Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Humble Beginnings 3: Breaking the Poverty Mentality

So...I'm just going to stop saying that "I'll update weekly!" That doesn't seem to work as well as I hoped it would.





In reading my blog about humble beginnings a year ago, I felt that I left a lot of people by the wayside in talking about Humble Beginnings...things have happened since that time. Alice and I broke off our engagement, my car and laptop was stolen, my mother had a heart attack, and my roommate died while playing tennis...needless to say I have felt "clogged" in writing down thoughts.





Yet I feel it in communicating this pain (and prayer!) that I will be able to give it all to the Lord. Let me continue sharing about the Projects..







Here's another picture of the projects that I lived in for such a deep period of my life. It's not that pretty is it? Everybody in these building lives at or under the poverty line...makes me sad to focus on it...but I press on!

The Poverty Mentality...how do I describe it? To me, its hopeless and nihilistic. Hopeless in the sense that when the economy of your vertical town is rock bottom, you don't much of a prospect of getting out of it. Nihilistic in a sense that you are out of your own well being. You are living for today because tomorrow isn't promised. Sounds good in one sense right? Not really when you think you are going to die tomorrow! The Poverty Mentality shapes how see the economy. Let's say you get a decent job at Burger King (that's actually decent in our area!). You make $5.15 an hour and work three days a week/5 hours a day, that's $25.75 a day and appoximately 78 dollars a week, not counting taxes. Since you get so little, you spent it like its your last, because it is! You invest in external things because the standard of judgment is what you have RIGHT NOW! Investment is practically impossible! Most banks require at least $50 deposit to have a bank account, that's two days of wages! You (the burger king worker) don't see the payoff in putting two days wages into a place for "holding" your money when you can do it yourself! No teaching on building up credit, or that people give differently to people with bank accounts. You get what it? It becomes a cycle!

So how do you get out of this? How do you escape? More important to this blog...how did I escape? Thank you Lord for Korean Americans (how many black people you know would say this?).

To be continued...The Crazy Korean American Women who showed me to Christ!