Newsletter - July, 2019
| July, 2019 Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me." Matt. 25:40 Published by the Society of the Good Shepherd, P. O. Box 122, Amberson, PA 17210. (717) 349-7033 |
The Society of the Good Shepherd makes interest-free loans to people in Honduras to help lift them out of poverty. However, sometimes those people choose to remain in poverty—so they can help others who are in even greater need. This principle is beautifully demonstrated in the life of one of our loan recipients, whom I’ll call Camila (not her real name). The Society made our initial loan to Camila about fifteen years ago. At that time, she was living with her parents, and all of them were very poor.
With a loan from the Society, Camila was able to build a small cinder-block apartment (about 400 sq. ft.) on a plot of land that had been given her. She continued to live with her parents, and she rented out the apartment to earn a little income. Camila was very faithful in paying off her loan. So when she later approached us about building a second apartment, we approved her loan. She built the second apartment next to the first and rented it out as well. This pattern continued until she eventually had four apartments on her small plot. She then moved into one of the apartments herself and rented out the other three.
When I was in Honduras this past February, I was able to chat for a while with Camila. It looked like all of her apartments were rented, so I asked her about her tenants. She began by telling me about the tenant in the apartment we were standing next to. The tenant there was a single mother with health problems. “So is she still able to pay her rent?” I asked. “Well, actually, because of her circumstances, I don’t charge her any rent,” Camila replied.
So I pointed to the next apartment and asked her about the person who lived there. It turned out it was a young man from a rural area of Honduras. He was living in the apartment while going to high school in Camila’s town. (What we call high school in the U. S., is called college (colegio) in Honduras. What we call college is called university there.) As in the U. S., it is very difficult to earn a decent living in Honduras without finishing high school (colegio). Yet, students have to pay tuition to attend. Furthermore, there are normally no high schools in rural areas. That is why this young man had to temporarily move to Camila’s town to attend high school. Both he and his parents were struggling just to pay his high school tuition. They had no money to pay for a place for him to live while going to school. Camila knew the family, so she was letting him stay there for free.
After telling me this, Camila said sheepishly, “I guess I’m not a very good business manager.” She pointed to heaven, adding, “I do better up there,” and then laughed. I laughed with her. As we continued to talk, I tried to hide my amazement at what I had just heard. I knew that Camila was living in poverty herself. Her apartment is tidy, but without any refinements. When Deborah and I visit, the plumbing never works. Yet, here she is giving away two-thirds of her income to help those other people in need.
The situation is not that Camila is a poor business manager. In earthly things, she is very good at handling her money. That is why she was able to pay off four successive loans promptly. The Society had provided these loans to her to help her climb out of poverty. Yet, she had voluntarily chosen to remain in poverty so she could help others who were in greater need than herself. Stupid? No, Christianity in action! Camila later said: “If I have been blessed with these apartments, it is not to gain riches on this earth. Instead, I can now bless others and freely serve my brothers and sisters in Christ.”
Flying back to the States, I had a lot to think about. Normally, the seats on the airplanes seem rather cramped, but they didn’t this time. Maybe it was because I was feeling so small.
David Bercot
The pictures in this newsletter are simply photos I have taken of the dear people of Honduras. They have no connection with Camila or her tenants.
The Society of the Good Shepherd, P. O. Box 122, Amberson, PA 17210 • (717) 349-7033
Click on the following link if you would care to make a donation to the work in Honduras: Honduras Donations
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