Where Do We Go From Here

42 loving relationship. The machine meant hours less work each week for many; hours that could be spent in leisure, in community building, in caring for the ill and the disabled. The machine meant greater profits for the farmers and the intangible benefit of the knowledge that someone on the other side of the world cared about this far-flung village. Inclusion, renewal and hope were at work. Here was my miracle. I was simply a witness. Escaping poverty is the path to social restructure that allows resources to be made available for the poorest of the poor. Communities that flourish together tend not to forget their weakest members. In that moment, I felt as if I were the Ethiopian Eunuch and the village was Philip, mysteriously appearing along my journey explaining to me what the fulfilment of scripture meant. I felt that I had been baptised into a new understanding of how God was present and at work in redeeming the world through the mission of the church, both imminent and transcendent. Too often, our desire to ‘fix’ every immediate problem can make us unable to grasp the broader picture of what is really going on. We need to recognise that, while sometimes we might be encouragers and guides, at other times we must be encouraged and guided. To stand in solidarity with the poor it is important that we learn what poverty is and does – and that we show the humility to recognise the areas where our own resources are meagre and in need of replenishment.