A Conversation With

His name is Tony. He is in his late 50’s early 60’s and runs the most successful adventure company in Nepal. We have been using his company to run our river rafting trips for the past 10 years. I had heard his name mentioned many times and worked with his staff but until this summer, I had never had the chance to meet him. Traveling between his homes in Britain and Nepal, he is a man on the move. But this July I heard he was in Kathmandu so I set up a time to meet him not knowing that my encounter with him would lead to a huge paradigm shift in the way I looked at our ministry in Nepal.

It was a typical rainy afternoon in Thamel as I sat waiting in the office of Himalayan Encounters. I was awaiting the arrival of the infamous owner of the company, Tony. He casually walked into the office, an older, unassuming British man with an enormous accent. We introduced ourselves and began getting to know one another. We shared our experiences with each other and stories of a place we were both obviously fond of, and a people for whom we shared a deep love. He shared with me how his company worked to develop local communities; helping them build homes, use more effective and advanced farming techniques, and developed new ways to empower the people and generate additional income. I shared similar stories of the communities in the mountains that we frequent, and the work we have done to develop those communities physically and spiritually. The pictures and stories that he shared were nothing short of inspirational. I shared about 212 degrees and what it was that we had been doing over the past several years. I shared about the relationships we had developed and the ministry that we had in the mountains of Nepal. i told him of our work with the street kids, who he knew well, and how we were helping to meet the needs of their families. As I shared he listened intently and again shared a mutual love and a joy in the work we both were doing. But after I had shared he responded with a statement that took me by surprise. He shared with me a lesson that he had learned over his many years in Nepal. It was a statement in response to something I had said and as soon as I heard it, I reached for pen and paper; a statement I did not want to forget. He said that for him (he was really polite in his challenge to me) the goal could not be to merely “meet” the needs of the people, but rather we must figure out how to eliminate the need all together. That we can take the kids out for a meal, we can feed the poor, and the result is that we can feel really good about it, but I does not eliminate the fact that when we leave, they are still hungry, they are still on the street, and they are still looking for that next tourist who will treat them to pizza at “The Roadhouse”. In many ways we actually create needs and a dependency that could be unhealthy for them. This began an hour discussion about how we could more effectively do what we do there in Nepal. It was about empowerment, not merely benevolence. I was being taught how to do ministry by a British man, who at this point does not even know Christ. It was such a huge reminder to me that we need to be much more intentional about how we engage people and ministry not only on a global level but also on a local level. And as I processed this conversation I realized that there ARE things that we do at 212 Degrees that very intentionally seek to eliminate needs. We help to empower women who have been rescued from the sex industry so that they can learn a trade and generate income for them and their families. We help families by purchasing a buffalo and teach them how they can sell the milk for profit, while also having a way to plow their fields and grow crops. We seek to get the children off the streets and into orphanages, and into schools so they can be cared for and educated and empowered. But we also do many things that ultimately make us feel good but that when thought through do not empower and can potentially do more harm then good. Tony is right when he says our goal should not be to meet needs but rather our goal should be to eliminate them. It like the old proverb, “To give a man a fish will feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime”.

So the result of this conversation for me has lead to an intense evaluation of what we do and how we do it. If we are about transformation we need to teach people how to fish. This can be a long process that starts with giving them a fish, but CANNOT stop there, we must go further and make an honest effort to teach, to empower, to transform them through the power of the Holy Spirit. Now that I am back in the States, I am evaluating how I can be more effective at this philosophy in my ministry here at home, and in life as a whole. It is a prevalent thought for me, with the students I work with, the staff I lead and in my own personal life. It is such a simple thought, and we have all probably had it at one point or another, it just took a conversation with an old Brit over nepali tea on a hot rainy day for me to really internalize it and allow it to transform my life once again. I know that there are times where we just need to meet a short term need. A shut in, a sick friend needs a meal, your neighbor with the broken leg needs the lawn mowed. But I guess I want to get in the habit of always being a future thinker, and ask myself, “is there more I can do that leads to additional empowerment and transformation?” I think the result can only mean more changed lives, more transformation, and more people seeing and experiencing the kingdom of God here on this earth.

Since writing this blog I have found a fantastic resource that speaks to this issue and has reminded me that there is nothing new under the sun, and as a community of Christ followers we can constantly be sharpening one another. Thanks Robert Lupton!

Compassion, Justice and the Christian life…rethinking ministry to the poor by Robert Lupton.