certainly has a different perspective than I do, since he’s Guatemalan and knows the situation much better than I. He tells me that tourists (especially missionaries) get taken advantage of very often, and that he rarely gives money to the beggars, but when he can he’ll give some of the women and/or children some bread. He points out that there are social services available that many of these people are choosing not to receive, and that some simply don’t want to work.

I know all of those rationalizations in my head, and I know that if I live here long enough I’ll probably become wiser about how to handle these situations. But for now, I’m having a difficult time with it. Even though I know money could be used for alcohol or that the person may be choosing not to work so that he/she can make more money by begging, I never feel right about doing nothing. At times, I’ve found myself spotting a beggar farther down the sidewalk where I’m headed, so I cross the street so as not to have to walk in front of them. I don’t know what the Christlike thing to do is, but I’m sure that’s not it. I can’t give them all money and even if I could, that wouldn’t solve their problems. It’s just tough to look in their faces and walk right by.

It’s the worst when they’re kids. Even if they’re just being used by someone else, seeing kids begging on the streets just screams injustice. They should have nutritious food; they should be in school; they should have moms and dads caring and providing for them. But they don’t.

Kara pointed out that when she sees the kids, she can’t help but think of two of our little amigos at the children’s home, Sammy and Giovanni. If it wasn’t for the home, something like this would be their life- living dirty on the streets without opportunity or real hope for change. Instead, they run around as happy little troublemakers with the other kids and get to remind us of God’s faithfulness by asking us to play cards.

So I have to remind myself that I can’t make a difference in the life of every person in poverty that I see- or hardly any of them for that matter. But as part of the Lord’s work at NLCH, we’re making an incredible difference for some.