Who Are the Needy Ones?

I have just finished reading a book entitles On That Day Everybody Ate, by Margaret Trost.  She went to Haiti with a mission group for a week and ended up being so inspired that she started a food program to feed hungry children called "What If?"  One of the ideas she expresses toward the end is about people in need.
I have heard from various sources that our money would go further if we just sent a check and didn't spend all the extra money for airline tickets, room and board, etc.  I think that comment is made by folks who do not have a clear idea of what this-or any- mission is all about-which is about building relationships.  It is in working side by side and experiencing some of the living conditions, the climate, and the atmosphere and fellowship of others that we begin to truly feel the brotherhood/sisterhood of the human condition.  Only by eating the smae food, working in the same fields-be they construction sites, food kitchens, microenterprise endeavors, or schools, can we really feel and understand what it means to be in need.  Suzy McCall likes to point out that God didn't send a check-he sent his son!  Relationships!
In the United States, I have so much it is somewhat of a burden just to care for the things I have.  I struggle to find places for all the material things I have, and spend a lot of time dusting, arranging, storing, cleaning all my things.  Here a few minutes a day and I am set for the day, ready to go about doing other work at school or at Casa Lamb.  I think I am filling a need of the schools by bringing materials that they need and are happy to have in order to make learning more concrete and fun for the children.  Yet who is the needy one?  A real community is a two way street of those persons who are truly helping each other.  A Christian community is a group of folks, sometimes separated by great distances, who are meeting the needs of each other in Christ's name.  So it is clear about my mission to bring teaching resources to the schools, so the children can have a basic elementary education, which is one of the Millieum Development Goals we have adopted as part of our mission in the world.  But what about how that two way street works? 
After reading On That Day... I can express it a bit better.  I have a need to give.  It is a basic need that gets all too little attention.  Jesus said to do for others as we would have them do for (to) us, and whenever we do a service for others it is the same as doing it for him.  People here also have that same need.  Hondurans are a generous and gracious people, and it is equally fulfilling for them to be able to give.  So they give their love, and set an example for prayer, belief in the goodness of God, and trust in Him that is nothing short of inspirational.  The intensity of their prayer life, their praise life, and their love and trust in God and for each other is a gift of priceless value to me.
Fridays the teachers have devotional time after school.  Everyone hurries through tidying up their classrooms and carries a folding chair up to the second floor soccer field.  We sit in a circle.  A lovely young teacher (she happens to be the kindergarten teacher this year) leads the group in song and praise.  She has a smile on her face, her eyes close in spontaeous prayer and praise, and her voice is sweet and melodic as she leads the singing.  Then all the teachers take part in games.  Last week we played musical chairs.  The "losers" had a turn to look up a Bible verse and then say a few words about how it relates to love.  It was clear by their expressions how heartfelt the responces were.  Yesterday the games were blind man's bluff, and a "sword drill" that some of us remeber from other traditions.  You should have seen how quickly the teachers searched for the verses and ran to the microphone to read their verse.  The blind man's bluff game was to demonstrate how sometimes we as Christians feel superior to others who do not yet have the love of God in their lives.  It was certainly a good way to encourage us to be more understanding of others and not to taunt or ridicule or belittle them, but to love them into wanting to have God in their lives.
We need each other.  Some have a great need to give materially.  Others have a need to give spiritually.  With God's help, we can learn to give of what God has blessed us with and of what we have.  I believe that is a large of part of the "kingdom of heaven."  Thanks be to God for the gift of giving.