A Different Kind of Minimalism

 If you spend time on social media, you’ve no doubt encountered blogs and articles dedicated to minimalism and getting back to basics. In North America, that tends to mean building a top of the line “tiny home” or equipping a storage container with enough hardwood floors, granite countertops, and space saving devices to make IKEA jealous! In Honduras, this isn’t a movement. It’s just called “life” and it doesn’t come with hardwood floors and granite countertops.

In Honduras:

• You are fortunate if your family income is more than $1000 a year.
• Only 7% of families own a vehicle.
• 25-30% of the population lives in a one-room house.
• A huge percentage of houses have dirt floors and are made out of mud bricks.
• In some locations, if your home has concrete floors, you are considered to be among the upper class.
• If you’re sleeping on a mattress on the floor, instead of a woven grass mat, you’re considered “well off.”
• Just over 50% of the population completes the 6th grade.
• If you stand on a road that is paved, you might have to travel 80 miles to get to the next paved road.
• Simply owning a motorcycle is a sign you are doing well financially.
• A lot of families dream of even owning a horse for use as transportation.
• A huge number of people have no road leading to their house. The nearest dirt road may be miles away.
• Even if you have a small stockpile of beans and corn that you grew, you may be scrounging to get enough money to purchase some rice.
• Not only are you living hand-to-mouth, but typically your neighbors are, too.
• Many people have never traveled more than ten miles from home.
• Owning one book is a huge deal!
• You may celebrate things North Americans would find less than noteworthy. For example: The town of Gracias still celebrates Radio Day, which commemorates when radio reception came to the area about 25 years ago!

Keeping those things in mind, consider the impact of providing a Honduran child with a backpack, school supplies, and a pair of shoes! While visiting a feeding center, Allen said multiple people came up to him to say their children were only able to attend school this year because of the backpacks and shoes they received through Sowers4Pastors. An estimated 20% of the recipients would not be in school, if not for the backpacks!

The backpacks are especially valuable to families with multiple children. Allen pointed out that kids with learning disabilities are often pulled from school because families can’t afford to educate children who aren’t going to learn quickly. And, even if children previously owned a pair of shoes, those shoes were saved for “special occasions”. Having a pair of shoes for everyday use is life changing.

Allen pointed out that parents often send their kids to a feeding center just because they want a meal. But that gives Sowers4Pastors the opportunity to share the Gospel. Instead of dreaming of some Pinterest-worthy form of minimalism, isn’t it time we made the simple decision to share what we’ve been given?

 - posted by Christi