Serving in Egypt was a wonderful experience. I was told many times that it would be hard on the nerves, and painful, but I did not find that to be the case necessarily. I saw people that were very poor, sick, or disabled, or didn't have a roof over their heads, but many of those people were very simple, and very content. Many of the poorest people that I saw were happy because they had God in their lives, and many people that I saw that were a little better off, were complaining and miserable. It led me to believe that it is not one's circumstances that influence their peace of mind, and joy of heart, but whether or not God is with them. While I have many things those poor people do not have, they have many wonderful things inside them, like peace, love, joy, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control, that I wish that I had instead. I did not feel sorry for these people even if they were very poor; because they were close to God, they were happy. I only felt sad for the ones that were miserable, because I think they were the ones who were truly poor.
I thank everyone for their monetary donations, but I encourage you to give donations of your time and effort to those people living in your own home, or at work, or your neighbor, because you can also donate your love to them. Those that don't have love are the ones that are truly poor, and many of those people are here near you, not in Upper Egypt. There is a quote by Mother Teresa saying, " Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat. "
I am not saying we should not help give people money, because they need that to live, to feed their children, and to ease their hunger and pain. But, God provides them, if they are close to him. Maybe, some of the people that are so far from God will be moved by our love, and give God thanks, and maybe, when they are less hungry, they will have more time to focus on God, and less time to worry about survival.
In short, please help the poor people in any way that you can, through the way that you feel God has given you to help.
Thank you, and God bless you.
