Late the other night I crossed into the U.S. via the San Ysidro Border just south of San Diego. Supposedly it’s the busiest border crossing in the world. Most of those crossing supply Southern California with cheap, productive labor. The wait can easily be an hour or two—and at real bad times, three to four. I’m fortunate to have a fast pass, which propelled me through in just fifteen minutes—or so I thought. Woops, random inspection. So I was sent to “Secondary” for a thorough search [...]

Two Sundays ago I listened to a sermon that confirmed what I’ve heard over and over. The guest preacher, who has worked with high school mission trips for almost twenty years, said the following. “The most common comment from a first time short-term mission tripper to Tijuana is: ‘The people are so poor, yet they are so happy.’”

To be fair, I thought the same on my first few trips across the border. Yet now, I never know quite how to respond when hearing this, because I disagree with the statement. I believe it’s a falsehood. Are the poor truly that happy? The answer is no. The question should really be made into the statement: “If I was that poor, I’d be miserable.”[...]

“Let’s just wait until the next group comes to fix it.”

I’ve heard this statement a few times and it’s bad news. Dependency upon missionaries, short-term mission trip teams, or funds from first world countries are often commonplace. After many years of “western missions” into poor countries, in hindsight, dependency seems only obvious. In Tijuana alone there are tons of consequential examples.

But if we put on idealistic glasses, I think dependency is healthy—it’s certainly biblical[...]

A couple of missionary blogs I’ve been following over the last year are coming to an end—or at least seem to be. Here’s the scoop:

Missionary Family #1: Appears to have been very well funded. On the mission field, they write about great trips and getaways with frequency. Recently they have permanently returned home for a variety of personal and spiritual reasons. They specifically asked their supporters to continue giving to the very end, as full support would be needed. They took a trip for several weeks on the way home that most Americans will never do or be able to afford. Now in the U.S. for just a month, they’ve purchased a home, picked up full-time, professional employment, and have just received their container of goods from their home overseas—must have been nice stuff to justify the shipping.

Missionary Family #2: Started the fund raising process five years ago. To date they are only at 60 percent. They’ve used up most of their savings and have cut back on expenditures. Due to the frustrations of a half-decade of emotionally trying support raising and the reality of still needing such a large percentage, these missionaries are considering returning to secular vocations. From everything written in their blog, they appear extremely genuine in their desire to continue serving in ministry full-time; yet the money has not come in.

Recently on the radio, I listened intently to a debate between the talk show host and a caller. The caller insisted that today’s wages in the U.S. cannot sufficiently provide for the basics. The host disagreed saying that most of the basics today are much cheaper than they were 50 years ago. He gave examples of clothing, transportation, furniture, and food. All of which, on the whole, are relatively less expensive in 2007 than they were in 1957. The problem, according to the host, is that our lifestyles today “demand” necessities that aren’t necessities. Just think of all the tech items that one has to have, and it becomes obvious why the family budget is in the red.

As Michelle said, it seems that “disposable income spent on superficial things” is seen on all levels (as I’m now saying).

Many third world ministries (including the one I work for) have the tag line: “Helping the poorest of the poor.” After all, if you’re going to send money—your own money—it’s got to have the greatest effect, right? Americans want a return on their investment. We want results. Before and after pictures, receipts, pie graphs, and general satisfaction that our money changed someone dramatically. For if we are going to give up a cup of coffee a day, it darn well has to make the world a better place! [...]

To me, inefficiency in the U.S. is a cultural blunder. I become quickly frustrated when someone in front of me arrives at the cash register unprepared or when an employee would arrive late to work. With the U.S.-mindset, efficiency is ranked high on the scale of values. Bring that mentality down across the border, and you’ll become annoyed, burned-out, and inefficient yourself.

Last weekend I attended the wedding of a good family friend. I had advised the bride’s family that my wife, Cynthia, and I would arrive late due to a prior engagement the morning of. They said, “No problem!”—just as long as we would make it. Wow, that’s great, I thought, the Mexican culture sure is forgiving about time; we can arrive late, and everybody’s happy [...]

I’m way off topic on this one, but the title remains appropriate from a completely different take. My truck broke down last week in the most peculiar of locations. Actually I limped it over to where my mechanic, Carlos, was working for the day. As he peered inside the engine compartment, he whispered to me, “Don’t freak out, but they’re selling drugs on the corner.” “Nah, it’s all right,” I quickly replied to prove my street savvyness. I figured I hear about drugs and drug addicts all the time; I can handle this. I dropped the brim of my cap down on top of my glasses and sneaked a peek of the action. One look and look away! Good golly! Did I see what I think I saw?—I panicked to myself. I looked again. Miss Molly, they’re running a drive-thru operation with cars in wait. Blowing my cool, I queried Carlos about the scene. “All day long, Ben. They sell the whole day,” [...]

I’ve just spent way too much time browsing the Web. Somehow I started reading random missionary journals, blogs, updates, and newsletters; and I noticed something I’ve never noticed before! Yah, you’ll never read about it (as far as my official 1-hour of research was able to tell). Missionaries from Agency A never talk about their work alongside missionaries from Agencies B,C,D, and Z. I could not find a single case! [...]