Slums and Surfing

The term slum here means something vastly different than the way we use it in the states. What we call a slum in the US is called “middle class” here. Here a slum is a conglomeration of mud/dung brick shanties all shimmied adjacent to one another in an effort to share walls. There is no water or electricity and all the sewage runs through the streets. Children when fully clothed are still nearly naked, all of which have no hope for an education (yet). The average salary: 1-2 dollars per 12-14 hour work day. This is a slum.

Today I went surfing. We are a few hundred miles from the coast, but one of the local resorts has recently opened a “surf simulator,” where they make a wave that you can legitimately surf on. Today was 106 degrees (that is considered “cool” for this time of year) so my So-Cal born roommate and I drove out there to pay a visit to the “Flow-Rider.”

As you reach the peak of the wave you can feel the rush of dropping in, but you can also see the slum 200 feet from you. As we enjoyed the cool water and the fun of surfing, a few hundred feet from us were people that were only worried about feeding their children for another day. We spent roughly $10 for an afternoon of surfing- but that is an entire weeks pay for them.

I have hesitated for sometime to post something like this, because I don’t have a solution. However this illustrates my greatest struggle here thus far. The inequality is horrifying. On the way to my apartment you will pass a Mercedes dealership. The Mercedes sign happens to serve as the corner post for a small tea stall. This tea stall is across the street from a very large slum- literally in the shadow of a billboard advertising “Luxury Villas.”

So what do we do? Is it wrong to drive a Mercedes, or live in a luxury villa? Or in my case is it wrong to spend $10 to surf for the afternoon? Is it wrong to give your children a good education, to have insurance, or proper medical care? Is it wrong to have running water and electricity?

See the thing is most of us are willing to draw a line somewhere, but it is conveniently in a place we haven’t yet crossed (and as we near it, it often suddenly moves). The truth is none of the previously mentioned luxuries are sinful or wrong. However the lawfulness of something has little bearing on its profitability.

I am filthy rich. I have an apartment. I have water. I have electricity. I have a motorcycle. I have insurance. I have an education. There is an inequality that frankly even in my most valiant efforts will never be surmounted.

This is my struggle. Please pray for me. I don’t think God made me to simply surf and enjoy life, but I also can not say that he is leading me to live in utter poverty simply because others do. Pray that he leads in a way that I am able to best serve, love and represent him to the world.

Thanks,



r